Both responses given so far are correct. It would be nice if we all eventually come to common technical agreement on common technical ground overtime. I worry that we sometimes push the technical aside and rush in with alternate opinions. In this case I see a lot of danger in shipping the product as described. One point could be what "N" means or stands for as marked on the cable may not be understood in another country that doesn't use English as its national language. Better safe than sorry. I once had a client who asked for instructions for proper power cords and voltage settings for 110 countries to be set up on a large spreadsheets. They provided the country names as they wanted them to be listed. I pointed out that in one instance 2 countries had the same first name and this could cause major problems. I lost the arguement until manufacturing did exactly what I thought they would, picked the wrong configuration list and on installation the whole shipped product blew up at a cost of $ 50K US plus the downtime for the customer who was using the equipment. I changed the country name to avoid confusion.
Regards G. Rae Dulmage, B. Comm., President TelApprove Services Corporation (613) 257 3015 http://www.angelfire.com/on/telapprove Robert Johnson wrote: > About twenty years ago, the a group in the cable and computer industries > gathered together all the colors used worldwide for conductor identification > and > tried to come up with a worldwide compromise. The light blue(neutral), brown > (phase), and green/yellow (earth) were the best choice to avoid miswiring > somewhere in the world. The US NEC was changed specifically to clarify this > compromise (ref. NFPA 70 clause 400-22c), taking light blue as close to white > or gray. > > You can probably get away with sending the US customary colors (white, black, > green) to some countries, but you will have to specifically check codes in > each > case. Don't think an answer from one European country will answer for all of > Europe. Note: NFPA is a US originated organization working to promote itself > internationally, but does not apply to Europe except in some specific cases of > harmonization. The absence of a European Norm does not mean no laws apply. > National or local laws would be applicable. > > Since we have a well researched solution, why fight it? Misunderstandings when > it comes to wiring power cords can be lethal, a terrible price to pay for > getting away with something less. > > Bob Johnson > > "Crane, Lauren" wrote: > > > > Is it acceptable to ship equipment to Europe with neutral conductors (hook > > > up wire) that is white, particularly if the ends are marked with the > > > letter 'N' ? > > > > > > It seems to me that this would be acceptable to both the Machinery > > > Directive and the Low Voltage Directive. Neither of these directives have > > > a requirement for wire color in their Essential Requirements. > > > > > > Marking neutrals in this manner conforms to NFPA-79, an appropriate, > > > though US National, design standard for large semiconductor manufacturing > > > equipment. > > > > > > Conforming to NFPA-79, I think, demonstrates adequately addressing > > > electrical hazards to the extent of the concern of the Machinery Directive > > > and Low Voltage Directive > > > > > > EN 60204 requires that neutrals be colored light blue ONLY IF COLOR IS > > > USED TO IDENTIFY THEM. Quoting section 15.2.3 "Where a circuit includes a > > > neutral conductor identified by colour, the colour shall be light > > > blue...". > > > > > > Note that the definitions section of EN 60204 (3.38) says that the neutral > > > conductor is assigned the symbol 'N'. > > > > > > This is echoed in EN60439 "Specification for Low voltage switch gear and > > > control gear assemblies Part 1. Specification for type-tested and > > > partially type-tested assemblies." section 7.6.5.2 which says in part "Any > > > neutral conductor of the main circuit should be readily distinguishable by > > > shape, location, marking or colour..." > > > > > > I would be interested to know if anyone has experiences with this issue. > > > > > > Thanks in advance..... > > > > > > Lauren Crane > > > Eaton Corporation > > > > > > [email protected] > > > > --------- > > This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. > > To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] > > with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the > > quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], > > [email protected], [email protected], or > > [email protected] (the list administrators). > > --------- > This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. > To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] > with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the > quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], > [email protected], [email protected], or > [email protected] (the list administrators). --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators).
