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Is "Power Supply Off" necessary?

Tom Albrecht

Tom Albrecht

Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
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Location
Evanston, IL USA
To the best of my knowledge, many modern lathes have a main power supply switch in addition to the basic "Forward, Reverse, & Stop" switches.
Is it important, recommended, or necessary to shut down the main power supply at the end of the day?
 
I not only kill that main power switch on both lathes, I have power kill switches wired in at the wall receptacles. I never know when something sneaky is going to come down the mains from the pole outside.
 
Richard Coers said:
If you ever see ball lightning go across the floor inside your home, you wouldn’t even trust the kill switch.
Click to expand...
Phew! The next two phone calls would be:
1- 911.
2- insurance company!
Assuming I live to tell about it! 😳
 
Richard Coers said:
If you ever see ball lightning go across the floor inside your home, you wouldn’t even trust the kill switch.
Click to expand...

Family lore is that ball lightning rolled in an open door, across the floor and killed my great grandfather sitting in his chair. I never have been able to confirm the story, but the elders always told the story.
 
Tom Albrecht said:
To the best of my knowledge, many modern lathes have a main power supply switch in addition to the basic "Forward, Reverse, & Stop" switches.
Is it important, recommended, or necessary to shut down the main power supply at the end of the day?
Click to expand...
I just unplug at the end of the day.
 
Don't forget to unplug your compressor, dust collector, bandsaws, table saw, grinders, jointer, miter saw, shop vac, planer, battery chargers, tv, and drum sander! :D

Seriously though what is the criteria for what to unplug? I do have some tools that have electronics that stay on when switched off, on outlets that I switch off. I know that doesn't eliminate lightning damage, but I do have insurance.
 
James Seyfried said:
Don't forget to unplug your compressor, dust collector, bandsaws, table saw, grinders, jointer, miter saw, shop vac, planer, battery chargers, tv, and drum sander! :D

Seriously though what is the criteria for what to unplug? I do have some tools that have electronics that stay on when switched off, on outlets that I switch off. I know that doesn't eliminate lightning damage, but I do have insurance.
Click to expand...
Personally, my concern comes from protecting the VFD system, which I don't have in any of the other tools you mentioned.
 
I unplug the lathe when I’m not in the shop, and turn off the SawStop; otherwise I don’t unplug typically. So electronics in the Oneida dust collector and PM overhead air filter are active (b/c waited my for RF switch signal) just like TVs in the house etc are.

I do have a whole house surge protector wired to the load center (realistically for in-house line spikes, not for direct lighting strikes). Guess I’m rolling the dice for lighting strikes…not too worried about it.

We travel frequently (~half-time) and do typically flip shop load center breakers off if we’re going to be gone for more than a month. Not that a lightening strike couldn’t jump the house load center, then shop breakers, and then tool switch…but that’s just what I do.

As others have said I think the only real issue is not leaving VFDs and my SawStop circuitry always powered up, not for a lightning reason but just continual bias.
 
For my PM lathe I have a separate 220v disconnect plus a 220v surge protector plugged into the wall. And still unplug when traveling or a storm threatens. A disconnect switch is not ultimate protection from lightning surges.

All computers have good UPS and those plus everything else with electronics that runs on 110v power is plugged into 6 or 8 outlet Tripp-Lite surge protecters as recommended by tech pro son - these come with connected equipment insurance.


I started buying and using more of these after lightning struck a tree in my woods a few years ago - took out a fence charger at the horse pasture, a TV, and a desktop shop computer motherboard. Audio/video things plugged into the Tripp-Lite were not affected. I think the spike came through the ground and traveled to the shop through an underground ethernet cable. (Fried some ethernet switches and a router in the shop too.) I always buy good warranties on computers so a tech makes house calls to replace such things.

Note that whole-house surge protectors for breaker panels are available at electrical supply companies. The utility company not far from us put them on every breaker panel in their service area at no charge.

JKJ
 
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