ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion Boiler Switchboard

The two photos are a 750 Kw boiler switchboard in a 350 room hotel in Christchurch that I took today. The first photo is the left hand cabinet where the 630mm copper cables from a 1250A MCCB terminate onto those copper bars. The second photo is the right hand cabinet housing the MCBs and contactors that feed the elements in the storage tanks. The boiler panel has been in service for two weeks.

The 1250A MCCB is housed in the main switchboard in the same room about 3m away. The main switchboard is about 5m away from a 1000 kVA transformer. The fault level at those copper bars in the boiler panel is estimated at 22kA. The door to that cabinet had only one screw locking it and there was no shrouding over the copper bars. Lovely ! The hotel maintenance staff probably all have access to the boiler room. Eeeek ! ! !

The photos were taken on my phone ( yeah thats my phone cover obstructing the bottom of the first photo ). But you can see the orange 16mm flex cables all tucked into one lug. You'd think with bars that BIG the cables could have all been lugged individually. There a few other things wrong with the boiler panel, the 10kA rating of the MCBs is the next most glaring. A partial rebuild is now planned for this panel. Can anyone else see the other problems?: