MLCS 9410 20-Amp Heavy Duty Router Speed Control

The is the second time I’ve purchased this controller for my honey extractor. The first one lasted well over 25 years. Worked perfectly until I dropped it. I’m positive this will last just as long.

I used this to slow the speed on a table mounted router. It worked perfectly. My Only recommended improvement would be to add a method to attach it to the side of a table. It comes with a clip on the back that is fine for attaching it to your belt but not to a table.

I purchased this to replace a couple of cheap Harbor Freight speed controls because of the claims of "Full Power at Every Speed". This should be "Full power at speeds that are pretty fast or speeds that your router will start at" With this unit all routers were very erratic (even under a load) and would not start below 10K (Sometimes they would start but be at a very different RPM). I tried this unit on 3 different routers that all work just fine with the Harbor Freight model 43060. With the Harbor Freight I can run them down to about 5K just fine, I do loose torque, but the routers will start and stop just fine with the switch. I contacted MLCS customer service, they were very friendly but could not provide any remedy. They advised me to return it for a refund. I have been shopping online for several years, this is probably the 3rd bad review I have written, I really think customers should avoid this product unless you need speeds of 10K or higher.

I recently purchased the red, 15-amp model by this same company. And it worked great except for one flaw that I mentioned in the review and it was that tiny saw dust built up inside the unit and a year later it caused the device to short and thus no-longer capable of doing a "variable speed". I wrote that if only they had a way to cover the product from dust. I purchased this model to replace that old one and this model came with a clear plastic sleeve that covers the entire unit except for the knob - but it's covered in such a way that no dust can get in as long as you hang it in it's upright position. Works just as good as the 15-amp and I'm confident it will last much longer.Well worth it's price.- Belal

I was using the smaller 15A version of the router speed controller, the very common version which lots of sellers have for around $18. The trouble with that one was that I am using it with a popcorn popper (resistive load) which maxes out near 1500W and sometimes I would trip some sort of internal thermal protection, and the unit would shut off for 3 or 4 minutes to reset. That unit worked fine until you reached the thermal limit; it would vary from 0 to 100% very repetitively, very consistent. But it was too weak... so I ordered this new 20A unit. After a couple uses, I can say this new unit remains MUCH cooler... only problem is, it does not vary the load very well. You get from 0 to about 50% or maybe a tad more at full max of the dial... so if you want more than 50% of your load, you have to use the switch to go from VAR(iable) to FULL... so you can vary under 50%, and over 50% you have no variation at all, its on or off. For when it does work, its great and remains very cool (the 15A unit gets very hot); but it just does not provide the upper variability that I need.

I use in my router table an older single-speed PC 3.5 hp plunge router that I made several modifications on (installed a Router Raizer, replaced the post lock with a longer lever and removed the spring, bypassed the soft start, installed a Musclechuck, and probably more stuff that I can't remember). It still works like a champ except I can't run larger bits in it because of the speed--which takes away all the benefit of having a larger router. I've tried router speed controls before and they all delivered the same disappointment: less speed meant less torque. Those speed controls were basically worthless--dimmer switches--because at slower speeds my router didn't have enough power to rout anything, let alone anything that I was using a larger bit with.I read the claim that this MLCS speed control is different--the router maintains torque under slower speeds. In my experience so far, this control it true to the claim. I didn't notice a significant decrease in torque when running at a slower speed. So now I can use my larger bits with my larger router.There's one problem that may not really be a problem, though. The speed control doesn't cover the full range of speeds. It does okay at the lowest speeds, but once the speed is increased to a certain rpm, the router cuts out. I don't think that's a problem because I likely wouldn't run my larger bits at a faster speed anyway. It seems that the slower speeds are about in the sweet spot.At any rate, it works for me. It's not perfect, but I'm satisfied that it'll do the job.

Using this with a single speed Porter Cable 7519 model 3-1/4hp router. The slowest speed settings sometimes run a bit rough as the load varies on the motor, but the upper three fourths of the dial are consistent. With no load on the router, the speed control provided a range from 13,000 RPM to 18,000 RPM as measured with a digital tachometer. Switching the controller to the "full" power mode brought the router up to its rated 24,000 RPM speed. This controller uses the case as an external heat sink and runs cooler than lower amperage units.

The variable speed control was just what I needed. I recently picked up a PC 7518 which needed to be cleaned up. The router’s electronic board and variable speed was trashed. I removed the board and used this to get my router back up and running.