I have a project to build for canada, 3phaze supply with 1phaze control. what are my 3phaze colours and what are my control colours? not sure if it runs on 575v 3 phaze or not and not sure if it needs 120v or 240v control. Please help me with this as i need to get this done soon. thanx guys

Why don't you just make it with the colour of wire that you would normally use when you are making your product down there. The electricians here will use the proper coloured wire to supply power to it according to our codes.

A-Red
B-Black
C-Blue
Neutral-White



[This message has been edited by RobbieD (edited 02-22-2007).]

JCL
the phase colors are red black blue. Neutral is white or natural grey. Bonding conductor is green or green with a yellow stripe.
Control colors are not specified exept that only grounded conductors may be white or natural grey. Only grounds may be green and may not be current carrying conductors.
Next you need to have your product built to a Canadian standard and CSA is a good source for those standards. They have offices in the US. UL has a Canadian branch CUL and any ul office in the states can help you meet product standards. It is actually against the law here to sell or offer for sale any electrical product that is not "approved" as evidenced by the required sticker. Approval labels must be applied in the factory. If you are offering a single or one off item there are special inspection services offered in each province and is also available through CSA, UL, ETL and other approval/testing agencies in the US and Canada. If you are in Europe, many of these agencies have international offices.
The internal wiring of products is not governed by the Electrical code part 1 which is an installation code. Part 2 Code is for manufacturers and is governed by the Canadian Standards Association. The label serves as a certification that a product meets part 2 standards and is safe for its approved application.
Good luck.

Thanx for your help guys, i am based out of NY and am selling to a canadian based outfit who then installs the system in a machine that they build and sell around the world. My customer requested that i do the wiring to canadian colour code, for an australian project i had to use there colour code also, if thats what my customer wants thats what they get, but it will cost them more. So on that note i will use red black and blue in that order for L1 L2 L3 and i will use red for my control with grey as my neutral and green/yellow for ground.

One more quicky.....is 120v or 240v standard for control? i have 120v components being used but i want to know if i could use all 120v or if i need to add another transformer for 240v for my other components.

There is no real standard for control circuits here, it depends on the equipment, and you should be provided the shop drawings that indicate coil voltage for the starters. It could be anywhere from 24 volts to 600(575) volts.

As for the wire colour, natural grey for neutral and green with yellow stripe are mentioned in the code book, but the most common colours from the suppliers will be white for neutral and solid green for ground wires.

I would suggest the most common control voltages are 120 and 24. These are the most common voltages for control devices. Some other voltages will require special order.
As is sugested white and green are the more common colors. We only see green with yellow stripe in Euro made equipment.

OK thanx again guys, i will use white for my neutral and solid green for ground. all my control will be 120v red 14awg wire. Would it be better to use a 480v 3phaze blower or a 575v 3phaze blower?

for the blower question, you need to determine what the system will be in the building. You could typically see 208, 480 or 575 volt three phase systems.

The most common Canadian Distribution voltages are 120/ 208 3 phase, 347/600 three phase. 120/240 single phase.
Some residential areas with high demand are being fed 120/208 single phase from a 3 phase utility distribution (not common)

277/480 does exist but it is not stock voltage except in some industrial areas where a lot of US manufactured equipment exists. If the nominal voltage is 575 then don't give them 480 volt equipment or someone is going to have to change the fan motor or add a transformer.