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Posted By: Potseal Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/10/16 08:10 PM
[Linked Image from i64.tinypic.com]

Company: GLE Inc, Stromberg
Model: NF200, non-fusible disconnect, 30-1200A, 600VAC or less

I need a replacement handle identical to the one seen above. It was being used in a Telemechanique MCC. Any leads to a company that "handles" used replacement parts that might have this item would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Posted By: twh Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/11/16 12:57 AM
Did you try Recon in Regina?
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/11/16 10:37 PM
Appreciate the suggestion twh. Contacted Recon today and they did not have any such item.

I found out Stromberg is associated with ABB. There is a company in Edmonton that deals in ABB but I understand that avenue has already been taken to no avail. This appears to be a hard item to replace but I really do not wish to continue using a crescent wrench to operate this disconnect. The search continues.
Posted By: ghost307 Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/11/16 11:52 PM
This might be a long shot...but did you look on eBay?
They always surprise me with what they have.
You might find a busted switch that still has a good handle you could cannibalize.
Posted By: HotLine1 Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/12/16 01:37 AM
Only suggestion I could offer is 'Electrical Advertiser' either on line or the print tabloid print copy.

They have multiple vendors with surplus, new, used, and ?? electrical equipment ranging from fuses to bucket trucks.

Posted By: renosteinke Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/12/16 03:01 AM
Well, well, well .... looks like my time in Azkaban wasn't completely wasted ...

What you have isn't Telemechanique, it's ABB. Try searching ABB OETL NF200A .

The bad news is that you'll likely have to buy the complete assembly, and not the handle alone. This can get expensive.

I'll wager that the handle is from the control cabinet for some machine, and was assembled by the machine makers' panel shop .... you'll probably find all manner of components inside!
http://www.galco.com/scripts/cgiip....p;pgend=20&navfamily=&showall=on

Galco shows 391 hits for ABB Handles. We ordered a couple ABB contactors from them a few months ago. The gentleman I talked to was very helpful and I think they're one of ABB's bigger distributors.
Joe
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/19/16 07:40 PM
I appreciate all the feedback.

I took Ghost307's suggestion and looked on eBay? Found a perfect match at a great price but the seller does not ship to Canada. I contacted the seller and offered to pay full price but I only want the handle. Under those circumstances maybe the seller will ship North...I hope.

BTW, I looked on Galco's site but never found an exact match.
Posted By: mbhydro Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/19/16 09:46 PM
How far are you from the border?

If its like here in Manitoba there are places on the US border that will accept prepaid deliveries for people that can't get shippers to send to Canada. they usually charge around $5-10 handling fee.

My former supervisor @ work use to get all his restoration car parts shipped that way and take a Saturday morning drive from Winnipeg to cross the border and pick them up.

Posted By: ghost307 Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/20/16 04:23 AM
This listing says ships worldwide if that helps at all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABB-DISCONNECT-SWITCH-OESA-F200JT6-2-200A-A-AMP-600V-2-POLE-W-FUSES-HANDLE-/231074411867?hash=item35cd1bb55b:g:zlcAAOxyEoFSXWq8

BTW - What's the deal about shipping to Canada? Is it that big of a hassle or does it just get expensive?
"BTW, I looked on Galco's site but never found an exact match."
I didn't find my contactor on the website either, so I called the guy. He had exactly what I needed and we ordered 3 of them. That's why I suggested that you give them a call. I sent him 2 pics and he came up with the new ABB Part#.
Joe
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/20/16 06:56 PM
Originally Posted by mbhydro
How far are you from the border?

If its like here in Manitoba there are places on the US border that will accept prepaid deliveries for people that can't get shippers to send to Canada. they usually charge around $5-10 handling fee.

My former supervisor @ work use to get all his restoration car parts shipped that way and take a Saturday morning drive from Winnipeg to cross the border and pick them up.



It would be about a 4 hour drive one way.
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/20/16 07:03 PM
Originally Posted by ghost307
This listing says ships worldwide if that helps at all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABB-DISCONNECT-SWITCH-OESA-F200JT6-2-200A-A-AMP-600V-2-POLE-W-FUSES-HANDLE-/231074411867?hash=item35cd1bb55b:g:zlcAAOxyEoFSXWq8

BTW - What's the deal about shipping to Canada? Is it that big of a hassle or does it just get expensive?


I am not an expert on eBay and shipping but I had a bad experience selling a very simple item where the shipping costs consumed my profit. That experience led me to the eBay forums where I read numerous seller's horror stories about the problems with calculating shipping. Based on that I assume that some sellers keep it as simple as possible to insure their profit.
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/20/16 07:04 PM
Originally Posted by JoeTestingEngr
"BTW, I looked on Galco's site but never found an exact match."
I didn't find my contactor on the website either, so I called the guy. He had exactly what I needed and we ordered 3 of them. That's why I suggested that you give them a call. I sent him 2 pics and he came up with the new ABB Part#.
Joe


I'll call Monday morning. Thanks.
Posted By: gfretwell Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/21/16 03:08 AM
These days Ebay will compute the shipping and send you the prepaid label as a PDF. That is what the buyer is charged and you are out of it.
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/21/16 07:03 AM
Originally Posted by gfretwell
These days Ebay will compute the shipping and send you the prepaid label as a PDF. That is what the buyer is charged and you are out of it.


I do not know all the ins and outs of selling on eBay but I do know that there is long discussions on the user forums that include experienced sellers (people who make a living selling on eBay) who discuss taking the occasional hit to the profit margin when it comes to shipping. One of the most common issues is when you try to make an item more attractive by allowing potential buyers the ability to calculate the cost of shipping before they buy. This can be tricky if the item is up for auction and the final sale price hasn't been determined yet. You want to give as many people the cheapest shipping method possible but that includes insurance for yourself on an item whose sale price hasn't been finalized. If you buy an item in an auction without knowing the shipping cost and then find out shipping is going to be nearly as much or more than the item itself...oops. Some buyers while stay away from an auction without knowing shipping costs up front. I read that some experienced sellers suggest keeping a rainy day fund from your profitable sales so that you can take a hit when a sale goes bad and you have to cough up the shortfall on the shipping to keep a buyer happy.
Posted By: gfretwell Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/21/16 06:06 PM
I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay and I never get surprised on the shipping these days (it has happened before I got trained). Just be sure you weigh the box as it will be packed before you list the item and enter that weight into the shipping calculator on the selling page. Usually I only specify USPS priority mail as the method I will use. Ebay does the rest and the mail man picks up the box at my house.

Occasionally I find I can arrange shipping on Click n ship (the USPS site) cheaper than the price Ebay quotes and I can make an extra buck or so.

It is not unusual that shipping is more than the actual price of the item if it ends up going for the opening price. You just need to be sure you get that shipping cost right. There is nothing to keep you from putting a greater weight into the calculator, having a higher than actual shipping cost show on the auction, pay the actual cost and justify it as your handling fee. You are the merchant and you are not supposed to be losing money on the deal. If it is too much, the buyer can buy from someone else.
Posted By: renosteinke Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/21/16 10:24 PM
First, I'd like to claim credit for first correctly identifying the part.

As for shipping to Canada .... international shipping can get involved, as various governments attempt to enforce manufacturer's marketing agreements, and other political silliness.

Perhaps things would be easier if we only had some idea as to how these things are made in the first place.

Let's say (and I'm just picking manufacturers at random here) Plasitform CSX desires a new extrusion machine. They accept a bid from Cincinnati Millacron for the machine, and associated equipment. CM will draw up a panel, and have it fabricated by Automatic Switchboard (a panel shop). AS will have arrangements with various providers for certain parts ... they might use Square D push buttons, GE breakers, and AB starters. It's anybody's guess where they get the disconnect assemblies from, and the box itself might be custom made by a neighborhood sheet metal shop.

The customer will receive the completed assembly line, with everything painted and marked as "Cincinatti Millacron." Any reference to other suppliers will be absent. Even where there is an identifiable part number, the casual inquiry to the usual distributors will receive replies that it's a bad part number, an OEM part number, a special order part number, and the like.

So, you call the machine maker, and get an absurd price with an ridiculous lead time- all for a part that is stocked on the shelf by the gross.

Do I exaggerate? Not at all. Let me cite two simple examples.

A restaurant burned up the motor to one of their exhaust fans. The local distributor of GE motors was not able to obtain a replacement for the GE motor, and Motion Industries could not obtain the appropriate drive belt.

Solution? A local motor shop had the exact motor in stock- and an HVAC supplier had the (industry standard) belts on the shelf.

In a second example, a commercial garage door opener had a failed / damaged Square D contactor in it. The local Square D distributor quoted an $800 price and 4-month lead time for the 'special order.'

I had some trouble with this, as my customer had something like 50 of those door openers in operation- and I was certain the contactor was made by the tens of thousands. My instincts were right; a door supplier had the contactors on the shelf for $40.
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/21/16 10:55 PM
Originally Posted by gfretwell
I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay and I never get surprised on the shipping these days (it has happened before I got trained). Just be sure you weigh the box as it will be packed before you list the item and enter that weight into the shipping calculator on the selling page. Usually I only specify USPS priority mail as the method I will use. Ebay does the rest and the mail man picks up the box at my house.

Occasionally I find I can arrange shipping on Click n ship (the USPS site) cheaper than the price Ebay quotes and I can make an extra buck or so.

It is not unusual that shipping is more than the actual price of the item if it ends up going for the opening price. You just need to be sure you get that shipping cost right. There is nothing to keep you from putting a greater weight into the calculator, having a higher than actual shipping cost show on the auction, pay the actual cost and justify it as your handling fee. You are the merchant and you are not supposed to be losing money on the deal. If it is too much, the buyer can buy from someone else.


That's good advice for any first time sellers on eBay. I know that it is better than the eBay guidelines that I used to sell my first item.
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 03/21/16 10:59 PM
Well Joe, I took your advice and called Galco this morning. Talked to a fantastic lady who really tried her best to get a suitable replacement handle. No luck. The best match that ABB puts out these days has all the same specs but the handle shaft is 8mm square instead of the existing shaft's 12mm. Here we go again...
"Well Joe, I took your advice and called Galco this morning. Talked to a fantastic lady who really tried her best to get a suitable replacement handle. No luck. The best match that ABB puts out these days has all the same specs but the handle shaft is 8mm square instead of the existing shaft's 12mm. Here we go again..."

Well, it was worth giving it a shot. I had meant to look through my old Emails to find the name of the man I talked to. I got distracted on a substation issue and forgot to get back to it. They definitely have more than shows up on their website.
Joe
Posted By: Potseal Re: Broken Disconnect Handle - need help - 04/14/16 05:34 PM
Finally, the replacement disconnect handle has been found and installed. Almost an exact fit with a slight modification needed for the mounting screws. Took a fair bit of time and effort but we eventually found it through a local electrical supply company.
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