Several low voltage breaker panels at our facility have been contaminated with the oily substance that results from the plasticizer used in wire insulation, Schneider Bulletin 0110DB0301R05/11
The bulletin recommends that any breakers that have been contaminated be replaced but I have removed several and cleaned them and I suspect they are probably fine, but I would like to test them. I imagined using a 120/12V 750VA transformer feeding the breaker then eight (8) 2 ohm 100W resistors in parallel (0.25 ohm total resistance. This would allow 12V/0.25 ohm = 48A to flow through the breaker and cover my power requirements (12V x 48A = 576W) for the transformer (750 VA) and resistors (8 x 100W = 800W). The breakers are rated at 20A which means that they will trip in less than 2 min at 40A (I am hoping that 48A will help them trip faster).
just looking at the breaker panel I would need to replace at least 15 breakers ($1680 @ $112 each) and possibly more if there is contamination that is not immediately visible. I could purchase the items for the test rig described above for about $200.
The bulletin recommends that any breakers that have been contaminated be replaced but I have removed several and cleaned them and I suspect they are probably fine, but I would like to test them. I imagined using a 120/12V 750VA transformer feeding the breaker then eight (8) 2 ohm 100W resistors in parallel (0.25 ohm total resistance. This would allow 12V/0.25 ohm = 48A to flow through the breaker and cover my power requirements (12V x 48A = 576W) for the transformer (750 VA) and resistors (8 x 100W = 800W). The breakers are rated at 20A which means that they will trip in less than 2 min at 40A (I am hoping that 48A will help them trip faster).
just looking at the breaker panel I would need to replace at least 15 breakers ($1680 @ $112 each) and possibly more if there is contamination that is not immediately visible. I could purchase the items for the test rig described above for about $200.
- Does this test setup seem feasible? Did I miss anything?
- Does it seem worth it?