Solenoid control circuit
Solenoid control circuit
(OP)
Hi,
When controlling a solenoid, many circuits use a MOSFET or Darlington driver to switch the negative terminal of the solenoid to ground - which activates the solenoid. Can one use a simple SPST switch between the negative terminal of the solenoid and ground instead of the driver circuit? I don't know how to post schematics here or I would have posted a picture. This is a low power valve application...5W max @ 24VDC
Thanks!
When controlling a solenoid, many circuits use a MOSFET or Darlington driver to switch the negative terminal of the solenoid to ground - which activates the solenoid. Can one use a simple SPST switch between the negative terminal of the solenoid and ground instead of the driver circuit? I don't know how to post schematics here or I would have posted a picture. This is a low power valve application...5W max @ 24VDC
Thanks!





RE: Solenoid control circuit
But there are a hundred things to consider. For example, perhaps the solenoid has a duty cycle limitation that the existing system monitors and controls - a switch would fail to control it and it might burn up. Also, inductive kick-back (current wants to keep flowing and makes a big spark). There are many such system-level things to consider.
RE: Solenoid control circuit
A transistor is frequently used to apply full voltage for say 300 millisecond and then turn the voltage on and off at a high frequency to obtain a lower average voltage.
Ross Engineering Corporation, www.rossengineeringcorp.com among others sell a device to power DC solenoids.
RE: Solenoid control circuit
RE: Solenoid control circuit
Jim Treglio
Tribo Coating LLC