600VDC disconnects

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petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Anyone have a source for low cost disconnects of some sort that can be applied to 600VDC sources?

I have a project that needs about 30 of them and there just is not a clean answer.
 

templdl

Senior Member
Location
Wisconsin
Anyone have a source for low cost disconnects of some sort that can be applied to 600VDC sources?

I have a project that needs about 30 of them and there just is not a clean answer.
Yes, a load break disco, that's a tough pill to swallow because the arc of DC especially at 600v is difficult to clear since it doesn't go through point zero.
It would be nicer if it were a simple isolation switch that didn't have to break a DC load.
 

texie

Senior Member
Location
Fort Collins, Colorado
Occupation
Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
Anyone have a source for low cost disconnects of some sort that can be applied to 600VDC sources?

I have a project that needs about 30 of them and there just is not a clean answer.
I think I would be inclined to check with some of the solar equipment suppliers.
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
Anyone have a source for low cost disconnects of some sort that can be applied to 600VDC sources?

I have a project that needs about 30 of them and there just is not a clean answer.
It used to be tougher to find, but the Solar business has made them more available now. Siemens, Sq. D, Cutler Hammer and GE all have "solar" disconnect switches, as in UL 98 style knife switches, available now. I know Siemens has a version that can be put in a panel with a flange mounted handle.

But if you are looking for a rotary through-door disconnect rated for 600VDC, and I assume UL listing is necessary, your choices are more limited. That process is tough because UL testing for DC switching is brutal, much more so than IEC requirements. ABB was actually the first one to get a rotary thru-door version through UL. The Socomec one that Besoeker mentions is hard to find here in the US under their own name, but many other well known North Am. companies brand label it, including Schneider, Bussman, Littlefuse and I think Eaton. Siemens was talking about doing it via Socomec too right before I left.

PS: I mentioned Eaton and Bussman as if they were still separate, LOL, my mistake. And looking at it, although the Socomec switch is still in the Bussman area, it does not show the 600VDC rating. So either Socomec lost it with UL, or they signed some sort of exclusivity deal with someone else on that version. Being a French company, I would bet Schneider.
 
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ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Anyone have a source for low cost disconnects of some sort that can be applied to 600VDC sources?

I have a project that needs about 30 of them and there just is not a clean answer.
Some three pole AC discos are rated for 600VDC if you run serpentine through them so that it breaks the circuit in three places simultaneously.
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
Some three pole AC discos are rated for 600VDC if you run serpentine through them so that it breaks the circuit in three places simultaneously.
That's actually how they almost all do it to pass UL. As far as I know, Siemens was the only one to get each pole rated for the full 600VDC, by adding a permanent magnet arc blow out. You still have to buy a 3pole switch however because that's the only way they sell it.
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
It used to be tougher to find, but the Solar business has made them more available now. Siemens, Sq. D, Cutler Hammer and GE all have "solar" disconnect switches, as in UL 98 style knife switches, available now. I know Siemens has a version that can be put in a panel with a flange mounted handle.

But if you are looking for a rotary through-door disconnect rated for 600VDC, and I assume UL listing is necessary, your choices are more limited. That process is tough because UL testing for DC switching is brutal, much more so than IEC requirements. ABB was actually the first one to get a rotary thru-door version through UL. The Socomec one that Besoeker mentions is hard to find here in the US under their own name, but many other well known North Am. companies brand label it, including Schneider, Bussman, Littlefuse and I think Eaton. Siemens was talking about doing it via Socomec too right before I left.

PS: I mentioned Eaton and Bussman as if they were still separate, LOL, my mistake. And looking at it, although the Socomec switch is still in the Bussman area, it does not show the 600VDC rating. So either Socomec lost it with UL, or they signed some sort of exclusivity deal with someone else on that version. Being a French company, I would bet Schneider.

PPS: or maybe themselves?
http://www.socomec.com/webdav/site/Socomec/shared/SCP/pdf_catalogue/photovolt/doc_163013.pdf
 
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