ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Hot!! Please take notice os a SqD General Duty Safety switch recall

Please go to this recently released recall notice regarding a Square D Recalls Safety Switches Due to Shock or Electrocution Hazard. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07062.html

This information is very interesting.

One of my company's clients specifies Square D safety switches exclusively (i.e., no substitutions.) However, their spec calls for Heavy Duty. I noticed the recall are for Standard Duty. I wonder what the difference is?

Thanks for this article.

One wonders what you can possibly do to a knife switch to make it fail to open.

There are major differences between Square D general/standard duty and heavy duty switches. I don't think the 30A ones have any parts in common at all. The heavy duty units are designed for 600V applications (even if they have 250V fuse spacing). The general duty units are designed for 250V max.

Just a shot it the dark..maybe the plastic "clips" that move the contact blades break, leaving the blade fully or partially closed?

Once again, just like the Xmas light recall, they don't give any details of what the bloody problem is caused by!! Very annoying.

edited to add link



[This message has been edited by mxslick (edited 12-19-2006).]

I had a landlord report that a whole apartment "shorted out" when he tried to close the knife switch. When I got there I found the insulating part of the throw lever had broken off and when he tried to close it the metal handle came into contact with the blades, that were still stuck in the slots on the line side. Made quite a boom he said. The switch was actually closed anyway, the problem was a blown fuse.