George, I wish I could follow your logic. First you say:
I only work under 200amps and all in copper, and for that work the wrong torque will not cause any long term damage.
I believe the picture iwire posted for me shows long term damage on phase "A" Maybe I'm wrong. I always thought the insulation splitting off a conductor due to overheating was a bad thing. This connection was out of torque. According to you wrong torque is no problem. Look at the picture again if you want to continue believing torque is not an issue under 200 amps on copper conductors.
The picture shows a 480 volt 100 amp disconnect switch for the emergency smoke exhaust fans in a warehouse. The only time these fans have ever ran was when maintenance tested the system quarterly. The fans do not have much run time so you can see what an under torqued connection can due in a sort period of time.
Second:
Because I have no knowledge as to how far outside specs (if any) others tighten their fittings, I will not address problems that others may have with circuits under 200amps.
Lets forget the "others". Do you torque? As you can see from the posted picture torque does matter under 200 amps!
Third:
I have given 3 methods of checking torque. I don't see you offering a method to check torque.
How about Infrared Testing your connections after installation. This is not a cheap way to verify torque. I have done this for an EC because in was in the specs for the job. He would get no final payment unless an IR report was submitted.
Al
[This message has been edited by capt al (edited 06-26-2005).]
