Polaris Insulated Splice Connector Maintenance

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leboot

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Electrical Engineer
Does anyone know if there is maintenance required on a Polaris Insulated Splice Connector (Like a Polaris ISR500)? I called NSI/Polaris, and they are not aware of any that is required, but I have a contractor telling me that quarterly maintenance is required. (thermal imaging and shutting down gear to tighten connections).

I'm not seeing anything in NFPA 70B. Where do you think I'd find information on this?

Thanks in advance!
 
macmikeman said:
If proper torque is applied at initial termination, usually it is not acceptable to re-torque on a regular basis after that. Google it.
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Agreed

jaggedben said:
Is that contractor trying to get you to pay them to do it?:roll:
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Probably. :D

leboot said:
They want to pull new feeders to panels and not use the Polaris type connector. They're saying it's going to be a maintenance item and will be a hot spot.
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Hogwash.

Roger
 
leboot said:
They want to pull new feeders to panels and not use the Polaris type connector. They're saying it's going to be a maintenance item and will be a hot spot.
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there is no reason they have to use the polaris style connectors for the new feeders. there are certainly other ways to do it.

I doubt it will be any more of a maint item than any other connector.
 
Tell them to man up and buy a torque wrench?

I will just add that some other brands versions of the same thing (e.g. Burndy) might be better quality when it comes to actually torquing to spec without breaking. Don't ask me how I know. :cool: Or, regardless of brand, get ones that tighten with an allen-key, not a flat-head screwdriver.
 
Thermal imaging type maintenance is a reasonable thing to do for any system.

Connectors improperly installed can cause hot spots. Probably the most common failure is someone forgetting to torque the connector at all. (I've heard of this multiple times for conductors landed on breakers.)

I doubt that the Polaris connectors will be a particular problem.

-Jon
 
leboot said:
The feeders have been oversized for voltage drop and can't terminate on the breakers. Hence the connectors. Any ideas would be appreciated.
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As already stated, there's no real problem here, what kind of ideas are you expecting or wanting?

Roger
 
One of the comments above said that there were other ways to do it without the connectors. Just wondering what they were? Lug kits? Pin connectors? They won't work in this situation.

Really, just an affirmation that these types of connectors are used and are safe to use would be good.
 
There are always crimp type butt splices but the polaris TYPE (there are other manufactures) are great and I've never had a problem later down the road after using them.

Roger
 
leboot said:
One of the comments above said that there were other ways to do it without the connectors. Just wondering what they were? Lug kits? Pin connectors? They won't work in this situation.

Really, just an affirmation that these types of connectors are used and are safe to use would be good.
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If the termination is in a panel you could use a distribution block (different size primary/secondary conductor holes) but otherwise I agree with the others that no special or additional maint is needed. Cost of a few polaris conns is maybe $350 with mark-up. Cost to pull new feeders because a contractor said that's what HE wants costs???
 
leboot said:
One of the comments above said that there were other ways to do it without the connectors. Just wondering what they were? Lug kits? Pin connectors? They won't work in this situation.

Really, just an affirmation that these types of connectors are used and are safe to use would be good.
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I've probably used hundreds of them, just like others on here have too, I'm sure.

They work exactly as intended. No more, no less.

And no regular re-torqueing is required, your contractor needs to be educated on what happens when you continually torque the same lugs over and over again.
 
leboot said:
One of the comments above said that there were other ways to do it without the connectors. Just wondering what they were? Lug kits? Pin connectors? They won't work in this situation.

Really, just an affirmation that these types of connectors are used and are safe to use would be good.
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The Polaris connectors will be fine and need no maintenance. Be sure the conductor is within the range spec of the connector and be sure you have proper space for the connector. Torque to spec and you are good to go.

Other methods would be pin connectors. Another would be lug adapters. Another wwould be crimp connectors for downsizing.

The contractor is trying to poo-poo the connectors for some weird reason. Either they are trying to scam you for money or they simply don"t know what they are talking about.

Just use the connectors properly and move on to the next job.
 
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