How to find a replacement switch?

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I'm treying to find one of these:

So far without much success. Thoughts on what I should be searching for, or pointers?

(Its for an angle grinder.)
 
KeepItSimpleStupid said:
This "huang switch dkp4-11" got me something.
Click to expand...

Slightly different ordering to what I was using; but still nothing found on DDG. I will have to make a habit of trying google if DDG fails; before asking.

Thanks.

Unfortunately, of the 3 likely links, only amazon has the right thing listed, but it comes from a supplier in Poland (via Amazon.de) and they won't deliver to the UK.
 
It would, except at Amazon.de "Your selected delivery location is beyond seller's delivery coverage for this item. Please choose a different delivery location or purchase from another seller. "

And at Amazon.co.uk: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock. "
 
Last edited:
Could you adapt to a rocker switch? They are available in many sizes, so you might be able to find one to fit in the space taken by the existing switch.

 
Visitor said:
Could you adapt to a rocker switch?
Click to expand...

Not easily. The switch is embedded entirely in the body of the device way down at the base, and is operated remotely via spring loaded slider mechanism.

And the space in which the switch sits is designed to take a switch of this exact size. Bigger wouldn't fit. Smaller would flop around.
 
Anyone know why they would use a DPST switch to make/break both live and neutral?

Not all grinders do. Many use only a SPST in the live side.

I ask because it is the neutral side of the switch that is broken, the live side works (for now); so I'm considering bypassing the neutral side of the switch, but I'm not sure if that creates a risk of some kind.
 
Visitor said:
Bypassing the neutral side should be fine
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's what I thought, but its nice to have it confirmed. Even if only by a stranger on the internet

It lives. Too early in the morning to do more than a quick pulse test; but it passed that.
 
Another stranger says it's OK too.

If you have room, but the capacitors are large, you can put one across the contact. The capacitors are known as X and Y safety capacitors.
The type has specific applications and how they are connected, They are designed to fail open. There is whole bich of stuff to research.
A capacitor will help protect the AC contact.
 
KeepItSimpleStupid said:
Another stranger says it's OK too.
Click to expand...

Thanks That's the best bit of online fora; if one stranger advises something silly, there are usually enough knowledgable other strangers watching that cannot resist the urge to correct them

to keep things real


No room. It was an intense fiddle to get the extra bit of wire connecting the two neutral side terminals. (It's always a game trying to get a good connection when inserting wire into a screw terminal from both sides.)

That said, there is a capacitor in there already. The red object just to the left of the switch is a fairly substantial capacitor that appears to be connected across the outputs from the switch. I cannot easily confirm that, or the actual capacity or rating without risking breaking wires trying to get a look at any markings.


For now, my ~ 30 y/o grinder seems to be working again. I'll try it out later once SWMBO and the rest of the world are awake.
 
I had the same problem with a hot air soldering station – the neutral side of the power switch failed open. Bridging it out worked for several (many?) months until I found the right size rocker switch to replace it.
 
To add extra confirmation, switching just one side of the mains is perfectly fine - 'usually' you would switch the live, but a few years back quite a few TV sets started switching neutral instead, which I found quite bizarre. Historically TV's often only used single pole switches, and that was back in the days of two pin plugs, so you could be switching live or neutral.

As many have said, it's often very difficult to find a replacement switch, particularly for something this old.
 
Nigel Goodwin said:
it's often very difficult to find a replacement switch, particularly for something this old.
Click to expand...

Indeed. The annoying thing is, they are available in Germany (amazon.de), but Brexit means they are no longer shipped to the uk.

I've contacted a Polish concern that advertises them for sale, but no response yet.
 
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