Disconnect Voltage

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Alwayslearningelec

Senior Member
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NJ
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Estimator
So I’ve wondering why all the disconnect switch manufacturers, Schneider, Eaton etc. list all their switches as 240v but sometimes elsewhere I’ve seen the same switches listed as 600v. Why the difference in voltage? Thanks.
 

charlie b

Moderator
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Lockport, IL
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Retired Electrical Engineer
What do you mean by "the same switches"? Two switches might look the same, but might have been built, tested, and rated differently.

A component's voltage rating is based on the ability of its materials of construction to prevent leakage current from the internal current-carrying parts to the outside world. A switch rated 600 volts would be more robust, more capable of prevent leakage current, than one rated for 240 volts.

That said, a manufacturer might take two identical switches, both capable of handling 600 volts, and label one at 600V and the other at 240V. Why would they do that? For marketing purposes. I suppose they want customers to feel comfortable getting only what they need (i.e., a 240V switch), without paying for what they don't need (i.e., a 600V switch).
 

PaulMmn

Senior Member
Location
Union, KY, USA
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EIT - Engineer in Training, Lafayette College
... That said, a manufacturer might take two identical switches, both capable of handling 600 volts, and label one at 600V and the other at 240V. Why would they do that? For marketing purposes. I suppose they want customers to feel comfortable getting only what they need (i.e., a 240V switch), without paying for what they don't need (i.e., a 600V switch).[/FONT]

A friend worked part time for a florist. You order long-stem roses, you pay extra. You order short-stem roses, they cut the extra length off of the long-stem roses. :slaphead:
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
A friend worked part time for a florist. You order long-stem roses, you pay extra. You order short-stem roses, they cut the extra length off of the long-stem roses. :slaphead:

A semiconductor company I once worked for sold two versions of a microprocessor, and one was significantly more expensive than the other. They were exactly the same chip inside the package, but the cheaper one had fewer pins bonded out.
 

PaulMmn

Senior Member
Location
Union, KY, USA
Occupation
EIT - Engineer in Training, Lafayette College
A semiconductor company I once worked for sold two versions of a microprocessor, and one was significantly more expensive than the other. They were exactly the same chip inside the package, but the cheaper one had fewer pins bonded out.

Likewise the early memory chips came as, say, a 1K chip, or a 512 chip. The 512s came in an A and B variety-- indicating which side of the 1K chip was good and was bonded.

And, I believe, the pinouts for the A and B version used the same pinouts as the 1K version, so unless you only bought one letter or the other, you needed 2 versions of the circuit board to accommodate them!
 

synchro

Senior Member
Location
Chicago, IL
Occupation
EE
A semiconductor company I once worked for sold two versions of a microprocessor, and one was significantly more expensive than the other. They were exactly the same chip inside the package, but the cheaper one had fewer pins bonded out.

From Ed Bluestein or Oak Hill facility, perchance?
Just a hunch, may have been another company. ;)
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
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San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
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Electrical Engineer
So I’ve wondering why all the disconnect switch manufacturers, Schneider, Eaton etc. list all their switches as 240v but sometimes elsewhere I’ve seen the same switches listed as 600v. Why the difference in voltage? Thanks.

Not sure where you got this impression, but that’s just untrue. They make 600V switches. You probably used the wrong search engine.

For it the most part in the heavy duty versions they only make one switch rated for 600V. Then if you want or fused, the placement of the fuse clips is different between 240v and 600V.

In some lines of “general duty” disconnects they may stop at 240V because the entire reason this to exist is to be cheaper.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
I worked in Schaumburg many years. Had quite a few visits down to Ed Blue in the '90s. Good times eating 'Q (aka BBQ) and hanging around 6th Street :)

I worked in both the Ed Bluestein and Oak Hill facilities as well as a short stint at Parmer Lane. I was with the company and its semiconductor spinoff for 22 years until I got kicked to the curb in 2008.
 
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