General-purpose enclosures - interpretation
- Thread starter przedpel
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It would probably help to look at 110.28 which lists the many different types of enclosures.
A "general purpose enclosure" (TYpe 1) would be one that was not subject to the other elements listed in that Section
A "general purpose enclosure" (TYpe 1) would be one that was not subject to the other elements listed in that Section
Carultch
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
Enclosure is a fancy word for "box" or "housing".
General purpose means that there isn't any specific feature that the enclosure has to have. Such as waterproofing or corrosion resistance.
There is a NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) scale for rating enclosures, and here is the executive summary of the most common types you'll deal with are as follows:
NEMA1 - simple enclosure for an indoor environment for a generic electrical application. Not built to prevent water from entering, but it blocks dust and debris, and provides a housing to prevent people from touching live parts inside.
NEMA3R - raintight enclosure that can be outdoors when installed in an orientation specified by the manufacturer. Usually this is an enclosure that sheds water coming from the top, and allows draining of water out the bottom. So if you turn it upside-down or lay it flat, it is no longer raintight.
NEMA4 - outdoor enclosure that can be mounted in any orientation, and still be raintight.
NEMA4X - just like NEMA4, except that it is made out of an inherently corrosion resistant material, such as stainless or aluminum. Or a plastic where corrosion is not applicable.
- Location
- Mission Viejo, CA
- Occupation
- Professional Electrical Engineer
For the purposes that I happen to know you are looking for, they confuse us in the US too. Section 110.28 that audie47 referred to hints, but does not specifically say, that "general purpose enclosures" are enclosures for use in specific locations other than hazardous(classified) locations. US nationally recognized testing laboratories (NRTL) and NEMA usually differentiate them as "ordinary locations" rather than "general purpose".
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