Arc flash protection suits

[richardthomas]

We are going to purchase an arc flash protection suit. We are trying to figure out what cal/cm rating would best meet our needs. We generally work with 500 volts or less-up to 3,000 amps. Does anyone have an idea on which rating would be best for us or know the name of a person that will help us with that? The company that sells the suits will not help us with this info. Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[raider1]

I have moved this thread to the safety forum, as it is not NEC related.

Chris

 

[billsnuff]

Do you have a copy of 2009 NFPA 70E ?

Has an Arc Flash Survey been completed ?

What is the task you need to suit up for ?

Have you read the FAQs in the Safety section ? If not, start here first.

Zog, phones ringing>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[jim dungar]

PPE needs to be chosen based on the voltage and the available Calories/cm?. The ampacity of the circuit has nothing to do with the PPE selection.

One key requirement for being considered as a qualified employee, is knowing how to select the correct PPE. Have you had any NFPA 70E training yet?

 

[Microwatt]

We are going to purchase an arc flash protection suit. We are trying to figure out what cal/cm rating would best meet our needs. We generally work with 500 volts or less-up to 3,000 amps. Does anyone have an idea on which rating would be best for us or know the name of a person that will help us with that? The company that sells the suits will not help us with this info. Thank you in advance for any help.

Before my time, my employer went out and bought (2) 100cal. suits just to be safe. Man do they suck to work in. Typically, 11cal. is good enough, but a study would be a good idea. I was told by a Calorie suit rep. that anything over 40 cal. is for body identification. He said a 40 cal. blast is about equivilant to 3 sticks of TNT detonating.

 

[zog]

We are going to purchase an arc flash protection suit. We are trying to figure out what cal/cm rating would best meet our needs. We generally work with 500 volts or less-up to 3,000 amps. Does anyone have an idea on which rating would be best for us or know the name of a person that will help us with that? The company that sells the suits will not help us with this info. Thank you in advance for any help.

What kind of company do you work for?

 

[mxstar211]

Before your company invests in the suits, your company should invest in some Arc Flash Hazard training. Then you should be able to conduct arc flash hazard analysis to determine the proper ppe.

 

[zog]

We are going to purchase an arc flash protection suit.

You will need several

We are trying to figure out what cal/cm rating would best meet our needs.

You need to do an arc flash study to figure that out

We generally work with 500 volts or less-up to 3,000 amps.

Typically the highest arc flash values you will find are on 480V switchgear. This is due to the high fault currents combined with the lack of INST trips on the main breakers, much worse senario than your typical 5kV or 15kV systems found in industrial plants. In fact many times the hazard level is higher than any PPE can protect you from.

Does anyone have an idea on which rating would be best for us or know the name of a person that will help us with that? The company that sells the suits will not help us with this info. Thank you in advance for any help.

The company selling the suits can't help you any more than we can. As others have mentioned, you need an arc flash analysis and some quality training before you begin to think about purchasing the suits. Tell us some more about your situation and I can guide you along and put you in contact with the right people.

 

[mxstar211]

Before my time, my employer went out and bought (2) 100cal. suits just to be safe. Man do they suck to work in. Typically, 11cal. is good enough, but a study would be a good idea. I was told by a Calorie suit rep. that anything over 40 cal. is for body identification. He said a 40 cal. blast is about equivilant to 3 sticks of TNT detonating.

Keep in mind the flash is designed to keep you from recieving 3rd degree burns, which are not curable. Once you start hitting 40 cal/cm^2 and higher, you would need to worry about other things such as the pressure from the blast, and all the hot copper you will be breathing in. Just because there is a flash suit rated to for 40 cal, doesn't mean it is still safe to work on while energized.

 

[wtucker]

Check out 70E's Annex H: For Hazard Risk Categories up to 2*, FR shirt and pants or coveralls @ 8 cal. (you're going to need the hard hat, safety glasses, face shield and FR balaclava, too--not to mention the gloves and stuff). Below 600 V, the only work you'd do above HRC 2* is removal of bolted covers, which is HRC 4, requiring a clothing system with 40 cal. protection. Simple solution is to limit the number of guys who do that work, and provide 40-cal. protection only for them.

A 100-cal. flash suit is way over the top for the work you're doing. They're hot, bulky, and you can't see out of them. The face shield and balaclava (a balaclava's like a ski mask) is way more comfortable. Cheaper, too.