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Consumer units and equipment outdoors

Hi,

Anything inherently wrong with installing consumer units outside? 

IP rated (IP65/66).

The plan is to install henley blocks into the exterior meter cupboard, and a supply taken to an IP rated lockable enclosure on the wall directly below the cupboard to supply an outbuilding.  

How does the sway in temperature impact MCB and RCD functionality? They all seem to be rated to sub zero temperatures and in excess of 40 degrees. 

Anyone with any extensive experience doing this? 
 

Thanks. 

Parents
  • Alcomax, Zoomup,

    Thanks for the instructions on the MK Masterseal unit, but read the wording carefully (Note 3) the drilling of the drain hole (5mm) is ONLY when you have conduit entering from the top or side entries. So conduit from the bottom, or any type of cable gland entry the Note 3 does not apply. Reason being the conduit is a hollow tube and condensation forming on the inside of the conduit will then of course run and settle within the enclosure body. A competant electrical installer would IMHO design the installation to prevent that happening, and something I was taught as a 16yr old apprentice, any outdoor enclosures entries should always as far as practicable enter from the bottom elevation as water cant run “Up” a cable or conduit.

    IP66 as I have mentioned before is dust tight, i.e dust cant enter, so with the definition of dust as “finely divided solid particles, 500 μm or less in nominal size, which may be suspended in air, may settle out of the atmosphere under their own weight” then I doubt your small drilled hole 3 or 4mm would prevent dust entering, if you have conductive dust then that starts all sorts of other issues when it settles over a period of time on the insulating surfaces/contacts within the enclosure.

    AS G Kenyon has said the best way is to use a breather plug and they are readily availible in diffrent sizes/threads and materials, just stick one of them in a bottom 20mm entry and away you go. link below to some Ex cert ones but you can buy non cert.

    Many Industrial enclosure manufacturers also have darin plugs as optional accessories.

    GTB

     

Reply
  • Alcomax, Zoomup,

    Thanks for the instructions on the MK Masterseal unit, but read the wording carefully (Note 3) the drilling of the drain hole (5mm) is ONLY when you have conduit entering from the top or side entries. So conduit from the bottom, or any type of cable gland entry the Note 3 does not apply. Reason being the conduit is a hollow tube and condensation forming on the inside of the conduit will then of course run and settle within the enclosure body. A competant electrical installer would IMHO design the installation to prevent that happening, and something I was taught as a 16yr old apprentice, any outdoor enclosures entries should always as far as practicable enter from the bottom elevation as water cant run “Up” a cable or conduit.

    IP66 as I have mentioned before is dust tight, i.e dust cant enter, so with the definition of dust as “finely divided solid particles, 500 μm or less in nominal size, which may be suspended in air, may settle out of the atmosphere under their own weight” then I doubt your small drilled hole 3 or 4mm would prevent dust entering, if you have conductive dust then that starts all sorts of other issues when it settles over a period of time on the insulating surfaces/contacts within the enclosure.

    AS G Kenyon has said the best way is to use a breather plug and they are readily availible in diffrent sizes/threads and materials, just stick one of them in a bottom 20mm entry and away you go. link below to some Ex cert ones but you can buy non cert.

    Many Industrial enclosure manufacturers also have darin plugs as optional accessories.

    GTB

     

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