Can you let us know the patterns of your wire? What leads to what?
to control panel:
1 12vdc + to BCS
1 12vdc - to BCS
1 24vac + to 24vac switches and led's in parallel
1 24vac - to 24vac switches (led power)
1 ground from relay box ground to control box
from control panel:
2 switched 24vac + to 2 30 amp DP relays for elements
2 switched 24vac + to 2 15 amp relays for pumps
and Hi airbalancer, actually these arrangements are based on your box's components. Your posts have been a great help. Just not sure I'm understanding all the wiring points just yet. Getting there!
Ah I just totally hurf durfed. Why would I need the BCS in the control panel? And what about its 5vdc output signals? It needs to be in the relay/main power box.
So actually this is what I'm looking at running together in a multi-conductor:
to control panel:
1 24vac + to 24vac switches and led's in parallel
1 24vac - to 24vac switches (led power)
1 ground from relay box ground to control box
from control panel:
2 switched 24vac + to 2 30 amp DP relays for elements
2 switched 24vac + to 2 15 amp relays for pumps
You are just fine with running all of them together. AC at 60 Hz over short distances won't couple at all.
That should be enough, but I'll just blather on now while I still have some apfelwein in this glass...
What you have to look out for is "di/dt" signals; that is, signals that abruptly switch high currents from On to Off, or vice-versa. For example, I would not run the outputs (load side) of a relay carrying a lot of current with other lines.
Also, you should not include signal lines with lines that drive motors or the coil side of a mechanical relay. Anything with a winding can kick back some serious positive and negative spikes that will couple to other nearby wires, especially if they are long.
Thanks pawn, that makes sense. Just so I know, what does di/dt stand for?
There are both SSr's (2 40 amp for elements) and 24vac mechanical relays (2 30a for elements AND 2 15a for pumps).
But I may have changed my setup again. My main box came in, it is 16x14x6 inches nema 4x, and it already has a bunch of 22mm holes cut in the side. I'm thinking it will be easier to just wire everything in one box, and also eliminate 2 of the mech. relays and drive the pumps directly from the switches (pump switch). I'm not going to automate the pumps with the BCS until I feel comfortable with the system.
offtopic: I just hired an electrician to wire my outbuilding with 100 amp service. Baby steps ! Here's the building as I got it earlier this year: Outbuilding
Cheers all
Thanks pawn, that makes sense. Just so I know, what does di/dt stand for?
delta-current over delta-time, or change in current over change in time. This is geekspeak for how quickly the current changes. The strength of magnetic fields that couple across wires is directly related to how fast and how much current changes with respect to time. Turns out there are surprising number of engineers on this forum, so sometimes I guess it feels appropriate to mix in a bit of tech jargon if the subject allows it.
Linear Mode
