Need rotary switch 7 positions 4 poles

[soldar]

I have a hot plate for cooking and the rotary switch, which was crap, failed. The contacts need to control just under 4A and they were undersized. It is an old proprietary switch and no way to find an exact replacement.

I need to control 4 poles and for now I am using 4 individual switches and it works but I need to have a reminder card to know what switches to open or close for each power setting.

I could use a 7 or 8 position, 4 pole (4 deck), rotary switch rated for 4 or 5 Amps. The contacts need to switch a max of 4 A at 230 Vac from mains but everything I find is just too expensive and not worth it. This is just a cheap hot plate and I am not going to spend more than it is worth.

Or maybe there is some easy way to control the 4 switches with rotary cam wheels.

Any ideas?

[themadhippy]

4 relays and a stock 1 pole rotary switch,use 240v coil relays and no additional psu needed.Of course all depends how much is too much.

[sparkydog]

Yes, as noted, I have a feeling you're better off using relays (or triacs!) and an alternate control scheme. 4A seems to be a lot of current for a rotary switch; you're asking to put almost 1kW through it. Sure, for "simple" variants (e.g. 1-deck, 3-position) you might find those and they might be reasonably priced. Otherwise, the only option I'm even seeing is NKK Switches HS16-4N which is going to set you back >$70.

Honestly, your lowest-BOM option might be to use a pot and an MCU... at which point you might consider adding a thermistor/thermocouple so you can actually control the temperature.

[soldar]

Thank you both. As I said, I have it working with four simple switches and this is just an attempt to improve it, especially so I don't have to explain to others the complicated scheme of hand switches. I'd rather stay away from relays and such but if I went that way I would rather go with electronic relays than mechanical.

It seems to me the switches for resistive cooking elements are way undersized and fail often.

If I had more interest in this maybe I could try to build myself some wheels with cams that actuated four switches but I probably not finish it.

[_EDMAR_]

My Dad was a great Tesla fan. I have acquired most of his older electronics from the '50s '60s '70s.
I don't have the specs for most of what I have.
But these wafer-switches were fun to play with when I was kid.