How to Use a Dry Contact Input RIB Relay in a Central Vacuum System Application

In a recent tech support call, we helped a customer with a very unique application involving a vacuum system. Click here to learn more!
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V3131 Dry Contact Input RIB Relay in a Central Vacuum System Ap

In a recent technical support call, a customer of ours had a unique application. The customer had been tasked with getting an old central vacuum system back in working order for a homeowner. The homeowner knew when they purchased the home that the central vacuum was not functioning. This is he only information our customer was given.

Finding the Problem

After some troubleshooting, our customer informed the homeowner that the vacuum still worked. There was just an issue with the control module. He was unable to find a replacement for the controller. He told the customer that they would probably need to get a new vacuum/controller. The homeowner did not want to spend that much money. They asked our customer if there was any other way to get it working.

After investigating, he found the vacuum hose connections throughout the home each had a small reed switch built in. The hose attached to them had a small magnet built in. When the hose was inserted into the inlet, the reed switch was actuated by the magnet. That sent a contact closure to the control module. He also figured out a way to bypass the control module. This way the vacuum would run whenever it was powered. Now he just needed a way to get a contact closure from any of the hose inlets to send power to the vacuum. That is where the Dry Contact Input RIB® Relay came into play.

The Solution

I told him that he could take all the reed switch outputs, wire them in parallel, and connect them to the Dry Contact Input of our RIB01BDC. Then he would use the Normally Open (NO) relay contact to send power to the vacuum. That way, if the hose were inserted into any of the inlets, the RIB® would see the contact closure and close its NO contact. This would power the vacuum. The diagram below shows how this would be wired.

If you have a unique application that you cannot seem to find a solution for, contact us and maybe we can help you out. Our relays are versatile and come in many configurations, so there is a good chance we have what you need.

Henry Smith
Henry Smith

Henry Smith is the Product Design Manager at Functional Devices, Inc. He has a BS in EET obtained from Purdue University in 2014 and a lifelong interest in electronics. As an engineer at Functional Devices, he gets to provide Technical Support to our customers, from distributors to specifying engineers and installers.

Henry enjoys providing tech support, as it allows our company to assist at every level of our product’s lifecycle and exposes us to interesting and unique applications. While not every technical question is unique, even answering a simple question or providing someone with the information in a timely manner can go a long way to helping them meet a deadline.

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