Table of Contents
Advertisement
Repairs to sealed components
During repairs to sealed components, all electrical supplies shall be disconnected from the
equipment being worked upon before any removal of sealed covers, etc. If it is necessary to
have an electrical supply to equipment during servicing, then a permanently operating form
of leak detection shall be located at the most critical point to warn of a potentially
hazardous situation.
Particular attention shall be paid to the following to ensure that by working on electrical
components:
• The casing is not altered in such a way that the level of protection is affected. This
shall include damage to cables, an excessive number of connections, terminals not
made to original specification, damage to seals, incorrect fitting of glands, etc.
• Ensure that the apparatus is mounted securely.
• Ensure that seals or sealing materials have not degraded to the point that they no
longer serve the purpose of preventing the ingress of flammable atmospheres.
Replacement parts shall be by the manufacturer's specifications.
Repair to intrinsically safe components
Do not apply any permanent inductive or capacitive loads to the circuit without ensuring
that this will not exceed the permissible voltage and currently permitted for the equipment
in use.
Intrinsically safe components are the only types that can be worked on while living in the
presence of a flammable atmosphere. The test apparatus shall be at the correct rating.
Replace components only certified parts. Other parts may result in the ignition of refrigerant
in the atmosphere from a leak.
Cabling
Check that cabling will not be subject to wear, corrosion, excessive pressure, vibration, sharp
edges, or any other adverse environmental effects. The check shall also consider the effects
of aging or continual vibration from sources such as compressors or fans.
Detection of flammable refrigerants
Under no circumstances shall potential sources of ignition be used in the searching for or
detection of refrigerant leaks. A halide torch (or any other detector using a naked flame) shall
not be used.
28
Advertisement
Table of Contents
