Any ideas?

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

ElectricianJeff

Senior Member
Location
Southern Illinois
Was rewiring a disposal last week and ran into this switch. This was incorporated into the cold water supply line of the sink and the electrical supply line to the disposal passed threw it and then to a snap switch inside the sink cabinet.

Home was built in 1870 and the kitchen added around 1900. The owners were curious as to what function it could have ever served. I didn't have any idea and neither did the plumber.

Can anybody help me out? I will be doing more there and I told them I would do some checking.

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • 100_0318[1].jpg
    100_0318[1].jpg
    126.1 KB · Views: 0
  • 100_0317[1].jpg
    100_0317[1].jpg
    139.1 KB · Views: 0
WAG... a pressure switch which automatically turned on the disposal upon [full-] open cold water valve of faucet.
 
If it was the only control as smart said.

If there was also a hand switch as well, that could be a flow switch that requires flow to before the disposer can operate. Some commercial disposers are set up that way.

Or I could have no idea.
 
ElectricianJeff said:
Was rewiring a disposal last week and ran into this switch. This was incorporated into the cold water supply line of the sink and the electrical supply line to the disposal passed threw it and then to a snap switch inside the sink cabinet.
Click to expand...
From your photo #1, I can see the microswitch is a single pole.

I agree with the others. The most likely scenario: when the water flows, the microswitch lets power go to the snap switch. When the user wants to run the disposal, they can, from the snap switch, but only when the water is flowing.

When I apprenticed, my cautious Master instructed me sternly to NEVER test the customer's brand new disposal without running water running into it.
 
iwire said:
If it was the only control as smart said.

If there was also a hand switch as well, that could be a flow switch that requires flow to before the disposer can operate. Some commercial disposers are set up that way.

Or I could have no idea.
Click to expand...
Could be either... flow or pressure... but flow is the better option of the two.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top