M1 relays and rated voltage

[znelbok]

I was reading the specs on the M1 relay boards and I noticed that they are only rated for voltages up to 125V.

I have a friend who has curtain control being used with his M1 and his integrator has wire all the 240V through the relays.

Is this common practice to ignore the relay ratings, or is no-one switching 240V with the M1?

Has anyone replaced the relays with suitably rated alternates?

Comments appreciated

Mick

[chrism]

For a host of reasons, I would not ignore these ratings. It may be ok, but chances are if a fault develops (ie surge or short), a problem may occur on the low voltage driving side of the relays. I assume the expander relay board is in use in this case. If the main controller is used, this would be a big mistake... I don't believe there is supposed to be mains voltage on any of the boards!

Cheers

Chris

[znelbok]

Thanks for the input Chris

While I dont plan on ignoring the rating, as I said I know of one installation that does. All relays are on expander boards as there is none on the main PCB (apart from Output3 for the strobe if used).

These units as US (elk) and hence were designed to hadnle their 110VAC. It is a shame they were no uprated to 250VAC for worldwide conditions.

Mick

[chrism]

Hi Mick

I'm always a bit wary with regards to switching 240V from a board with multiple relays. We use a couple of products to do it (C-Bus or another relay unit we use with The Beaver). This way, we can keep our 240V well segregated from the SELV....only use 240V 'rated' cat5 (pink). 240V is a little more tricky than the 110V particularly where inductive loads may cause flashing near PCB tracks.

Cheers

Chris