static contactor vs electromechanical contactor

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kenjithekiller Participant Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 3	static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/08/2011 9:53 PM
	Hello to all! Fisrt of all, thanks for reading this question. Any help would be great. There's a control panel incorporating static contactors; one is used to control a resistence (used to heat water) and another one is used to control a ultrasound generator. This panel operates a ultrasound cleaning system. Would it be recommendable to replace the static contactors with electromechanical contactors? Are there any other points to consider other than the size of the cabinet? I know it's possible that the atmosphere could corrode the contacts, would it be enough to use a cabinet with a higher IP grade? Thanks again!
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mountk2 Power-User Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 348 Good Answers: 10	#1 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/08/2011 10:29 PM
	Most important difference would be to take into consideration time of operation, the electromagnetic ones have higher time of operation. If time is not a significant factor to you just go ahead with the change, corrosion of contacts is not a real issue. __________________ Knowledge sharing is a WIN-WIN situation
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JRaef Guru Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: California, USA, where the Godless live next door to God. Posts: 4665 Good Answers: 804	#2 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/08/2011 10:49 PM
	You need to know a lot more about your equipment before making this decision. Solid State Contactors are used in heating and power supplies because of the high speed at which they can operate and / or the number of operation cycles they are capable of. Something in your system is deciding when the contactors are coming on and off. In the case of the heating control, it could very well be doing what is called Variable Time Base Zero Cross Proportional Voltage Control, where a controller is deciding to modulate the effective RMS voltage getting to the heater elements by tuning the SSC on for only a few cycles in very rapid succession so that the element doesn't really cool down in between. For example if you wanted only 1/3 of the power capacity of the heater, the proportional controller would turn on the SSC for 4 cycles, then off for 8, then on for 4, off for 8 etc. etc. There is no way an electro-mechanical contactor can tun on and off in anything close to that kind of scheme. __________________ All I every really wanted to be, was... A LUMBERJACK!.
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TonyS Guru Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Resting under the Major Oak Posts: 4347 Good Answers: 181	#3 In reply to #2 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/09/2011 12:17 AM
	I hate to say this JRaet but have you changed your IP provider? Your posts have always had the normal punctuation I'd expect from you. Now they seem to blend together. Hard to read to me. I'm myopic! __________________ The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
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JRaef Guru Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: California, USA, where the Godless live next door to God. Posts: 4665 Good Answers: 804	#4 In reply to #3 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/09/2011 8:58 PM
	2 different PCs, 3 different keyboards, fat fingers. Add to that a propencity for my home PC to get bogged down trying to play music while I'm typing and I can sometimes get a 2-3 second delay between what I type and what shows up on the screen. It's maddening, but I'm too much of a miser to fix it. __________________ All I every really wanted to be, was... A LUMBERJACK!.
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rudy.leurs Power-User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Flanders (Belgium) Posts: 343 Good Answers: 21	#6 In reply to #2 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/10/2011 6:34 AM
	JRaef, totally correct and GA from me.
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TheCanadianBear Active Contributor Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada "Canada's Ocean Playground" Posts: 20	#5 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 02/09/2011 10:41 PM
	I have on occasion used a mercury wetted contactor in areas where corrosion may be a problem. They come in both single & three phase configurations. Just a thought !! __________________ TheCanadianBear
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kenjithekiller Participant Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 3	#7 Re: static contactor vs electromechanical contactor 11/15/2011 11:20 PM
	So far the corrosion wasnt something critical to consider. The main issue was the speed at wich the contactors could open and close and the durability. We decided to replace the solid state by the electromagnetic in some models and some specific aplications. thanks for your answers.
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