Motor starter rearrangement.

[knoppdude]

Hello, I would like to know if anyone else has encountered this situation, and how they handled it. I am involved in a job to move motor starters from an old cabinet where they are open and stacked next to each other, to unused starter buckets. My concern is that the two centers have different control circuitry. I believe that the starters can be moved, with the branch circuits, and control wiring going back through the old control center, leaving everything in the old center insulated, and cleaned up. I will try to get a photo of the old MCC soon. My biggest concern is identifying control wiring in the old center, which is a rat nest. Also, as this is at a sand and gravel pit, and the mechanics often lockout starters on their own at the mcc, I have suggested putting disconnets at the conveyor motors of each conveyor, giving two points of lockout, and ensuring that the conveyor being worked on won't start if stray voltage is present. Any inputs and criticisms are welcome, and taken seriously. Thanks.

 

[mcclary's electrical]

Hello, I would like to know if anyone else has encountered this situation, and how they handled it. I am involved in a job to move motor starters from an old cabinet where they are open and stacked next to each other, to unused starter buckets. My concern is that the two centers have different control circuitry. I believe that the starters can be moved, with the branch circuits, and control wiring going back through the old control center, leaving everything in the old center insulated, and cleaned up. I will try to get a photo of the old MCC soon. My biggest concern is identifying control wiring in the old center, which is a rat nest. Also, as this is at a sand and gravel pit, and the mechanics often lockout starters on their own at the mcc, I have suggested putting disconnets at the conveyor motors of each conveyor, giving two points of lockout, and ensuring that the conveyor being worked on won't start if stray voltage is present. Any inputs and criticisms are welcome, and taken seriously. Thanks.

Interesting, I've never heard of that. Nor do I believe it. If a conveyor ever started on it's own, stray voltage would be about as likely to be the culprit as Ray Charles hitting the start button himself.:grin: Although, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having an extra lockout at the motor.
About the rats nest, are you going to actually make the bucket removable and interchangable with a spare? Or can you just mount your starters in bucket, bring the old control wiring from rats nest into starter bucket and wire it back up?. Don't use the terminal strips in the bucket for your control wiring. Actually it can still be interchangable with a spare. Just not by unplugging it, you'll have to unwire and rewire it.

 

[cadpoint]

You can't isolate the control wires hot if they won't / don't have any safety or the correct safety issues in place. The big holiday is coming up...

With no one at the plant, down the power and you could ring out what U need to do, PM or midnight would be about the same result, if management is on board.

A simple telephone ringers/tracer will get at least one circuit, depending on the nest it really shouldn't be that bad to figure to figure out the other leg with a second man and nextels or walkie talkie's.

JMSAO