Motor soft stareter with high IP rating?

[MrQ]

Hi,

I am looking for a motor soft starter with high IP or NEMATODE rating. Preferably IP 65 or NEMA4.

I would like to put it right next to the motor.

I have been googling. And there are VFDs with higher ratings but I can not find soft starters.

Ideas?

 

[Bering C Sparky]

What size motor?

Do you need this starter to include on, off, auto/man switches?

Or if it is a small motor can you just use a manual starter type?

We build all of our own starter panels, but you may have to conform to a lot more regulation than we do.

BCS

 

[jstolaruk]

Once VFD prices got cheaper than soft starts (25-250hp) I haven't used a soft start. Plus the fact that a bypass contactor isn't needed and I don't have to keep track of the number of stop-starts per period of time. Sure you don't want to use a VFD?

 

[Bering C Sparky]

soft starter

I need to start wearing my glasses, only seen the word STARTER, did not notice the soft starter part, My Bad

 

[DickDV]

Check with Benshaw in Glenshaw PA. They'll help you put a softstarter in just about any enclosure including XP.

 

[jraef]

You can easily put any soft starter inside of any sealed enclosure you like, as long as you use a bypass contactor once it is done ramping so that it doesn't over heat in the box. Years ago mfrs used to offer small soft starters with external heat sinks in higher IP /NEMA rated enclosures to avoid needing the bypass contactor, but that technology stopped at around 75HP because it requires isolated SCRs. Then as mentioned, VFDs all but wiped out that small power marketplace by being cheaper than soft starters, and having to maintain two different heat sink designs is expensive, so that has pretty much gone away since you can just use a bypass of you need to.

The reason you see VFDs in pre-packaged high IP/NEMA enclosures is because with VFDs, there is no option for bypass to overcome the heat issues, so the only path is a different heat sink.

By the way, NEMATODE is a type of worm, NEMA is the acronym. Likely your spell check did that for you though...

 

[shoelesscraig]

Once VFD prices got cheaper than soft starts (25-250hp) I haven't used a soft start. Plus the fact that a bypass contactor isn't needed and I don't have to keep track of the number of stop-starts per period of time. Sure you don't want to use a VFD?

+1 on this....I see virtually ZERO reason nowadays to use a soft starter in a new application. VFDs are cheaper, have a million more options, easy to get, and in my experience far more reliable. Personally, I'd be fine if I never worked with one again (wishful thinking I'm sure!).

 

[rQx]

We use alot of soft starters and there are alot of reasons we do to. So to say that you can just go ahead and use a VDF instead of soft starters isnt realistic.

 

[GTUnit]

Allen Bradley Armorstart.
Forget soft starters for the valid reasons everyone mentioned.

If the Mercedes is the same price as the Chevy, why would you buy the Chevy?

 

[shoelesscraig]

We use alot of soft starters and there are alot of reasons we do to. So to say that you can just go ahead and use a VDF instead of soft starters isnt realistic.

Name one thing that a soft starter does that a VFD can't...?

You may have a "lot" of reasons for using them, but I'll bet none of them are good. Unless somehow in Sweden you can get soft starters cheaper, which is probably not the case, you are still installing old technology for no reason. It's like continuing to use that PC from the 90's when today's blow it away...

GTUnit...I couldn't agree more.

 

[rQx]

Name one thing that a soft starter does that a VFD can't...?

You may have a "lot" of reasons for using them, but I'll bet none of them are good. Unless somehow in Sweden you can get soft starters cheaper, which is probably not the case, you are still installing old technology for no reason. It's like continuing to use that PC from the 90's when today's blow it away...

GTUnit...I couldn't agree more.

Maybe we talk about diffrent situations here.

But if I have a cabinet in wich I shall control a pump on 22kW, it will take ALOT less space with a soft start. And I mean ALOT. It have less heat dissipation, meaning that I don't have to use coolers or fans. I can buy a soft starter 22kW for 400$, (if you can find a cheaper VFD please tell me?). I don't have to worry about EMC, and length limitations (wich can be as shorts as 10m on some VFDs), I can use cheaper cable (no screen), it's easier to understand and control then VFDs.

And if I dont have any use for all the technology in a VFD, why should I spend money on it?

 

[GTUnit]

Ok I see your point. I looked into it and you can get some super cheap soft starters. Like dirt cheap. The environments I usually work in we use higher grade equipment which costs the same as a VFD.

My recommendation would be to choose whatever soft starters you want and put them into IP65 enclosures. No way you are you going to find anything under $1000 that is IP65.

 

[rQx]

I think that I confused it to, the soft starter Im talking about is IP20 soft starters, AllenBradley 150 series.

 

[jraef]

I think that I confused it to, the soft starter Im talking about is IP20 soft starters, AllenBradley 150 series.

All A-B soft starters are Bulletin 150.

Within that there are the SMC-3 (150-C), SMC-50 (150-S) and SMC-Flex (150-F). Both the SMC-Flex and SMC-3 have built-in shunt bypass contacts, so you can put them into a sealed enclosure as necessary and appropriate. The SMC-50 requires an external bypass contactor.

 

[rQx]

All A-B soft starters are Bulletin 150.

Within that there are the SMC-3 (150-C), SMC-50 (150-S) and SMC-Flex (150-F). Both the SMC-Flex and SMC-3 have built-in shunt bypass contacts, so you can put them into a sealed enclosure as necessary and appropriate. The SMC-50 requires an external bypass contactor.

150-C (43NBR) was the one I was refering to