Square safety switch

Picked up what I thought was an electrical panel today, found it in a dumpster, was nice and heavy. When I got home I opened the panel and theres three cylindrical tubes in there, under the cover it reads "Square safety switch" theres a large lever on the right of it. Anyone know what this thing is? Should I just bring it whole to the scrap yard and see what I can get? I figure there has to be some non ferrous on it somewhere, some copper or brass at least. Thanks for the input.



Ill try and post some pictures tomorrow if no one has any clue.

sounds like a square D disconnect switch

square d disconnect - Google Search

heres a pic (hopefully)

Looks like a regular switchbox, if the connections are slot style (not sure of the actual name) they should be either brass or copper, possibly silver plated. If the connections are two faces that meet they quite likely have sliver contacts.

Check it out to see if it works. I get 25 cents per amp for the fused ones reselling them. That will beat scrap any day.

Go to this page and call, they may buy it and I think they pay shipping.
The phone # is part way down on the right.
Sell Your Used or New Overstock Inventory - PLCCenter.com
Chris

Originally Posted by Pnutfarmer

Check it out to see if it works. I get 25 cents per amp for the fused ones reselling them. That will beat scrap any day.

Any clue how I would go about doing that? I mean checking to see if it works?

Originally Posted by etack

No silver contacts just blade switches.

Eric

still possibility of copper or brass?

Originally Posted by etack

No silver contacts just blade switches.

Eric

Thanks for the correction!

Take it apart. The knife contacts are tinned copper. Lugs are aluminum extrusion. Some have lots of thin sheet copper attached to the disconnect lever.

The fuses have copper comming out of both ends, cut the fuse in half, be carfull it might be full of beads of some sort. Sometimes the copper goes all the way through. There is other copper as well but to hard for me to explain you'll have to check it out for yourself.

Originally Posted by billygoat

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am staunchly against selling used electrical equipment. As a former electrician I will not, now or ever, purchase and install used equipment. I look at them like I look at tires on the side of the road. Odds are there is a good reason why someone is tossing them. I will not sell used electrical items because I have a conscience.

I understand what your saying. On the other hand why does that company buy used electrical equipment?

I work on business phones but until the mid 1990's I worked on cars. My brother wanted me to put a used heater fan in his car. I refused and told him I would help him put a new one in because factory flat rate was over 10 hours and i would not install a used one. We never did put a fan in that Mercedes before he sold it. I think they magically held a heater motor in mid air and built the car around it!
Chris

Originally Posted by sapienza521

Any clue how I would go about doing that? I mean checking to see if it works?

Usually, on these you can just use a test light. I test the fuses first and see if they will light the test light going from one copper end to the other. Then test through the blade contacts to make sure you have continuity when closed and not when you open them.


Billygoat..... the guys I sell used equipment to (that I get from demolition projects, usually still in use) go through it completely testing it. This includes the company in the thread PLC. Another local one I use sells for a lot less than new and warranty the parts. I've scrapped stuff from them that looked nice to me, but they said it had some problem I couldn't see but that they found in testing.

The other thing I'd do with this type safety switch is sell to a farmer or someone like that for use in turning on grain bin motors or pond pumps.

Originally Posted by sapienza521

Picked up what I thought was an electrical panel today, found it in a dumpster, was nice and heavy.
When I got home I opened the panel and theres three cylindrical tubes in there

Right at this point my lungs started to rise up out of my throat.

I'm thinking "Oh ****! he's got a 3 phase mercury switch & he has no idea of what it is...."

that would be a jackpot find