Environmental Considerations For Cabinet Cooler System Selection

Published on by Russ Bowman

An EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System is a durable, reliable solution for protecting panels with electrical and electronic components from heat damage. They install in minutes, and since they’re solely compressed air operated, there are no moving parts to wear or electrical components to burn out. If you supply it with clean compressed air (by installing the Filter Separator that’s included), it’ll run darn near indefinitely, maintenance free.

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems come with the Cabinet Cooler itself (NEMA 12 – left, NEMA 4 – center, NEMA 4X – right), a Cold Air Hose Distribution Kit, Solenoid Valve & Thermostat, and an Automatic Drain Filter Separator.

We even make selection easy – you can fill out a Sizing Guide and submit the data, and an Application Engineer will use it to calculate the heat load and specify the right system for your panel. You can even call in the data – it only takes a minute to do the calculations, and we do it over the phone all the time. Or, for you control freaks Do-It-Yourself’ers, there’s a calculator on our website that’ll take your data and spit out an answer, right away.

It’s, of course, critical to make sure we get you a Cabinet Cooler System with a cooling capacity high enough to handle your heat load, but it’s just as critical to make sure we supply one that’s suitable for the environment in the area of installation. NEMA (National Electric Manufacturer’s Association, the primary trade association that advocates for the industry, and publishes standards for electrical products) delineates a number of ratings that must be complied with to keep anything detrimental in the environment from getting into the panel. While NEMA defines thirteen Non-Hazardous Location Types, EXAIR has three different designs that meet the requirements of almost any Non-Hazardous Location.

We’ve got UL Classified models for heat protection in hazardous locations as well, so you know.

NEMA 12 Cabinet Cooler products are for general industrial environments where no liquids or corrosives are present. They’re dust tight, oil tight, indoor duty.

NEMA 12 Cabinet Cooler Systems are available in cooling capacities from 275 – 5,600 Btu/hr. Side Mount Kits make for easy installation in tight quarters. On right, a Cabinet Cooler System in place for over 20 years still functions at rated capacity.

NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler products have a low pressure relief valve that closes when the Cabinet Cooler isn’t operating to seal off against liquid ingress. They’re dust tight, oil tight, splash resistant, indoor/outdoor duty.

With their compact design, NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler Systems can provide cooling for very small – or very large enclosures in spray down areas or outdoor installations. A Cold Muffler comes with all NEMA 4 & 4X Cabinet Coolers.

NEMA 4X Cabinet Coolers are made of 303SS for corrosion resistance. They offer the same environmental integrity as the NEMA 4 models. They’re also available in 316SS for applications requiring higher corrosion resistance.

NEMA 4X Cabinet Coolers are made of stainless steel for corrosive environments. 316SS is available for protection in particularly extreme environments (and when specified in food/pharma applications). High Temperature models can handle up to 200°F (93°C) ambient temperatures, indoors or outdoors.

If you’ve got an electrical panel with equipment that needs safe & reliable protection from heat, and the environment, we’ve got solutions, whatever that environment might be. To find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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