Safety of in-line switch in 15V DC 20 WATT line?

Question

The switch on my shredder went bad and I wired around it. Works fine except for the nuisance of having to plug in the connector for each use. Bought an "In-line Cord Switch 3A 120VAC" to install in the line, BUT the first precaution is "Connect only copper or copper clad wire to this device." Both the connector end and the end going into the transformer are sealed. Since I am dealing with only a 15V line I am wondering if I can go ahead and install it contrary to the precaution mentioned. Running time for the shredder never exceeds 5 minutes. Would appreciate an electrician's opinion on this setup. Many thanks.

Answer 1

In principle, the in-line switch should work fine.  The precaution is there to guard against installing it in an aluminum wire run (which could be a source of electrolysis).  The wire you have there is copper, anyway.

The current is not an issue - the switch is good for 3 Amps, a 20 Watt 15V line has less than 1.5 Amps.

The issue I would be concerned about, is that the wire that you install the in-line switch to is thick enough for the switch contacts to securely grab the wire.  If you deem that to not be an issue, then, you're good to go!!