Question about quick disconnects

Discussion of the physical aspects
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el_hombre
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Question about quick disconnects

Post by el_hombre »

I think I want to keep all of my electronics (SSR, BCS, etc.) in my electrical enclosure. My reasoning for this is I want to be able to disconnect the enclosure from the rig when not brewing. I am doing this for two reasons: 1) storage and 2) future expandability (namely being able to physically move the enclosure over to a freezer for use as a fermentation chamber). I thought about going the route that JonW went and have the box be separate and have ethernet ran for all the control voltage, but the more I think about it the less I like the idea of having ethernet ports exposed and would prefer to have everything stored in the box to maintain as much watertighness as possible.

I will be controlling at least 12 devices (three pumps, three solenoids, and six ball valves, and I am seriously thinking of adding a fourth pump for sumping ice water through the wort chiller). As you can imagine, using three prong wall sockets would be impractical, hence the search for some kind of pinned connector.

With that said, I am looking for some kind of quick disconnect mechanism for when I am connecting the enclosure to the rig. What I am looking for is something that has at least 12 pins that can each handle 120VAC and 1.5 amps per pin. I found these connectors, and they are along the line of what I had in mind, but I can't find any rating information for them.

http://www.directindustry.com/prod/deut ... 20458.html

I figure I could have two of the connectors, one for positive and one for common, and for the devices that require a ground (only the pumps at this time), I could probably ground to the chassis or run a single wire back to the enclosure mount.

Anyone know any more about these connectors, or know of a similar connector that would work?
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bbrally
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Re: Question about quick disconnects

Post by bbrally »

I've used lots of Deutsch connectors at work and they do make beautiful connectors. I've never used their cheaper plastic ones, but I'm sure you won't be dissapointed in them, although they can be a little pricey.

These connectors have contacts rated to 7.5 amps for the 20awg versions, so these will work fine for your needs.

I'd recommend using shielded wire on everything to help keep noise out of the temp circuits. Running the temp circuit on one connector and the power circuits on another would also help.

There are cheaper connectors if you're OK without the water tightness. If you're OK with soldering contacts, then there are cheaper connectors still. (do an ebay search for circular connector)

If money isn't the primary issue, I'd recommend connectors with removable pins and sockets (like these Deutsch). They are much easier to modify/change in the future (or when you make a mistake).
el_hombre
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Re: Question about quick disconnects

Post by el_hombre »

Thanks so much!! This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

I was planning on having separate inputs for the temp probes. I think its worth the risk of potential water issues vs. known signalling issues. I could always rig up some plugs to protect the unused temp probe plugs.

Are the contacts rated at 7.5 amps, or the whole connector? If I am reading it right the whole connector is rated at 20amps, just want to verify.
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bbrally
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Re: Question about quick disconnects

Post by bbrally »

The indivdual contacts are rated to 7.5 amps. The whole connector would be rated to the sum of all the contact amperages.
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