Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

[iwire]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

That site IMO does not inspire confidence in the product.

From the site

Crazy Logic? -
Have you ever asked yourself why the "code" requires GFCI protections for low and relatively benign voltages of only 120V and 220V? - and yet omits to mandate similar protection for higher (and obviously more dangerous) industrial voltages?

120V and 220V benign?

220?

New ground-fault protection equipment is now available from K-Tec offering both equipment and personnel protection for industrial power systems up to 4160V. Equipment works reliably, without nuisance tripping, and has advanced monitoring features allowing ground faults to be "seen" before they occur.

Do a lot of personal come in contact with 4160?

Has advanced monitoring features allowing ground faults to be "seen" before they occur.?

This device can tell a ground fault is going to occur???? :roll:

 

[Shock-Block]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

Gabany, You can not have true Class-A people protection because your voltage is 480V. Maximum permissible Class-A voltage is 240V. However, you can still get reliable, high-power, 5mA ground fault protection from companies like K-Tec, www.ktec.org here you can get the solution you need - but we can't call it Class A because of the voltage limitations.

 

[Shock-Block]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

Originally posted by iwire:
That site IMO does not inspire confidence in the product.

From the site

Crazy Logic? -
Have you ever asked yourself why the "code" requires GFCI protections for low and relatively benign voltages of only 120V and 220V? - and yet omits to mandate similar protection for higher (and obviously more dangerous) industrial voltages?

120V and 220V benign?

220?

New ground-fault protection equipment is now available from K-Tec offering both equipment and personnel protection for industrial power systems up to 4160V. Equipment works reliably, without nuisance tripping, and has advanced monitoring features allowing ground faults to be "seen" before they occur.

Do a lot of personal come in contact with 4160?

Has advanced monitoring features allowing ground faults to be "seen" before they occur.?

This device can tell a ground fault is going to occur???? :roll:

 

[Shock-Block]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

Bob, K-Tec's equipment works fine - otherwise we wouldn't have been in business for 16 years now! For this application, the only limitation is the 480V, so we can't call it Class A. That doesn't mean that the end user can't do "something" rather than "nothing."

 

[templdl]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

Shock-Block

Do a lot of personal come in contact with 4160?

Probably only once,

 

[realolman]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

We have GFCI s on machines, that often trip when a heater goes bad or a DC motor has a lot of carbon it it from brush wear. From my perspective as the guy who has to find and fix them, I would call those nuisance trips, but I guess they are not.

If something can detect some sort of current flow that does not take the appropriate path,at any voltage, maybe that's a good thing, even though no person is in series with it.... yet.

It's hard to imagine there wouldn't be a bunch of nuisance trips though, and I would think that something operating at that voltage level (4160 ), would be important enough to be a real nuisance.

The post re: the "probably only once" contact indicates that everyone (including me )thinks the danger increases with higher voltages. No one would make that post about 110.

[ February 11, 2006, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: realolman ]

 

[templdl]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

realolman,
Are they GFCIs of ELCIs for "earth Leakage" which it appears as the protection you have described?
ELCIs are usualy 30ma devices.

 

[realolman]

Re: Three Phase Ground Fault Protection

Honestly, I don't know off hand,I wouldn't swear to it, but I think they are GFCI.

Wouldn't they also act like I described ?... A small current going to ground, instead of the neutral, but not enough to trip a "normal" circuit breaker.

Kinda beside the point anyway, isn't it?

My point was that although there hopefully isn't much personnel contact with a 4160v source, a device that detects inappropriate currents may be useful in preventing a personnel "problem".

[ February 11, 2006, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: realolman ]