Hello,
We are doing a project in which we need to drive a Vacuum Cleaner, which is AC, and we need to be able to regulate it's speed because we are doing Vacuum.
My only problem is finding the adequate MOSFET, I've searched a lot but I cannot find a MOSFET that's capable of 230V and about 10A that's activated with just logic level from an Arduino.
It also have to support PWM as we need to regulate the motor speed to keep a constant vacuum.
Do you have any suggestion?
Thanks in advance!
No surprice. There is not such.
Controlling AC devices needs other stuff. One attempt could be using an SSD, Solid State Relay,
I heard it was possible, sorry for my assumption in this case.
Solid state relays was another option I have planned, but I heard it does not allow fast enough switching for PWM. Am I wrong?
You need to find out if your vacuum cleaner motor supports PWM, or a dimmer-like solution (using Triacs) as a speed control method.
Hmm and are there TRIACs that supports up to 10A? Cleaner is 2000w, so 2000/230V is about 9A
Series type motors for triac phase control.
What kind of vacuum cleaner requires 4 Kw? I am not familiar with common devices that use 230 VAC but in the USA our "normal" wall outlet is limited to 15 Amps. Is this an industrial device?
Before you spend a lot of time you should identify the type of motor else any answers are just wild guess's
.
You can likely CHANGE the speed, but I doubt if you can regulate/control the speed. You will have actually know the speed to do that.
I'm sorry, I got it wrong, it's around 2000w. This is actually a friends project, I'm software developer and trying to help him
I'll have a sensor, so if it goes up a certain value I'll lower the speed and if it goes lower, I'll crank it up, I'll measure a PWM signal to get it keeping more or less a constant vacuum as a reference so I can make it smooth.
May I suggest a much more reliable way of maintaining a constant vacuum that leaves the motor alone to run at maximum speed?
Build a venting system to open and close a vent to let more or less air into the system in front of the fan that is producing the vacuum. The vacuum cleaner fan is designed to operate efficiently at one speed reducing the fan speed by very much will reduce the vacuum a whole lot and is certainly non-linear with motor speed.
This system is for a home made flight simulator, to have a mylar screen vacuum.
We know it can be regulated with a vent and a servo, but this also makes the vacuum make a lot of noise, and I'd run for several hours which I don't know if at full speed will be reliable or if it would break soon.
Hi,
If you are going to slow down an AC motor, you will need to externally provide it with a cooling system, such as a fan, not sure how much noise that will generate.
As said before you need to check your AC motor type to see if it will work with PWM controlled current.
Vacuum cleaners are designed to efficiently operate at a certain speed, the impeller itself along with the motor, may not perform as you intend when you speed control.
Tom... 
I have a friend that did it with a servo and a voltage regulator, he placed gears to move the potentiometer of the regulator.
He told us the vacuum cleaner model and he is satisfied, really silent and he says it's way better.
But we wanted to avoid using a servo to move a potentiometer, it's absurd haha
But thanks Tom!!
Many if not most current vacuum cleaners now have a speed(/ "suction") control. Of course it does not slow the motor a great deal as you always want some minimum amount of suction and as mentioned, motor cooling.
This would essentially always be simple (leading) phase control, not PWM.
But regulating a bypass vent sounds far more appropriate.
Let's say phase control, okey, how do you think I could I do it?
OK, this is a pretty standard subject.
You require a Triac rated for the appropriate current - 15 Amps - triggered by a MOC3021 which isolates the mains from your Arduino.
You sense the zero crossings of the mains using a PC814 optocoupler, again to isolate your Arduino from the mains. The circuits to do this are (fairly) readily available.
What is a "mylar screen vacuum" and why do you need a 2kw vacuum? Certainly if your vacuum needs are modest there are many other ways.
Plenty of small low voltage dc vacuum pumps around on places like Ebay that should work fine and avoid playing with mains supply voltages.
