CSA certifications?

mordred

Member
Join Date
Mar 2004
Location
Red Deer
Posts
1,892
I would like to find some guidelines on maintaining CSA approvals
on equipment that require modification. As an example we have a machine that we are going to redesign. All the redesigns involve better circuit protection as well as a larger cabinet. My limited understanding of the CSA standards is that as long as all components added are CSA approved and it does not change the operation of the machine. This would not infringe on the previous approval. Could someone please confirm this or point out where I may gain the information on the approval reapproval process?
 
It depends on the product you are CSA-certified to supply.

My old company offered CSA certification and our classification was "Industrial Control Panels" or something like that. Back then, I could use any CSA-certified device which was intended for industrial control panels.

For example, I can use a fuseblock that has a CSA certification label in a control panel. I cannot mount a toaster that has a CSA label on it in a control panel to keep the inside of the panel warm.

My example may sound ridiculous, but you probably know what I mean.

Also, we had a big, thick CSA book all about our classification. My best advice would be to research your account with CSA and contact them to answer any questions.

I never would risk losing my certification over a bad interpretation of what I could or could not do.
 
I'm actually not sure if we even have an account. the industry I'm working in is a hog processing plant. The cabinet was purchased from a manufacturer and they only had 5 fuses to protect the entirety of the components only 2 of them protected the 24 volt side of the control panel this in turn allowed for multiple components to get blown due to ground short faults. Also the cabinet is too tight to work in safely. As a result I've been asked to rebuild the existing system with more fuses particularly on all external devices and resize the cabinet to decrease troubleshooting time. Do you know of any links that I canb download or purchase the CSA book you referred to?
 
My best advice to you now that you have told me a few more things:

Find a systems integrator or control panel house near you that offers or advertises "CSA-certified control panels". Your electrical suppliers can help you find these guys, too.

Have them quote you a new panel or whatever you need. If you must meet CSA certification, especially on a one-time basis, the cost to your company will be outragous to set this up. It would be cheaper in the long run to pay someone who has it already.

In all of my UL and CSA panel supplying years, I wish I had a nickle for every person who wanted his existing panel to have magic dust sprinkled on it to become "UL listed" or "CSA certified". The entire design from square one must reflect UL or CSA requirements

For CSA, try this link:

http://www.csa.ca/Default.asp?language=english
 
Last edited:
Thanks will research into this further as well as check into the link you provided I'll let you know if I have more questions.
 
You can get a field evaluation done by Ontario Hydro or other companies. I use QPS. See http://www.qps.ca/FieldEvalServices/about.asp
I use them for the panels we build.
He checks for CSA or UL certification on all componenets, proper fuse and wiring sizing, proper labels, etc. When it passes, he attaches a sticker to the control panel.
 
AJZ is correct about the field evaluation option, which is usually a perfect, relatively inexpensive solution to a well-designed panel that wasn't labelled by the manufacturer.

The real problem is as I stated earlier:
Jimmie_Ohio said:
The entire design from square one must reflect UL or CSA requirements.
Usually, the panel that needs CSA is a mess to begin with. All the bribery in the world directed towards your CSA inspector won't get him to label a non-conforming panel. (No, I haven't tried.)
 
With the advise given here I've convinced my company to have the panels built by a company that can maintain the certification. I will be meeting with them later today for the price quotes hopefully it isn't too extreme.
Thanks for the advise all.
 

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