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Unread 10-12-2014, 14:56
adciv adciv is offline
One Eyed Man
FRC #0836 (RoboBees)
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Re: Keeping the main breaker from tripping

Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz View Post
For those who think spray is illegal can you tell me why you think that?
I'm basing this off my experience with other types of circuit breakers and what we would permit with them. This is regardless of if it works or not.

Yes, ambient temperatures affect thermal circuit breakers. Using any sort of device to intentionally cool the breaker violates the intent of the safety mechanism. If a team is popping breakers after X time, they are then exceeding the ratings. The only reason for attempting to cool it down is to "cold soak" the breaker to attempt to uprate the breaker and increase the current required to trip it. I see little difference between intent in using compressed air and packing dry ice around a breaker during a match.

Now, if a team wishes to cherry pick which breaker they want to use, that is a different matter. But intentionally manipulating the environment around the breaker to prevent the breaker from tripping is a direct attempt to bypass the safety mechanism the breaker provides.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by texarkana View Post
I would not want the task of devising a system that 50,000 very smart people try to outwit.