Packard - DP301202 C230B 2 Pole 30 Amp Contactor, 120 Voltage Coil

I used this contactor to turn on a vacuum when a tool was turned on. I connected the coil to the power going to the tool, after the switch. So when the switch was turned on the contactor would close. The vacuum was connected to the contacts of the device so it would turn on when the contactor closed. I did it that way so I could have the tool and the vacuum on separate circuits. If I had put them on the same circuit I would have exceeded the current limit on one circuit. The contactor worked fine.

Works as it should! I matched it with a Kasa Smart Switch Hs200 and I control the with the app! I set a schedule to run 1 day and another not just for 1 H! I basically I'm saving a lot with this thing with my water heater

We've had this in use for about 6 years with no issues. It switches on a simple 120V dust collector unit connected to our table saw, so it is overrated for what we need. The way we use it, it cycles on and off more than 10 times per day, so it's probably been through around 20,000 cycles so far. The specs online say it is tested up to 250,000 cycles, so I'm sure it will last for a very long time.

The height of the switch requires a 4" deep box instead of the normal 2". I ended up using a 6"x6"x4" box so I would have room to attach wires in a safe manner. The 220v rated path can use either wire into a screw clamp or .25" female connectors. However, the 120v switch control connectors are required to be .25" female connectors. I had to run into town and buy some female connectors to complete the wiring. After wiring it works great. The switch connects with a resounding thump that I can hear from outside the pumphouse. I installed it two weeks ago and nothing has burned down yet. :-)

This product is amazing for $9; especially coupled with a $25 smart switch or smart outlet. I have a 220v Air Conditioner from the beginning of time. I turned off the breaker. I Cut the 220v cord in half close to the breaker box, except for the white wire. 4 wires in the cord; red, black, white, and green. All I did is put the contactor between the break in the 220v line. Connect the black wire to the silver screw and tighten or use a female wire connect and insert onto the contactor's brass male Connector tab. Repeat on the far side of the contactor with the other black wire. Then do the same thing with the red wire. Just make sure the red and black wires are connected to the same screw or tab on the far side of the contactor. When that is done then take an ordinary 3 prong extension cord and cut off the female end. Best advice is to buy those female wire terminals and crimp them onto the ends of the black and white wires on the extension cord you just cut. Now take the white wire with the female tab and connect it to the silver tab on the contactor. Repeat with the black wire's female tab and put it onto the other silver tab. There are really 4 silver tabs, but 2 are connected together on each side. Once that is complete twist all three green/ground wires together. You should be ready to go. Now take the good male end of the extension cord and plug it into a zwave smart outlet and you have an old school smart 220v air conditioner for around $35.

This is a great solution to ANY situation where you need to control 240v power within the specs of this gadget. I use it to control power to a 6000w patio heater on a 30a 240v circuit. I control the 110v coil with a fan control countdown switch like you might use on a bathroom fan, but you could use virtually any kind switch you would normally use to control 110v stuff such as a wifi switch, programmable or just on/off. I went through this because my teenaged daughters would turn on the mega heater and then forget to turn it off, leading to global warming! Now they are restricted to 60, 30, 15, 10 and 5 minutes. Switch counts down and then off! 😀 They can always hit the switch again if needed. I was able to mount the contactor and the switch in a double box but i had to find one that works. Some boxes are flat on the bottom and that's what you want. It was a tight fit with 10ga and 14ga wiring. I also hooked up a cool 1" Baomain 240v pilot light to the out side of the contactor to let me see if the heater is in from a distance. The pilot light is LED and I used tiny 20awg wire to connect it. Draws some tiny amount of power and tiny wire works safely. I will say one minor drawback is that the contactor makes an obvious buzzing sound when first connecting but the sound tapers to pretty quiet. It's not silent. It also comes with no connectors or instructions. I'll buy this again for another project.