11 replies to this topic

[griffindodd]

I see a lot of people using the Siemens contactors, but is there any reason why they are better than these? (I'm using Zeb's power boards to drive my contactors) Allen Bradley Contactor 100-A09NZ*3 100A09NZ3 Ser B 24V

http://www.ebay.com/...V-/290350630155

 

 

Contactor

Cat No: 100-A09NZ*3

Ser B

AC3:Ie = 9A Max

600 Volts Max

Torque: 12lb.-in.

Coil Voltage: 24V  DC NB714

10E

Surge Suppressor: Cat No: 199-FSMZ-1 Ser B

6  300VDC

Condition: Used, But in good working condition, No Box

 

 

[Gamester]

I don't think anyone around here has tried that type. So...only one way to find out.  The price is certainly right.

 

We'll await your full report.    Would be nice to have alternatives.  I have a feeling that we are all driving the prices up for each other on the Siemens ones...

[griffindodd]

Yeah I think that might be the case. From what I can see these seem to have the same specs and may even be stronger than the siemens at 12lb torque, I think the Siemens are 10lb (not 100% on that). Any hooo, I can get 8 of these used, shipped for $35, so I'm going to give them a try.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/...:EOIBSA:US:3160

Edited by griffindodd, 04 March 2013 - 08:35 PM.

[zebulon]

Most contactors have roughly the same amount of thump. (hint....the higher the load voltage rating, the heavier the contact). The cheaper the better.

[kbelcher]

I bought these just now on ebay...$50 for 10 of them shipped. Will try to remember to post how they work once I get my ZEB boards and get them installed.

 

Cheers!

[zebulon]

They'll be on their way soon, just waiting on a couple of parts due this week....

[mountaingamer]

I bought 8 of these contactors also - couldn't pass on the price. They seem to work fine - I am still waiting on my 24v power supply, but I used a 18v ryobi drill battery to test them & they pull about .3 amps. As long as they stay under .4 amps @ 24v I'm gonna wire them direct to the led-wiz. If I let the smoke out then Ill get zebs board.

[metlfan2003]

I bought a lot of 11 similar Allen Bradley contactors last year for my cab-in-progress, and they seem to work great. I don't have the specs on them with me, but the model number is 700DC-F400 Series C. The ones I got were used, but I only paid $27 for 11 of them (they were actually $5 with $22 shipping!)

 

I was kinda taking a risk with them since most people here were getting Siemens 12v contactors, but I was willing to try them considering the price. Mine also came with the Allen Bradley diodes, so that made wiring them a little easier. I wired them up last year to test them briefly with a LED wiz and Zeb's booster board, and they worked fine. The reaction time may be a bit slower than a Siemens (I can't confirm this since I have none to compare to) but I have no complaints.

 

Out of the 11 I got, two of them would pull in, but with almost no noise. These were visbly very dirty and appeared to be the oldest of the bunch. I take it that the coil is probably very weak from use and will most likely not use them. I just recently screwed one on the side of my cab and tested with a 24v power supply and they are LOUD. I'm hoping after everything is in there and the glass is on they will be a bit less loud actually.

 

Allen Bradley contactors appear to be a bit easier to come by then the Siemens ones, and the prices seem cheaper as well.

[mountaingamer]

I agree they are pretty loud! I got my power supply today and they make quite the bang in the cabinet. I'm waiting for my diodes to arrive ($1.30 on eBay vs $12 at radio shack) before I wire them to the led-wiz.......now I get what the diode does - if you hold bare wires and energize the contractor with them, you get a little zap when you remove the wire from the contractor - I assume that's what the diode blocks. I think it will be allot quieter with the tv play field and glass installed - real pins are way louder & "clickier" when the glass is off.

[gyom]

Ebay is the way to go to buy electronics components.. if you're willing to wait 3 weeks!

 

 

Just make sure to know how much amp they draw if you're connecting them directly on the LedWiz. It's 500ma per output, but not all at the same time I think.. so if they all lauch at the same time you might have some problems! Maybe you need to check that with someone (I don't use the LedWiz).. but if they draw 300ma each, I think you would have to make sure that only 1 lauch at a time.

 

 

 

I too use contactors that draw around 350ma (only in theory using the coil resistance and a bit of ohm law, didn't tested them yet). Since I'm connecting it to an Arduino (only 30ma per output), I found a little chip that could handle 500ma at 24v (50v max) to drive my contactors -> ULN2803 (I think it's actually what the ledwiz use lol)

http://www.ebay.com/...ME:L:OU:CA:3160

Edited by gyom, 09 May 2013 - 02:41 PM.

[mountaingamer]

Well now I'm nervous! Tonight I wired up one side of my cabinet and tried to test the contractors before wiring to the ledwiz. Using a digital meter and completing the circuit to one contractor with the meter on amps it pulled .33 amps. I'm not sure if I would need to use a second meter and test another contractor with it at the same time but guess that would give a similar result as the load on the ledwiz on different outputs. I don't have a second meter to run the simultaneous test, so instead I tested two contractors at once with the one meter and the current draw shot up to .66 amps - yikes!

[gyom]

Well I've read a bit more on this since like I said I'm gonna use contactors in the same range as yours..

 

 

I'm far from being an expert on the matter, but here's what I've understand: The ULN2803, which is used by the LedWiz (4 of them) to drive it's output. In theory, from the datasheets, it should be able to handle 500ma per output. So the problem is not the current, but the power. I don't know what brand the LedWiz use, but mine are Toshiba so I take the info from it's datasheet: The power dissipation rating is 1,47watt for the whole chip (0,76w recommanded). So again from what I've understand.. that power dissipation (heat) comes from that voltage drop from the emiter (Vce) which is normaly between 1.0v-1.6v depending on the output voltage.. If 1 contactor draw 330ma and the voltage drop is at the max 1.6v, with a bit of ohm law it = 0.528w. So 1 contactor running at 100% will make the chip dissipate 0.528w of heat, which is near the 0,76w recommanded (and again from what I've read it's really not recommanded to go to the max 1,47w even with a head sink which I don't think the LedWiz as). If you take 2 contactors -> 0.528w * 2 = 1,056w, 8 contactors -> 0.528w * 2 = 4,224.. and the chip probably explodes lol.

 

 

But again, I guess there's some way to optimise this with a bit of brain.. like the contactor shouldn't run at 100% cycle duty except for the flippers for a couple of seconds. But I would put more than 3-4 contactors per chip and making sure to seperate them logically..

Edited by gyom, 10 May 2013 - 01:11 PM.