General Electric produced tens of thousands of Magne-Blast breakers in various sizes from the early 1950s through the 1970s.

Continued maintenance of the original air breakers or upgrading them with a vacuum retrofit has helped to extend the lifespan of this product line but there are other critical components in the switchgear that also need maintence and upgrading to maintain safety and overall reliability.  Today we are  going to address one of those components, the "Primary Disconect" more commonly known as the "Cell Bottles". This critical component consistes of three porcelain mounted on an aluminum base with copper conductors rising from the top in various configurations to meet the line or load side connections in the switchgear. 

Why Magne-Blast Bottles Need to be Repotted

The element that we are addressing here is the old style "tar pitch" that was used to stabalize the riser buss and fill the void between the conductor and the bottle. This pitch ages and cracks over time with will not only allow dirt and moisture to enter the cracks but also tends to allow the spring loaded tulip inside to bottle to wiggle and misalign with the breaker and can be the source of more catastrophic failures or just a loose high resistance connection. 

 This illustration shows a typical set of bottles with one phase on the left "before" the middle phase "during" and the right hand phase after the upgrade is complete. 

Those failures can be catastrophic, causing untimely loss of production and collateral damage, and can occur regardless of the care and maintenance of the breaker and the rest of the system. The question then is, “How do I maintain the reliability of this system”? Should I spend the capital for upgrades and replace the whole system?”

The answer is simple, reach out to National Power Equipment Inc. One of our specialties is repairing, upgrading and supplying replacement bottles that are upgraded with our proprietary 2 part epoxy for a true one and done solution. 

NPE’s 8 Step Procedure: 

1.      Examine the bottles in a fixture and conduct a wipe test to assure that they are candidates for rebuild.

2.      Remove the outdated “tar pitch” potting right down to the base filler.     
3. Align the connecting tulip and lock it in place so it doesn't move and cause future failures.
4. Secure the joint between the copper and seal.
5. Remove the olde buss insulation and insulate the buss with modern shrink tube insulation.
6. Replace the old potting with a new 2 part system that is thermally stable which will last far into the future.
7. Clean and silver plate all mating surfaces to increase conductivity at critical joints.
8. Perform final tests in a shop fixture to ensure proper alignment and overall performance. 

Sound simple? The devil is in the details and NPE focuses on details. This whole procedure may sound easy but there is typically little opportunity to schedule downtime to shut down production while these critical components are sent out for work which can take several weeks. 

NPE stocks replacement bottles that can be matched to your system and swapped out in hours rather than weeks. Once we've provided identical replacements, we can evaluate the bottles that were taken out and either provide a credit for the "core" or we can recondition/repot them for replacement in other cells or return to inventory for future needs. 

Either way it demonstrates our commitment to "The right part, at the right time, right now!"

Contact us online or give us a call at 216-898-2680 to discuss our Magne-Blast Bottle Repotting Program today.       

Lock-out relays provide reliable protection of critical utility equipment and personel. Electroswitch lockout relays can accommodate nearly any lock-out switching application in the electric power industry and can be the difference between a routine outage and the destruction of expensive equipment.

Finding these high-quality Electroswitch lock-out relays can be challenging. Even browsing switchgear providers’ catalogs and websites, or other Electroswitch distributors, can yield low or no inventory. However, National Power Equipment regularly stocks these lockout relays, including the popular Electroswitch Series 24 lock-out relays and Electroswitch Series 31 lock-out relays.

Electroswitch Series 24

This series features low resistance, double-wiping contacts with self-cleaning silver contacts for long-term reliability. They come available with up to 10 decks (20 poles) and allow for between two and eight positions. Series 24 switches are rated at 30 amps @ 600 volts.

These lock-out relays have been put to the test over the years in heavy duty applications, including military and power switching applications.

Features include:

• Double-sided, Double-wiping, Knife-type rotary contacts
• Silver Contact Surfaces
• #8-32 Terminal Screws
• Standard Three-Hole Panel Mount

Reading Electroswitch Series 24 Product Numbers

Identifying the exact part number you’re looking for can be difficult. Here are some tips on finding the exact Electroswitch part number you’re looking for:

• To better understand the lettering in the product number, use this guide:
  • A=Single LED, Amber, 48/125VDC

  • B = Two LEDs, Green/Red, 48/125VDC

  • C = Three LEDs, Green/Amber/Red, 48/125VDC

  • D = Three LEDs, Green/Red/Red, 48/125VDC (Dual Trip Coil Monitor)

  • E = Single LED, Amber, 120VAC

  • F = Two LEDs, Green/Red, 120VAC

  • G = Three LEDs, Green/Amber/Red, 120VAC

• Example: A breaker control switch with a pistol grip handle (PG), Lighted Target Nameplate, three LED’s, and 120VAC LED voltage would be part number 24PG38D

View all available Electroswitch Series 24 Relays available from National Power Equipment

Electroswitch Series 31

This series features low-resistance, double-wiping contacts in a smaller package. They are available with up to 10 decks (20 poles) and allow for between 2 and 8 positions. Series 31 switches are rated at 15 amps @ 600 volts.

Features include:

• Double-sided, Double-wiping, Knife-type rotary contacts
• Silver Contact Surfaces
• Terminal Screws
• Standard Four-Hole Mount

Reading Electroswitch Series 31 Product Numbers

Use the graphic below, sourced from Electroswitch’s “Switches and Relays for the Power Industry” Guide, to identify the exact product number that you’re looking for:

View all available Electroswitch Series 31 Relays available from National Power Equipment

About Electroswitch

Electroswitch Corporation is a leading manufacturer of electronic switches, relays, and photocontrols. The company was founded in 1946, and over the years began designing and building high-quality switches for the heavy duty industrial and electrical utility markets. Through a series of acquisitions in 1908, Electroswitch became the industry leader in electrically-operated auxiliary relays, and their products are used in virtually every major electric utility in the United States and Canada.

If you’re looking for a specific Electroswitch lock-out relay but can’t find it in our catalog, contact us or give us a call at 216-898-2680.

NPE's aftermarket parts are designed with modern materials and enhanced design elements. 

These parts have several major advantages over OEM parts or used parts:

     Enhanced designs, to reduce failure rates

     Stronger/better modern materials

     In stock and ready to ship now, not in weeks or months

     What you need. When you need it. 

Extend the Life of Your Equipment with Replacement Aftermarket Parts

NPE’s aftermarket parts are available with improved designs and modern materials to help reduce failure rates and avoid downtime. Our experienced staff continuously works to identify solutions for hard-to-find and high-failure parts.

We use modern materials with an emphasis on strength and quality. Sometimes the changes can be as simple as a fiber-reinforced material or by filling voids to increase the strength of the part. Other times it could be a change in the concept of how the part performs. Why would you want to replace one poorly-designed part with another? NPE’s line of parts are made to fix the problem, not just put a band-aid on it.

We currently list 336 individual items in our aftermarket parts section of our website. Including hardware and tools to help you safely handle your air and vacuum circuit breakers. In addition to our long and growing list of replacement parts for circuit breakers, we also stock an extensive and growing list of hardware and tools to help you safely move, lift, and maintain your circuit breakers and switchgear. Racking handles, extension rails, slow close, and spring removal tools are only a small sample of what we offer.

Most often we find that our customers appreciate the prompt availability of our parts and our same day or next day shipping. All of our parts, especially the ones that have been out of manufacturing production for decades are in stock and ready to ship for delivery in hours or days, while OEM’s take weeks to ship even if they are in stock. Our products are available through your normal purchasing channels and in our online Aftermarket Parts Store. 

The Right Circuit Breaker Replacement Parts

As difficult as it is to correctly specify replacement circuit breakers, finding replacement parts can be much more challenging. Not only do you need to communicate all the correct breaker information, you also need all the information regarding the vintage changes of the internal parts as well. 

We specialize in fast, easy solutions for finding these parts. With a few questions and possibly a photo or two, our sales team will get you the right part, at the right price and, if needed, right now!

Just email us at info@npeinc.com or use our mobile ap NPE on the Go!

Please take a moment to browse our available aftermarket parts store. If you don’t see what you need just let us know. If we don’t have an improved design or a used part, we would be happy to quote a new custom design just for you. In any case, you can be assured that we will do our best to find the best solution to solve your problem and get the power back on as fast as possible.

Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about aftermarket parts.