Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
(OP)
Does anyone have experience with the remote racking device manufactured by Safe-T-Rack? http://www.safe-t-rack.com/
We are in the process of getting one to our plant to try one out and was looking for some possible pros or cons to the device.
Thanks
We are in the process of getting one to our plant to try one out and was looking for some possible pros or cons to the device.
Thanks






RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
Sounds like a great plan to me.
Here's another one.
http://www.chickenswitch.com/
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
Siemens also has a similar "universal" type device.
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And for the skeptical:
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RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
ABB offers this device for there medium power switchgear. I've used it for customer acceptence testing.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
Some of these remote racking drives are famous for trying to rack an improperly positioned breaker. This results in physical damage to the breaker, rendering it unserviceable, and in some cases, the breaker is jammed into its cubicle and the whole bus has to be de-energized in order to safely remove and repair it.
Most of the "official" devices have some sort of torque-limiting means in the drive train to prevent these incidents, but it is not uncommon to find them "fixed" so that this safety feature is disabled.
With the push for safety, the remote racking devices are becoming ubiquitous, so I suspect we'll see more problems realted to their use and abuse.
old field guy
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
king 101, how is the quality of the Safe T Rack device, ease of use etc.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
This could apply to some electricians I've known as well.
Most of the devices I've seen have some type of torque limiting. But a 50' cable isn't going to be long enough to get out of the flash hazard zone in a lot of cases.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
We highly recommend Safe-T-Rack and the company in general, they let you demo the system in house, they offer great support and they are problem solvers.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
I have a system controller on order and a couple of kits to try out. While there is a substantial up-front cost. I believe it will be worth it.
We have approximately 200-250 breakers to retrofit so it will take a few years.
Next year we will convert the subs we are scheduled to PM and work from there. Also, we will be purchasing another system controller and extra transmissions.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
but reading this i was just wondering how come nobody come out with the old idea
using a 3 phase winding rotor, so you could rack it remotly but still fell it
...
hum probably the size of it...but i think this idea need's thinking about it
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
First off, at the time the unit was not approved by a NRTL. That is an immediate strike against our company policy. I suspect that reason for it is because it was manufactured in Australia.
Second, we have quite a few substations that are built off of the ground. They are either a PCR or an overbuild to an original sub.
Third, there were questions around the unit reaching breakers in 4 high switchgear.
Fourth, there were questions about if this unit could rack out 2 high breaks that require constant thrust to keep an interlock engaged (i.e. Powervac, CH VCP)
If you can get past these issues, maybe it will work for you. I can't remember the price, but it was more than what I was willing to pay for a piece of equipment that might not meet my expectations.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers
I am extremely impressed with this system. The portability (we have some substations 20 feet off of the ground), The flexibility ( system can be used to rack out many different manufacturer’s breakers), usability ( there are at least 3 different ways to keep personnel from misapplying the device to the wrong breaker, real time display of breaker travel, craftsmanship of equipment is outstanding).
I highly recommend anyone looking to protect their employees through the use of remote racking, take a look at Safe T Rack.
There have been a few learnings along the way as their client base has been almost entirely utilities and we are an oil refinery, which changes the availability of shutting down equipment, budgets, safety training, etc. The good thing is they are a still a small enough company to cater to a customer’s specific needs.
RE: Remote Racking Circuit Breakers