in this video we're going to be taking a close look at this 32 amp three-phase
and neutral industrial socket outlet from Lewden from their Alupres range
now this is clearly a cut above the usual socket outlet that you may install and it's very much
designed for tough industrial applications where external influences could cause some
serious damage to the electrical equipment so typical applications for this might include
things like steel works foundries blast furnaces deep freeze industries and really any areas with
the presence of highly abrasive substances this is reflected in the fact that the socket outlet
has an ip rating of 67 and an ik rating of 10 which is the highest achievable impact rating
if you'd like to know a little bit more about what impact ratings and ip ratings are and how
they affect your installation work then please do go and check out our free accredited training
package that we've made on this subject which will count towards your annual cpd requirements
click the link in the description below or head over to the luden academy tab on luden.com so what
makes this socket outlet so incredibly tough well for one the body is made of an aluminium alloy
not grp or plastic which makes it really impact resistant not only that the aluminium alloy is
passivated using fluorozuiconium which speeds up the natural process that aluminium goes through to
build up a protective surface layer on there this is then reinforced with a powder coated finish to
offer a high level of surface protection the high ip rating is achieved in a few different ways the
fixings are on the outside of the rear enclosure to prevent holes through the back where moisture
could ingress on the top and bottom there's access plates with ceiling gaskets one plate is solid
and the other comes with a threaded spout to allow the use of an armored or stuffing land
and notice that this spout here has a nice flat face on top to allow a washer to make
a good seal on there the plates at top and bottom are exchangeable to allow you to bring your cable
in through different routes the lid and base are permanently connected to each other by this hinge
down on the bottom so when you undo the screws it folds open for easy access to the connections
that's a really nice touch that means that the lid isn't flapping in the wind getting damaged or lost
while you're installing it and the fixing screws here are captive meaning that they won't fall out
and disappear the high ip rating is maintained by the seal around the outside which is actually
fixed into a groove meaning that it won't fall out of place or have to be wrestled back into position
when you do screw the lid on now looking at the incoming terminals at the top here you
can see that there's a shield in place to help prevent contact with live parts if you
remove that and look at the connections you'll be able to see that they're a cage type terminal
making for really easy connections that minimizes damage to the conductors and give
a really secure termination the isolator up here is an ac23 type which means that it can be used
for switching off highly inductive loads perfect for things like motors transformers and welders
there's a couple of other great safety features on the outlet if we close the lid back up
and have a look at the socket outlet we get another application of ip ratings because the
terminals themselves are rated at ip2x which if you've completed our cpd package on this subject
you'll know means that the terminals cannot be accessed by solids greater than 12 and a half
millimetres in diameter or fingers as we call them the outlet goes one step further in this
regard you can see that when i try to operate the isolating switch at the top it simply won't turn
on this is because the socket is interlocked which means that it can't be energized without
a plug being inserted which is a requirement in BS 7671 for certain types of installation
so when we insert a plug into the outlet you can see if we just do that that it then allows for the
operation of the isolation switch so there you go and you'll notice that once it's energized i
can't then remove the plug so that it can't be left energized without the plug being connected
now if we switch the isolator off and remove the plug we can open up the enclosure and see how this
works if i try and manually operate the isolator switch you can see this long connected bar
down here is trying to push downwards but it can't because of the molded aluminium section here
looking at the socket element there's this plunger with a spring attached to it and when
the plug connects it pushes it down and activates this lever which lifts up the bottom section of
the sliding bar and then allows the whole bar to slide down when the isolator is operated
you'll also see that when the plug goes in and the isolator switched it brings up this retaining hook
which latches over the keyway on the plug and prevents the plug from being removed
when the socket is energized another interesting requirement of IEC 60309 which relates to this
kind of socket outlet is that the electrical contacts in the socket barrel are located
at different depths to ensure that when inserting a plug the earth is connected first and then the
neutral and then the phases when withdrawing the plug this is of course the opposite so
the phases disconnect first then the neutral then the earth this sequence prevents loss of neutron
three-phase systems which may be connected to single phase loads further down the line
so there we go this is one seriously robust industrial socket outlet that Lewden have produced
and there's a whole variety of different options available in different voltages and current
ratings as well as built-in protective devices like MCB's and RCD's so you know there's a socket
for every situation again if you want to know much more about ip and ik ratings then please do go and
check out our free accredited training package for your ongoing cpd and for your own learning as well
but as always we want to hear from you do you install industrial socket outlets have you ever
worked in an environment where additional levels of ip and ik ratings were required
which feature of the outlet do you like the most please leave your thoughts and
questions in the comments section below and as always thank you very much for watching