Burnt Polaris tap

A

analog8484

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Tech
ramsy said:
Ignoramus contractors are not likely to check for fakes, Polaris, breakers, or otherwise, much less recognize it starring them in the face, but that's the reality of demand for business transactions free from regulatory leverage with possible tax assessment.
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So, you are implying it could be a fake Polaris tap that failed in the OP? If so, how do you check for a fake Polaris tap?
 
M

macmikeman

Senior Member
Location
Planet macmikeman
I'm jumping straight in without reading all the replies but it looks like somebody was in a hurry and forgot to tighten the connection.
I got several calls to check power outages at a certain multistory brand new apartment building happening to random units. Every one I checked had the same problem- the conductors at the main breakers for the units that failed were never tightened into the breaker at all, just laid in and easy to pull right out.
 
R

ramsy

Roger Ruhle dba NoFixNoPay
Location
LA basin, CA
Occupation
Service Electrician 2020 NEC
analog8484 said:
So, you are implying it could be a fake Polaris tap that failed in the OP? If so, how do you check for a fake Polaris tap?
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At least twice a year ETL, TUV, & UL host IAEI meetings for local-government inspectors to recognize the NRTL labels, and provide a point of contact for any suspicious labeling or listing questions, albeit regardless of labels nameplate violations can equally identify fakes.

The better point here is most operator error is caused by ignoramus installers and their employees, who can't pass inspections, can't recognize illegal nameplates, appliances, or listing violations, much less check their material prices with reliable suppliers.
 
ActionDave

ActionDave

Chief Moderator
Staff member
Location
Durango, CO, 10 h 20 min from the winged horses.
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Licensed Electrician
ramsy said:
At least twice a year ETL, TUV, & UL host IAEI meetings for local-government inspectors to recognize the NRTL labels, and provide a point of contact for any suspicious labeling or listing questions, albeit regardless of labels nameplate violations can equally identify fakes.

The better point here is most operator error is caused by ignoramus installers and their employees, who can't pass inspections, can't recognize illegal nameplates, appliances, or listing violations, much less check their material prices with reliable suppliers.
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I can't tell if you know what you are talking about, but I know for sure that I can't.
 
E

electro7

Senior Member
Location
Northern CA, US
Occupation
Electrician, Solar and Electrical Contractor
ramsy said:
At least twice a year ETL, TUV, & UL host IAEI meetings for local-government inspectors to recognize the NRTL labels, and provide a point of contact for any suspicious labeling or listing questions, albeit regardless of labels nameplate violations can equally identify fakes.

The better point here is most operator error is caused by ignoramus installers and their employees, who can't pass inspections, can't recognize illegal nameplates, appliances, or listing violations, much less check their material prices with reliable suppliers.
Click to expand...
If something is stamped "UL" I assume it's UL Listed. Is there something else I should look for?

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A

analog8484

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Tech
ramsy said:
At least twice a year ETL, TUV, & UL host IAEI meetings for local-government inspectors to recognize the NRTL labels, and provide a point of contact for any suspicious labeling or listing questions, albeit regardless of labels nameplate violations can equally identify fakes.

The better point here is most operator error is caused by ignoramus installers and their employees, who can't pass inspections, can't recognize illegal nameplates, appliances, or listing violations, much less check their material prices with reliable suppliers.
Click to expand...
Sure but I guess what I am asking is whether you are specifically aware of the existence of fake Polaris taps in the field.
 
P

PWDickerson

Senior Member
Location
Clinton, WA
Occupation
Solar Contractor
I'm with Macmikeman. This looks exactly like a simple case of someone neglecting to tighten a set screw. I am very doubtful that this was a result of over-torquing. We use these connectors (another brand actually, but essentially the same thing) all the time, and in the smaller sizes, if you apply excessive torque, the head of the set screw strips out and the allen wrench spins in the head. This happens before any damage occurs to the conductor strands.
 
BackCountry

BackCountry

Electrician
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Licensed Electrician and General Contractor
electro7 said:
Was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on what happened in the photo attached.

This tap was made in a NEMA 3R enclosure mounted on a groundmount array with Enphase microinverters. It was from one phase of a 9 panel circuit. No evidence of any ground fault occurred in the box. They did get high snow levels but there didn't seem to be any water damage in the box.

I am starting to wonder about the polaris taps since I've seen this before with them.
2c70a797e069a1fdd16ddb9b0add4c2a.jpg


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I’ll throw my two cents in:

Was the tap facing up or down, ie. could it drain? If it’s inside a 3R enclosure, I always face them up. I’d wonder if it got wet, it looks a little green on the copper. If the snow level got high enough to fill the enclosure or cause condensation, it could happen. 9 modules on a Enphase array should have been #10 unless it was upsized for distance, if that was the case I guess I buy using a Polaris connector, I’d have just used a wire nut personally (also facing up).

I’ve never had a Polaris connector fail, although we dress them up a bit and tape the larger ones.
 
E

electro7

Senior Member
Location
Northern CA, US
Occupation
Electrician, Solar and Electrical Contractor
BackCountry said:
I’ll throw my two cents in:

Was the tap facing up or down, ie. could it drain? If it’s inside a 3R enclosure, I always face them up. I’d wonder if it got wet, it looks a little green on the copper. If the snow level got high enough to fill the enclosure or cause condensation, it could happen. 9 modules on a Enphase array should have been #10 unless it was upsized for distance, if that was the case I guess I buy using a Polaris connector, I’d have just used a wire nut personally (also facing up).

I’ve never had a Polaris connector fail, although we dress them up a bit and tape the larger ones.
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I do have high suspicion it was water condensation. Lesser suspicion is a torque issue, although possible.

I'm looking at the Wago products as an alternative. It looks like they have a great solution, just trying to find out the voltage rating for them.



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BackCountry

BackCountry

Electrician
Location
Southern California
Occupation
Licensed Electrician and General Contractor
electro7 said:
I do have high suspicion it was water condensation. Lesser suspicion is a torque issue, although possible.

I'm looking at the Wago products as an alternative. It looks like they have a great solution, just trying to find out the voltage rating for them.



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They’re fine for Enphase, I’ve found them rated at 600v — the end all be all for me is the Ideal yellow and red twister wire nuts, they’re rated at 1000v so they’re good for ground mounts with a high string voltage.

If you’re going to use Wago’s, they do make a dual port rated to #10 that’s a lever nut. I want to say it’s only rated to 480v which is random.
 
rambojoe

rambojoe

Senior Member
Location
phoenix az
Occupation
Wireman
The old 18v dewalt impacts (at least mine) maxes out at around 18flbs with 5/16" allens... im not sure this polaris was 3/16".. not really alot..
 
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