Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
(OP)
I am a civil engineer, not electrical; so forgive my lack of knowledge.
What is a 'bucket for 3 phase power'?
I was a in a bid meeting today with contractors and we were going over plans for some large motorized gates. (The electrical engineer was not at the meeting)
The contractors all wanted to know if we had a bucket for 3-phase.
Are they referring to the transformer up on the electric pole? Or, are they talking about a panel box in a control building/cabinet?
Thank you.
What is a 'bucket for 3 phase power'?
I was a in a bid meeting today with contractors and we were going over plans for some large motorized gates. (The electrical engineer was not at the meeting)
The contractors all wanted to know if we had a bucket for 3-phase.
Are they referring to the transformer up on the electric pole? Or, are they talking about a panel box in a control building/cabinet?
Thank you.





RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
MCC:
MCC starter "bucket"
" We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." -- W. H. Auden
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Yes, they kept referring to the control building, which was what threw me off.
I've heard people refer to the transformers on poles as buckets too since they look like buckets.
Thanks for helping an ill-informed Civil out :)
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w
gg
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
" We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." -- W. H. Auden
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
GG
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Looking for the mighty fine Lineman song where the all about working from a bucket is revealed. Anyone found it?
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Somewhere in my "permanent record" is an HR file with my name on a complaint about using "inappropriate terminology" during a training presentation. I argued that it was a very common term in the electrical industry and didn't have any kind of inappropriate connotation or origin. So I was asked to document that.
I could not... Not only could I not prove an innocuous origin, a lot of evidence I found (although did not share with HR) did in fact point toward their interpretation. I still don't think that's the case, but this is one of those industry terms where the etymology is lost in the fog of lore.
" We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." -- W. H. Auden
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
pole-top transformer - bug, bucket, can, kettle
down-guy strain insulator - johnny-ball
certain type of hoist/come-along: gillhooey
CR
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." [Proverbs 27:17, NIV]
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pecke...
Definition of peckerhead - an aggressive, objectionable person.
used it that way for motor terminal junction box. I guess HR is right on pointing to a dictionary. But the electrical term is just slang electrical word.
Maybe wire nut is inappropriate? i thought that was funny.
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
" We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." -- W. H. Auden
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
No, you don't need automatic or even manual shutters, a cap meets the requirements of UL-845. But if done live, it does mean sticking your hands into a live work space, so even though now it requires adequate Arc Flash protection PPE to do anything with a live bucket, adding the task of sticking your hands inside is something people are loathe to do. In all the MCCs I specify now, I am always putting in automatic shutters, even if people don't know to ask. It's not adding a lot of cost.
" We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." -- W. H. Auden
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Our vendor offer indicate that space bucket do not have door interlock such that if there is an accident happen due the reason of accessing the space bucket live parts by opening the shutter will void the warranty of their supplied equipment.
Does the above statement acceptable to UL 845 standard?
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
A "Space" is not a "bucket" in that there is no frame or stab assembly, it's just a blank door over the empty space, preventing access to it until it needs to be used at some future date. So why would anyone be accessing that space if not to plug in a bucket?
If on the other hand what you are referring to as a "space bucket" is what's called an "empty unit insert" for mounting control devices or other things that do not need connection to the MCC bus, then there must be a solid plate in that unit, which would preclude the ability to access the bus bars; plugs or no plugs, shutters or no shutters. So to me, this might be a semantics issue, you need to get clarity over what exactly you are talking about.
" We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." -- W. H. Auden
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
Then why is it that if there is an accident happen due the reason of accessing the space bucket live parts by opening the shutter, which has no door interlock as safety requirements the manufacturer responsibility and warranty of the supplied equipment will be void ? Would this be acceptable.
RE: Bucket for 3 Phase Power?
It is almost impossible to install a standard interlock between the door and the switch or breaker when the switch or breaker is sitting on a shelf in the distributors warehouse.
The typical interlock is part of a standard bucket. When the bucket is installed, the blank cover must be replaced with a cover suitable for the installed bucket. The interlock that is part of the bucket will latch the door that replaces the blank cover.
Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter