240v Voltage Regulator – Motor Speed Controller.

[maverickone]

Wonder if someone can advice me on what I need to purchase to complete a little project I’m working on please.

I have a 240v electric drill mounted horizontally on a bench and I need to be able to slow the speed down to quite a slow turn.

It has a small wheel on the trigger to adjust the speed but this doesn’t adjust it slow enough. Maybe its past its best as the drill is pretty old.

I was wondering if, I can perhaps rig up a motor speed controller/voltage regulator etc that will allow me to turn a knob and get the slow speed that I require.

What would I need to buy to achieve this and how would I wire it to the drill?

The drill is 240v - 550w - 2.4A

Thanks

John

 

[JohnW2]

I have a 240v electric drill mounted horizontally on a bench and I need to be able to slow the speed down to quite a slow turn. .... I was wondering if, I can perhaps rig up a motor speed controller/voltage regulator etc that will allow me to turn a knob and get the slow speed that I require.

It depends somewhat on the motor, but if you slow it down to "quite a slow turn" by reducing the voltage, you could well end up with very little torque. What is this drill going to be doing?

Kind Regards, John

 

[maverickone]

It depends somewhat on the motor, but if you slow it down to "quite a slow turn" by reducing the voltage, you could well end up with very little torque. What is this drill going to be doing?

Kind Regards, John

Thanks for the reply. I use it for loading fishing line on and off spools. It's best explained if you watch this short video I shot. The drill has speeded up since I filmed this so I'm guessing the speed control on the trigger switch is knackered.

 

[jj4091]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Voltage-...225752&hash=item41c1e5c158:g:feYAAOSwAANY6L5U

 

[mattylad]

What ^^^ linked to - I dont think you need bother with anything else - that seems ideal.

You just need to change the plug.

(Note - there are others for less ££ but you will need to enclose and wire them yourself, have a search around ebay.)

BTW I Like the idea, winding fishing spools can be a PITA.

 

[JohnW2]

What ^^^ linked to - I dont think you need bother with anything else - that seems ideal.

I suspect someone may be along to comment on that one - particularly the Chinese writing on it, the 'interesting' socket on the side and ...

SHENZHEN WEIRUIWUXIANMAOYI YOUXIANGONGSI
Yanqin Hu
Build 1 Jinfanghua EC Industrial Park Hebei Village Xinhe Stree
518131 Shenzhen
China

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I suspect someone may be along to comment on that one

Someone will.

Maverick - the problem is that Chinese manufacturers, and Chinese sellers, are outside the jurisdiction of the UK/EU, and far too many of them are making and selling dangerous and illegal products, lying about standards compliance, and so on. As John observes, that "interesting" socket does not comply with BS 1363.

Buying from a UK seller, who is importing from China, and who is bound by UK laws, or buying products from companies who have them made in China, but are bound by UK/EU laws, etc, is one thing, but going direct carries too many risks.

 

[ericmark]

You can buy cheap battery drills for around £20 so that has to be limit which is worth paying out for any device, in the main the mains motor in drills are AC/DC however the speed controller is often AC only, the problem is not the drill motor, but the existing speed controller, for a B&D a new switch is around £18 so step one is to find if worth either getting a replacement switch or a cheap drill just to do that job? I use a cheap Lidi battery drill for driving in screws, the drill has both slow speed, and a clutch both would be an advantage for doing fishing line.

There are items which will drop voltage some with a smooth output and some with clipped wave form, but what no one knows is how will the existing speed controller act when subject to low voltage or clipped wave form. It could damage the drill. And in real terms likely a table lamp in series with drill would do the same job, select a 40, 60, or 100 watt bulb depending on speed and torque required.

 

[maverickone]

Thanks for all the input guys much appreciated. I looked at the Chinese version but as mentioned I too was a bit worried about the nightmare stories we often read regarding the many dangerous products that originate from there.

I thought I had found the answer at Argos for only £14.99. They have a cheap drill that I could use for this project only. It has a small wheel on the trigger like mine which I thought was to slow the speed down. I then watched a small video clip on the listing where they appeared to imply it was a reverse function so slightly confused about that.

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7106062

 

[rsgaz]

has a small wheel ... ... a reverse function so slightly confused about that.

The wheel is the speed control. The reverse function is this little lever that moves left and right...

 

[mattylad]

Will it go slow enough though? your other drill did not.
If you read the Q&A on that drill someone replies to a question asking if it has variable speed, apparently the one you get does not (as you can see it's not mentioned in the spec).
Ask to see it in argos itself, get them to allow you to open it then plug it in and see it work

But TBH a new drill is IMO not the solution, you need to slow it down further than the drill is designed to slow to. A speed controller is the only way.

As for china, where do you think all our high end products are made? Look around your house and read the labels. We are consumers of Chinese products.
IF what you get is not safe then you open an ebay case and get a refund. If it has some terminals you dont like then modify it, if the socket is not to BS1363 (I see it has no shutters over the pins) then (do you have kids likely to poke stuff into it?) perhaps just affix the plug onto it so it cannot be removed without a tool. Don't be scared of something because it comes from China, just be wary.

 

[ericmark]

Use the wife's sewing machine, they have a bit designed to wind bobbins with a good variable speed controller.

Using an existing drill to wind on cat gut is clearly a good idea, however buying a drill to do the job is something else.

Many years ago, I was interested in electronics, which needed one to use a soldering iron, however it took ages to heat up, and if left on, the bit would need filing and cleaning, so I built a soldering iron saver, it was a box with a socket, lamp holder, and switch, with a lead and plug supplying it. The lamp holder was wired in series with the socket, and the switch shorted out the lamp.

I tried different bulb sizes until I found one which kept the iron hot, but not hot enough to burn the tip. Very simple and it worked, OK today we have thermostatic soldering irons so not required any more. However the same result could have been got using a lamp dimmer, but why, better to keep it simple.

Today I use bulbs to keep my beer at the right temperature, they are cheap easy to change resistors, if the simple methods don't work then it has cost very little anyway.

 

[JohnW2]

I thought I had found the answer at Argos for only £14.99. They have a cheap drill that I could use for this project only. It has a small wheel on the trigger like mine which I thought was to slow the speed down.

Will it go slow enough though? your other drill did not.

We don't know exactly how slow the OP would like, but corded drills 'as they come', will often not go 'very slow'. However (probably mainly because they are widely used for screwdriving), cordless ones will often go very slow. I've just tried with a small Bosch one I have (there may well be similar cheapo ones). It doesn't have a 'speed control dial' but, rather, the speed depends on how much pressure one applies to the. With minimal pressure on that trigger, mine goes well under 0.5 revs per second, which I would think would be slow enough for anyone. The clutch ('torque control') would probably also be useful to the OP. It's possible that some cheapo cordless drill would do the job for him.

But TBH a new drill is IMO not the solution, you need to slow it down further than the drill is designed to slow to. A speed controller is the only way.

Assuming it were a relatively low-powered drill, if it were me, and given that I've probably got one 'on the shelf' I would probably try a ≥1000W light dimmer. It would be a total gamble as to what (if anything) would happen, but I would regard it as worth a try, before I went out and bought anything (new drill, 'speed controller' or whatever).

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As for china, where do you think all our high end products are made? Look around your house and read the labels. We are consumers of Chinese products.

Buying from a UK seller, who is importing from China, and who is bound by UK laws, or buying products from companies who have them made in China, but are bound by UK/EU laws, etc, is one thing, but going direct carries too many risks.

Don't be scared of something because it comes from China, just be wary.

Wary to the point of eschewing, IMO.

 

[maverickone]

Well decided to buy the Chinese one in the end. I'll disconnect the grey wire with the Chinese plug and connect it to my drill. This way I can use the Chinese socket on the unit to plug my drill into.
The Black plug & wire from my drill will replace it. Hopefully it will achieve my goal.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-220V-4000W-Voltage-Regulator-Controller-Adjust-Motor-Speed-Dimmer-Thermostat/162894790872?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649