Bus Plugs Blog – Expert Safety and Usage Information

Replacement Square D 100 Amp Bus Plugs, Catalog No. PQ4610 – Available at www.swgr.com

MIDWEST had a customer who used MIDWEST’s field services for over 20 years and did not realize there was a secondary market for electrical bus plugs and other electrical switchgear that no longer is manufactured. He was speaking to a MIDWEST Field Service Engineering Technician and was complaining that he might have to replace a 1600 amp bus duct run because the bus plugs were obsolete. He was not an electrician or the electrical supervisor. His job was in purchasing. The electricians asked him to get a replacement Square D 100 amp bus plug because the handle broke on one of theirs.  It is strange how many handles get broken on electrical equipment. It is understandable on some of the older stuff that has been in service for 40 plus years. Gets old, tired, and finally breaks.  Our Electrical Technician told him MIDWEST deals in the secondary market for obsolete electrical equipment and we would have completely reconditioned bus plugs to replace his obsolete defective stuff. He was extremely happy and looked forward to telling his boss he could save 1000s of dollars. On top of it all, they also ordered GE General Electric FVK425R bus plugs to boot. MIDWEST’s Switchgear Division said they run into this a lot. Frequently they get emergency calls to repair an obsolete piece of equipment as fast as possible and end up just replacing the defective equipment with a reconditioned direct replacement. The secondary switchgear market at its best.

MIDWEST was asked by a manufacturing plant that used Siemens bus plugs in their facility, why they had not only Siemens bus plugs, but also used ITE Siemens, Square D and Cutler Hammer bus plugs. And most of his main switchgear and circuit breakers were GE General Electric. His purchasing department wanted maintenance to pick one electrical equipment manufacturer and stick with them. Purchasing figured they could get better prices that way. 

ITE Bus Plugs Cat. No. RV424

First we explained that each type of electrical equipment they had, probably represented a time period or an expansion project. For example, that 100,000 square foot addition in 1968 may have been all Square D. The electrical contractor may have got his best pricing from Square D and therefore bought Square D bus plugs and bus duct. The contractor on a later project may have used Cutler Hammer. Later yet, Siemens. This was not unusual. Or this may have happened because of different delivery dates. Or a particular manufacturer of bus plugs may have fallen out of favor with contractors because of quality problems or high prices. 

All this could be avoided by specifying a specific manufacturer. But single sourcing one manufacturer of electrical switchgear may result in higher prices. The manufacturer would have a lock on the sales. The manufacturer’s sales rep would usually figure this out pretty quick. If you put an alternate in your specification, you basically have the same environment as open source bidding.  Sometimes a particular electrical bus duct and bus plug manufacturer has a lock on a customer’s business because of the purchasing department or maintenance department at that time. The head of maintenance for ten years just may be more familiar with or favor GE General Electric bus plugs. Or purchasing may be hooked on Eaton Cutler Hammer bus plugs. So it goes sometimes. But it can be very difficult to continually single source the electrical equipment you purchase for many years and decades. There are just too many variables and they change over time.  There is not a problem having equipment from different electrical equipment manufacturers, as long as replacement bus plugs or other equipment and parts are readily available. Delivery is sometimes a problem in today’s ‘just in time’ world. MIDWEST’s reconditioned electrical switchgear, including bus plugs, is one solution to the availability problem. 

There are situations where using only one manufacturer of electrical switchgear may be important and required. For example, Mission Critical facilities, remote access facilities that require many spare components, continuous process facilities, and, of course, facilities that are actually subsidiaries or are owned by a specific electrical equipment manufacturer.