So I’ve wondering why all the disconnect switch manufacturers, Schneider, Eaton etc. list all their switches as 240v but sometimes elsewhere I’ve seen the same switches listed as 600v. Why the difference in voltage? Thanks.
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What do you mean by "the same switches"? Two switches might look the same, but might have been built, tested, and rated differently.
A component's voltage rating is based on the ability of its materials of construction to prevent leakage current from the internal current-carrying parts to the outside world. A switch rated 600 volts would be more robust, more capable of prevent leakage current, than one rated for 240 volts.
That said, a manufacturer might take two identical switches, both capable of handling 600 volts, and label one at 600V and the other at 240V. Why would they do that? For marketing purposes. I suppose they want customers to feel comfortable getting only what they need (i.e., a 240V switch), without paying for what they don't need (i.e., a 600V switch).Charles E. Beck, P.E., Seattle
Comments based on 2017 NEC unless otherwise noted.
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Originally posted by charlie b View Post... That said, a manufacturer might take two identical switches, both capable of handling 600 volts, and label one at 600V and the other at 240V. Why would they do that? For marketing purposes. I suppose they want customers to feel comfortable getting only what they need (i.e., a 240V switch), without paying for what they don't need (i.e., a 600V switch).[/FONT]
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Originally posted by PaulMmn View Post
A friend worked part time for a florist. You order long-stem roses, you pay extra. You order short-stem roses, they cut the extra length off of the long-stem roses.
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Originally posted by ggunn View Post
A semiconductor company I once worked for sold two versions of a microprocessor, and one was significantly more expensive than the other. They were exactly the same chip inside the package, but the cheaper one had fewer pins bonded out.
And, I believe, the pinouts for the A and B version used the same pinouts as the 1K version, so unless you only bought one letter or the other, you needed 2 versions of the circuit board to accommodate them!
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Originally posted by ggunn View Post
A semiconductor company I once worked for sold two versions of a microprocessor, and one was significantly more expensive than the other. They were exactly the same chip inside the package, but the cheaper one had fewer pins bonded out.
Just a hunch, may have been another company.
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Originally posted by horsegoer View PostSo I’ve wondering why all the disconnect switch manufacturers, Schneider, Eaton etc. list all their switches as 240v but sometimes elsewhere I’ve seen the same switches listed as 600v. Why the difference in voltage? Thanks.
For it the most part in the heavy duty versions they only make one switch rated for 600V. Then if you want or fused, the placement of the fuse clips is different between 240v and 600V.
In some lines of “general duty” disconnects they may stop at 240V because the entire reason this to exist is to be cheaper.__________________________________________________ ____________________________
Many people are shocked when they discover I am not a good electrician...
I'm in California, ergo I am still stuck on the 2014 NEC... We'll get around to the 2017 code in around 2021.
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