NEMA 4 label

Status
Not open for further replies.

Designer69

Senior Member
when you require an enclosure to be NEMA 4, does that dictate what kind of cover, door hinge or gasket type is required to be used on it?

thx
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
Not specifically. The Type 4 designation just means it passed the tests. HOW it was made to pass the test is technically irrelevant. In practice though there are few variations that pass so most mfrs stick to not having to re-invent the wheel and you end up with the same sort of designs.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
when you require an enclosure to be NEMA 4, does that dictate what kind of cover, door hinge or gasket type is required to be used on it?

thx

If you are the one requiring a NEMA4 enclosure you can also require whatever other features you want. Keep in mind that the more features you require, the more likely it is that the combination of features ends up being an expensive special order item.

Over the years I have started to gravitate away from using large type 4 enclosures outdoors toward 3R style enclosures. Not just because they are cheaper.

Most of the time if I need a type 4 enclosure indoors it ends up needing to be a type 4x anyway, although not always.

I mostly use a style of enclosure (at least for smaller ones) that is both type 4 and 12. No extra cost.
 

jdsmith

Senior Member
Location
Ohio
Most of the time if I need a type 4 enclosure indoors it ends up needing to be a type 4x anyway, although not always.

I mostly use a style of enclosure (at least for smaller ones) that is both type 4 and 12. No extra cost.

Speaking as a facility engineer at a process plant, we're moving in the same direction. Anything outside is called out as type 4X with stainless construction - the 4X fiberglass boxes don't hold up in a heavy industrial environment.

Anything inside is typically NEMA 12 for two reasons: the dust-tight characteristic is important as opposed to NEMA 1, and NEMA 12 enclosures are physically much sturdier than NEMA 1/3R since the mainstream ones use heavier gauge steel that is continuously welded.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top