Mounting Components on a Type Z Purged Enclosure

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fifty60

fifty60

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I have an enclosure residing in a CID2 area that I would like to apply Type Z pressurization to so that I can mount GP components inside the enclosure. I know inside the enclosure, general purpose components can be used.

I have a touchscreen monitor that is itself rated for Class I Div 2. I want to mount the CID2 touchscreen on the purged enclosure. The enclosure will have a cut-out, and the touchscreen will be installed directly through the cutout on the enclosure door.

Should I be concerned about pressurization effects on the touchscreen? Does the touchscreen need to be rated for the pressurization?
 
Thank you for the response. My concern is if the Type Z pressurization can damage the touchscreen. Should the screen have a specific rating for the pressurization?
 
fifty60 said:
Thank you for the response. My concern is if the Type Z pressurization can damage the touchscreen. Should the screen have a specific rating for the pressurization?
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Why don't you ask your whole question at the beginning? I don't believe I will attempt to answer any more of your questions in the future until you have had the opportunity to run some other responder around the garden first. In any case, the pressure differential for Type Z is fairly low and a "pressure rated" touch screen is unnecessary.
 
rbalex said:
Why don't you ask your whole question at the beginning? I don't believe I will attempt to answer any more of your questions in the future until you have had the opportunity to run some other responder around the garden first. In any case, the pressure differential for Type Z is fairly low and a "pressure rated" touch screen is unnecessary.
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I asked this very question of AB once about Panelview terminals maybe 15 years ago. They came back with a list of model numbers that they felt were suitable for use in pressurized enclosures and some that were definitely not suitable. The product manager told me if it was not on the list it had not been verified one way or the other. There did not seem to be any discernible pattern of what was OK and what was not to me.
 
petersonra said:
I asked this very question of AB once about Panelview terminals maybe 15 years ago. They came back with a list of model numbers that they felt were suitable for use in pressurized enclosures and some that were definitely not suitable. The product manager told me if it was not on the list it had not been verified one way or the other. There did not seem to be any discernible pattern of what was OK and what was not to me.
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Were all the units in question otherwise suitable for Class I, Division 2? Even those AB thought were “definitely not suitable”?
 
There is a big difference between being OK for use in a pressurized environment (with or without any additional hazardous location properties) and being used as part of the wall of the pressurized enclosure rather than mounted within it.
It sounds like you are proposing the latter, and I can see potential objections on mechanical grounds.
 
As I understood it from talking to the product manager the issue was that some of the panelview terminals had membrane keyboards that the internal pressure would pull apart and some of them had touch screen overlays that had the same problem. Those were the ones that I said they referred to as definitely not suitable for pressurized environment. I think they were all rated for class 1 div 2 though but it was a long time ago and I don't specifically remember. Could be putting them in a separate unpressurized box and they would have been fine.
 
petersonra said:
As I understood it from talking to the product manager the issue was that some of the panelview terminals had membrane keyboards that the internal pressure would pull apart and some of them had touch screen overlays that had the same problem. Those were the ones that I said they referred to as definitely not suitable for pressurized environment. I think they were all rated for class 1 div 2 though but it was a long time ago and I don't specifically remember. Could be putting them in a separate unpressurized box and they would have been fine.
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Well, that confirms one of our more common clichés, “When in doubt confirm with the manufacture.” However, I am curious what Section 500.7 protection technique the manufacturer used to aquire a Class I, Division 2 rating. Almost any one other than IS or NI that would be likely would also be likely to be robust enough to handle a modest pressure differential. And requiring IS or NI wouldn’t need a Class I, Division 2 rating in the first place.

While I’m not quite the fan of NFPA 496 that you are, I’ve never come across this particular restriction in over 50 years.

Unlike purging, NFPA 496 only requires a positive pressure be maintained for a Type Z pressurized enclosure and no specific flow rate is required.
 
it wouldn't have created any hazard to pressurize the box one of the panel views was in that was deemed unsuitable for pressurization. Either the keyboard or the touch screen would have just eventually failed but presumably not in some way that would cause some hazard.

in fact now that I think about it they actually had some terminals that were specifically stated suitable for pressurization.
 
petersonra said:
it wouldn't have created any hazard to pressurize the box one of the panel views was in that was deemed unsuitable for pressurization. Either the keyboard or the touch screen would have just eventually failed but presumably not in some way that would cause some hazard.

in fact now that I think about it they actually had some terminals that were specifically stated suitable for pressurization.
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That sounds reasonable. The truth is, while our control systems or electrical engineers may have specified a Type Z system, in my experience, we would have left it up to the panel fabricator to select the touchscreen and not worried about it. Unlike many current CSI type specs, unless there was a specific need, we rarely specified a brand or catalog number, only a performance requirement.
 
fifty60 said:
Thank you for the response. My concern is if the Type Z pressurization can damage the touchscreen. Should the screen have a specific rating for the pressurization?
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I have over 30 installations with HMI touch screens (various mfgr's) and have had zero issues w/ pressure on the panel, nor keeping a purge to meet the purge kit requirements. I think you'll be fine. If you're running anything over a few ounces of pressure/psi, you've got other issues you need to take care of.
 
We have an enclosure which has Type Z pressurization residing in a CID2 area. I would like to put an Industrial PC/HMI that is not rated so basically it is general purpose touchscreen. The enclosure will have a cut-out, and the touchscreen will be installed directly through the cutout on the enclosure door.

Can I install a general purpose touchscreen on the purged enclosure? Is it ok as long as we maintain the pressure inside the enclosure even though the front face of touchscreen is open to Class 1 Div 2 environment?
 
ozkan said:
We have an enclosure which has Type Z pressurization residing in a CID2 area. I would like to put an Industrial PC/HMI that is not rated so basically it is general purpose touchscreen. The enclosure will have a cut-out, and the touchscreen will be installed directly through the cutout on the enclosure door.

Can I install a general purpose touchscreen on the purged enclosure? Is it ok as long as we maintain the pressure inside the enclosure even though the front face of touchscreen is open to Class 1 Div 2 environment?
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Personally, I would be extremely reluctant.
 
There are touch screens available that are already rated class 1 division 2. You would be better off just buying one rather than trying to stick an unrated one in a purged enclosure.

I would also point out that some touch screens have overlays that the back pressure might cause the overlay to separate from the screen. I would not be pressurizing the back side of any touchscreen or membrane keypad unless the manufacturer suggests it's okay.

I think most of the hope industrial monitors are rated class 1 to 2 already.
 
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