Bus Plugs Blog – Expert Safety and Usage Information

Cutler Hammer CP2HD366 Bus Plugs For Sale by MIDWEST

Much of the demand for reconditioned and new surplus bus plugs is because the user has to replace bus plugs that are defective.  One of the worst things that happen is the bus plug operating mechanism breaks when you try to open or close it. It is very dangerous if the bus plug is half open or one pole opened and the other two are half closed yet. This type of failure is due to the lack of maintenance, specifically the lack of exercising the bus plug operating mechanism periodically. The other enemies are dirt, moisture, heat, and, as we have said many times, fork lifts.  Sometimes folks are very surprised that so many reconditioned bus plugs are used to replace damaged or defective bus plugs rather than just for additional load or expansion.

Federal Pacific LSP1432 Bus Plugs For Sale by MIDWEST

For every Cutler Hammer CP2HD366 bus plug purchased for an expansion project, we might also replace a Federal Pacific LSP1432SN bus plug because the customer’s existing bus plug failed to operate properly. When it comes to bus plugs, run to failure is the standard operating mode. The perception is they don’t need maintenance because the never do anything. They just sit on the bus duct. And that is true, but it is also the reason they eventually may fail to operate properly when needed.

The only real pattern may be the use of newer style replacement bus plugs for expansion projects than for replacement of defective equipment

Square D PQ3206 Bus Plug

It is not unusual for MIDWEST to get a call because a company is having numerous problems with their old bus plugs. Things go along okay for years and then one year they have one failure after another. It seems to make no difference who the manufacturer is. They could be old Square D bus plugs, GE General Electric bus plugs, Westinghouse bus plugs, Cutler Hammer bus plugs or ITE bus plugs. The problem seems not to care who the manufacturer is.  When this pattern appears, it is usually because a chronic mechanical or environmental problem has been present for many years and has been getting progressively worse. Soon or later the mechanical problem or contaminate reaches a critical stage and the bus plugs collectively start to fail. Usually the failure seems to be caused by overheating, or by mechanical failure between the bus duct and bus plugs, or by moisture.  The problem isn’t just moisture or dirt. It’s the accumulation of dirt over many years or the presence of moisture over many years. This means there is a chronic condition causing you to replace bus plugs. One typically doesn’t have to suddenly replace Square D bus plugs or replace Cutler Hammer bus plugs because of normal operating conditions. And replacing Westinghouse bus plugs one after the other without addressing the root cause, will not make the problem go away.  So if you find yourself having to repair or replace numerous bus plugs, look for a chronic cause. If you just don’t find something, then look for a recent acute change that would affect all the bus plugs.