Key Challenges
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Arc-flash Mitigation
Oil and Gas installations often experience an elevated risk of fire & explosion potential and they must be suitably protected from Arc Flash. Fuseco offers an industry leading Littelfuse Arc Flash relay that can mitigate against these dangers and deliver peace of mind to the site managers.
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Reduce risk to personnel
Oil and Gas operations can be risky environments for workers. This risk can be minimised by using protection relays to monitor equipment and isolate power in the event of equipment malfunction.
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Reliability
Reliability is extremely important in Oil & Gas operations to minimise down-time. Littelfuse relays have industry leading reliability and are backed with a 5-year warranty that ensures they operate effectively with a very low probability of failure.
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Technical Support
It is important that technicians and engineers on Oil & Gas installations can obtain timely and accurate technical support. The team at Fuseco offers high quality and rapid technical support to assist you when technical support for our relays is required.
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Top FAQs
A protection relay is a device that receives inputs typically from current transformers CT’s (but can be other sources) and then compares these inputs to set levels. If these inputs exceed the set levels a protection relay can then provide that information via display or indication, feed that information to other electronic control devices or it can be connected to a circuit breaker to isolate power.
Yes, currently Fuseco can offer both earth leakage and NER relays that are compliant to AS2081:2011. The relay manufacturer (Littelfuse) is also currently in the final stages of development for an AS2081:2011 compliant continuity relay that we expect to release in the near term.
An arc fault is a type of electrical fault that results from the breakdown of an insulating medium between two conductors where the energy is enough to sustain an arc across the insulator (often air) and can cause extreme amounts of light (arc flash), immense heat upwards of 19,000 degrees, and a resulting explosive pressure wave (arc blast). By using a relay that has optical sensors we can detect the flash of light the emanates from an Arc Flash and within 1 msec send a signal to a breaker to interrupt power. Because of the immense energy being released by an Arc Flash reaction time is critical. It can be seen on the graph that with a relay reaction time of only 1 msec (+ circuit breaker reaction time) we can interrupt power before the Arc Flash can result in critical damage.
An arc-flash happens when electric current flows through an air gap between conductors. There are several ways this can happen but the most common occurrence is when conductor insulation is worn or broken down.
The most important aspects of arc-flash relays are:
- reaction time
- trip reliability
- ease of installation
- sensor flexibility
- software
- sensor design
- avoidance of nuisance tripping
- scalability
To gain a deeper understanding of which features to consider when selecting an arc-flash relay please refer to the downloadable application guides.
Arc-flash relays are a necessary component in an electrical cabinet because they reduce the amount of incident energy in the system. While an arc-flash relay cannot prevent an arc flash from happening, it will protect critical assets and workers’ safety by reducing the severity of the flash. An arc-flash relay is an integral part of an arc-flash protection scheme that can minimize damage, and save money, time, and lives.
Three phase power systems are most often solidly earthed, however by using a Neutral Earthing Resistor (NER) a power system can be resistance earthed. This is done so that if an earth fault were to occur the amount of fault current will be limited by the NER resistance. One potential problem with a resistance earthed system is; what happens if the NER goes open circuit due to damage? If this were to happen the power system has now changed from a resistance earthed system to a system with no earth reference (floating). Now the NER is no longer restricting the amount of fault current and other devices that rely on an earth reference in order to operate, cannot do so. By using a NER monitoring relay the resistance and integrity of a NER can be continually monitored to detect for any variance in the NER resistance or integrity.
An earth fault can occur as a result of inadvertent contact between and energized conductor and earth or equipment frame. There can also be earth leakage from a system without “inadvertent contact”. This type of fault can be called capacitive earth leakage and it is caused by a capacitive effect between a high power conductor and earth. Small amount of earth leakage current can occur as a result of this capacitive effect. Whether it is smaller amounts current from capacitive earth leakage or larger amounts of current from direct inadvertent contact an earth leakage relay can detect this fault current. In all electrical circuits, current returns to its source. An earth fault relay can use a zero sequence CT to monitor phase current to ensure that all current coming from the source returns on those same conductors or it can monitor current in the connection between transformer neutral and earth. By either method the earth leakage relay detect any lost current to earth.
I called thru at 430pm EST and was put in contact with Sally in Vic! From the moment the call was answered Sally couldn’t do enough to try and help..... then she organised for Sydney to open up at 6am for me to collect the fuses. As a service-based company it was very refreshing to come across someone that went over and above to help us client back into production as quickly as we could!
Russell King
DIRECTOR - JOHNSON ELECTRICAL SERVICES
Michael, you asked me if I was happy with your service. Let me tell you that Fuseco had quoted and delivered the products via airfreight from Germany before our other suppliers returned our call. Outstanding!
Peter Stremski
LAWRENCE AND HANSON
It’s been a pleasure working with Fuseco on this project. Initially, we thought that the power quality issues on this job were insurmountable. Fuseco conducted a power quality site audit and consulted with us to find a suitable solution that would work reliably in this challenging environment. The reactors and harmonic filters specified & supplied by Fuseco have been the perfect solution.
Peter Carney
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AT SIEMENS
Just wanted to say thank you again to the Fuseco team. When presented with an electrical harmonics problem of this nature, I wasn’t sure how to approach it. You guys explained it in logical, scientific terms and expertly demonstrated the capability of your technology. It is now one month post-installation and I can say that the Active Filter is working well and the harmonics levels on this site are now negligible.
John Ulverstone
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT BHP
I would like to acknowledge the exceptional service provided by one of your employees over the Xmas break. On Christmas day we lost a 22kV underground feed to a very important part of our business and were desperate for some replacement HV fuses. I found your emergency contact details on the web a and immediately called. The person who answered was very helpful and arranged an emergency transport to our site. The next day, we were back up and running! We are a remote operation 1800kms from the nearest city and average service is the norm.
Gregory Blair
ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE AT BHP BILLITON
Thanks for ensuring that our order was delivered on time. Again, thank you for going the extra 8,000 km!
Don Hajdu
LOGISTICS OFFICER AT GRIDSENSE
I just wanted to let you know what great service your people gave us over the Christmas break and went to great lengths to make sure that we got the right fuses and that they were delivered on time. Dealing with your company a pleasure. Keep up the good work.
Kerry Prasad
MIDDENDORP TRARALGON
I don’t normally do this but I feel compelled to thank you in writing. I have been in the electrical industry for 25 years and without a doubt the most competent and trustworthy supplier I have used over this period of time is Fuseco. This is a demanding industry and how your team keeps performing above expectations is exceptional to me.
Ross Adam
EXPORT DEPT AT REXEL
I have dealt with Fuseco for the last 6 years for all our fuse requirements and find they provide the highest quality service and on-going support to our business for our day to day operations and for emergency/ heatwave as they arise. During a heatwave event in January 2014, SA Power Networks had critical fuse demands. Fuseco were extremely responsive in expediting stock requirements and organising special air freights to meet our urgent demands. Their customer service is excellent and key KPI’s measured against the contract are always above target.
Peter Ashenden
INVENTORY ANALYST AT SA POWER NETWORKS
Any company that can pull a rabbit out of a hat like that definitely has my attention!
Dane Branham
PROJECT ENGINEER AT RIO TINTO
From the moment the AHF and SVG units were turned on our power factor issues were a thing of the past. At both sites our PF is now 0.99 on all phases all the time, the units react instantaneously to our fluctuating load and power factor and the result has been an excellent return on investment.
Brad Kilner
OPERATIONS MANAGER AT KILNER'S ENGINEERING
The PFC units are now installed and running. They are doing a great job at maintaining a constant PF of 0.99 across all phases. Great product and excellent support from both of you. Very pleased doing business with you. Your help has been much appreciated.
Darren Brownscombe
ENGINEER AT TURBOSMART
We have a Frankonia SAC3Plus EMC chamber that we use for commercial testing. We have some height limitations in our laboratory and its dome shaped design fits very conveniently. We are happy with the performance of the chamber and their absorber design is great. No carbon dust and falling of foam absorbers. Previously we had carbon foam-based absorbers and we literally had to wear a safety hat before entering the chamber.
Terry Stones
LABORATORY MANAGER
Thank you for helping our team select the correct product to facilitate testing to the various required standards. Our lab is now equipped with a range of Teseq, IFI and Milmega products and the entire solution fulfils our testing requirements. We really appreciate your technical advice & support.
Scott Emerson
EMC TEST ENGINEER
The Teseq GTEM is a great testing tool to have. We are now performing all pre-compliance testing in-house and saving lots of money which we were spending earlier with test labs. It has given us significant more testing capability and flexibility. Thank you for your help.
Sue Benton
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Aside from receiving information when we need to upgrade or purchase an item of test equipment, what we really need from an equipment partner is advice based on industry experience. Thank you for the many hours spent talking to us and answering our questions. This level of customer care is rare in this industry.
Janet Boyle
EMC TEST ENGINEER TEAM LEADER
Upgrading to the Asterion power supply system has given us significant more testing capability and flexibility. It has been a wise investment. Thank you for your advice and support.
Margaret Smith
TEST LABORATORY SENIOR ANALYST AT UNIVERSITY OF NSW
Buying the MX45 California Instruments power source has given us enhanced testing capabilities. We have the SNK option, which is a bidirectional sink option. We are now able to simulate all grid conditions in our lab environment up to 45kVA. For me, reliability is important and I’m happy to say that we have been using this device for many years without any issues.
Keith Boydell
RESEARCH FELLOW AT UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG
We have several Sorensen power supplies in our lab and they are the lowest output noise power supply we have experienced. For any critical research project where output noise and line/load regulations are important, we use only Sorensen power supplies.
Annette Eskdale
TEST LABORATORY MANAGER AT MONASH UNIVERSITY
Since switching to Fuseco as our supplier of Schaffner RFI/EMC filters, our experience has been very positive. My expectations are that we will receive exactly what we ordered, on time every time without exception. Fuseco's service gives me peace of mind.
Naomi Peterson
PROCUREMENT OFFICER AT AEC CORPORATION
After extensive quality testing, we chose the Schaffner RFI filters as the best solution for our compliance requirements. Fuseco provides industry leading consistency of supply and great response & flexibility to changes in our delivery schedule. The Fuseco team are a pleasure to deal with.
Janet Sanders
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR AT BMI
My client purchased four robots to milk cows 24/7. At the start of the project, I asked the OEM - “How quickly will the robots reboot/reset after an outage? You should know that we get outages all the time and that we get voltage swings with all the PV”. OEM - No answer. It was then decided to install two 10kVA UPS systems to fill the gap between an outage and the backup diesel generator supporting the customer’s load. Fuseco, a specialist in this area, were a great help in producing a solution for the split phase 480VAC system.
Peter Bulle
Director at CoGen Plus
Dealing with your team has been a very positive experience. The Continuum UPS solutions in conjunction with your professional advice solved our Demand Load Management challenges perfectly.
Frank Leonis
Project Engineer at SMEC
Reliable continuity of supply has been an issue for this project from its inception. The Continuum solutions implemented here have solved this issue and have given us peace of mind. Thank you guys for your patience, expertise and support.
Lawrence Cheng
Engineering Manager at ARUP
Emailing to pass on my heartful thanks for your team last night and their responsiveness in getting us out of trouble with a major fault on our hospital project. Taking the after-hours call, opening up after-hours and having the stock on hand meant that we could get the hospital back online and enabled over 30 surgeries to go ahead today, which would not have only been a financial cost to the hospital, but negated the mental and physical impact on people that need urgent surgeries and then having to put them off to an alternate date, is honestly huge! Once again thanks for all the help!
Scott Boreham
Project Manager at ADJ Contracting
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