Electrical Troubleshooting Quiz — June 18, 2019
The plastics plant you work at is barely a year old, and there’s already evidence of corrosion in many enclosures. Making matters worse, most of these enclosures are associated with the three critical production lines.
The plant is in Florida, near the coast. The high humidity was a plus in the location decision, due to static electricity issues with the dry plastic pellets. Some thought went into accommodating the humidity equipment-wise; for example, electronic circuit boards are all sprayed with crystal-clear acrylic to protect the traces. Now, maintenance techs are finding water droplets on those boards, rust on enclosure mounting bolts, and green deposits on power wiring terminations.
How might you address this?
Check your raceways. Do you have drains at low points? If not, install them. It’s likely that raceways are collecting condensate and bringing it to those enclosures. You may also consider using firestopping at key points, coordinating that effort with the drains so you don’t trap water in the raceways.
Install new fasteners to replace the rusty ones. But before inserting the fastener into the hole, smear outdoor-grade caulking on the underside of the bolt head. Once the bolts are torqued, cover each bolt head with this same caulking. Be sure to check with your production department about silicone before using a silicone caulking. If the parts your plant is making will be painted by the end-user (or at your plant), you can’t use silicone.
Also, ensure all metallic parts are bonded, so there’s no current flow between them.
About the Author
Mark Lamendola
Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.
Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.
Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.