I just bought a dehumidifier for my soon to be finished basement. Based on the basement layout I also got a condensate pump so I can pump up the water to drain it above the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier has wiring terminals for a normally closed float switch (which the condensate pump has built in) that will shut off the dehumidifier if there is a problem. I was hoping to put the whole setup in a condensate pan in case something goes wrong with the dehumidifier/drain (is this overkill?). The installation manual says:
Install a condensate overflow safety switch (i.e. float switch) in the condensate pan, remove the factory installed jumper wire between the Float Switch terminals on the control and wire the float switch to the dehumidifier as shown in figure 10. Overflow safety switches on condensate pumps can be wired to the Float Switch terminals in a similar fashion.
Which to my naive reading sounds like they are suggesting putting the switches in parallel. Am I correct that since the switches are normally closed, they need to go in series?
Best Answer
Your instructions are basically telling you this:
Remove the JUMPER from Float Switch terminals.
Wire the Float Switch to the terminals (you should have two wires - one wire goes to one terminal the other wire to the other terminal) Does not matter which wire just that they are wired one to one terminal and the other wire to the other terminal.
The Switch makes the connection or breaks the connection. Considering it is Jumpered you want the Switch to open when the overflow level is reached.
To Answer your question about series or parallel:
Both Switches Normally Closed in Series. A AND B = ON
Both Switches Normally Closed in Parallel. A OR B = ON