switchgear cleaning

[RowE]

What type of cleaner do you guys clean switchgear with? Would denatured alcohol be acceptable to clean switchgear with or is there some other type of quick dry cleaner that would be better suited.

 

[jap]

What type of cleaner do you guys clean switchgear with? Would denatured alcohol be acceptable to clean switchgear with or is there some other type of quick dry cleaner that would be better suited.

That's what we've used in the past.

JAP>

 

[big john]

Start with clean rags for general dust to avoid making mud.

Denatured alcohol for more stubborn dirt, just be aware of the water content. Give it more time to dry if it's only 70% alcohol.

Collinite 240 for insulators with serious contamination.

 

[petersonra]

We had a really disgusting cabinet came in for rebuilding once. We rented a pressure washer and used simple green as a detergent to wash all the components and the cabinet with. Only one power supply was failed when we powered it back up and it may have been dead before we cleaned it.

After washing it down and rinsing it we used IPA to get as much water off the electronic components as we could.

 

[GoldDigger]

When you said IPA my first thought was beer (India Pale Ale).

 

[big john]

We had a really disgusting cabinet came in for rebuilding once. We rented a pressure washer and used simple green as a detergent to wash all the components and the cabinet...

Yep, that's standard cleaning procedure for us, Simple Green is fantastic. The only kicker is that after it gets rinsed clean, we bake stuff for several days to dry it. The other option is to tent it on site and heat it until dry, which can be a mighty slow process.

 

[rlundsrud]

Use a vacuum rather than compressed air as you don't want to force debris into the mechanism. I would do this prior to using solvents.

 

[zog]

Mechanism? I hope we are talking about enclosures here and not the breakers