Electrical Field Services

Replacing obsolete air-magnetic or air-blast interrupting mechanisms with modern vacuum interrupter technology. The new vacuum breaker is engineered as a direct drop-in replacement that slides into the existing switchgear cubicle without modifying bus work or the enclosure. This eliminates parts obsolescence issues (especially arc chutes), removes potential asbestos-containing components, and delivers faster clearing times, higher interrupting ratings, and significantly longer maintenance intervals. Vacuum interrupters are essentially maintenance-free for 10,000+ operations or 20+ years.

Retrofit platforms include GE Magne-Blast, Westinghouse DB/DH, ABB K-line, Siemens, and other legacy switchgear.

Trip Unit Retrofits

Replacing obsolete electromechanical or early-generation electronic trip units with modern microprocessor-based units. The new trip unit mounts into the existing breaker frame using a retrofit kit. Modern solid-state units offer fully adjustable long-time, short-time, instantaneous, and ground fault protection (LSIG) with precise time-current coordination. They also provide fault event logging, metering (amps, volts, kW, power factor), communication capability, and alarm outputs. This eliminates the drift and inconsistency of aging thermal-magnetic elements and allows proper coordination of upstream and downstream devices.

Kits available for virtually every major 480V/600V power breaker. Full primary injection verification after installation.

High-magnitude current (100A to 20,000A+ depending on breaker rating) is injected directly through the primary conductors to verify that the entire protection chain operates correctly: current sensors, wiring, trip unit, and mechanical trip mechanism. Trip times are recorded and compared against the manufacturer's published time-current curves. This is the gold standard for breaker verification because it tests the complete system end-to-end. Secondary injection testing (applying a signal directly to the trip unit) can miss problems with CTs, wiring, or contact resistance that primary injection catches.

Testing covers all four protection zones: long-time (overload), short-time (delayed fault), instantaneous (bolted fault), and ground fault. Formal test reports provided.

Switchgear Inspections

Comprehensive examination of medium and low voltage switchgear assemblies per NFPA 70B and NETA standards. Includes visual inspection, infrared thermography, contact resistance testing of bus connections and cable terminations, insulation resistance testing, mechanical operation checks, cleaning, lubrication, and torque verification of bolted connections. NFPA 70B became a mandatory standard (no longer just a recommended practice) in 2023, requiring documented electrical preventive maintenance programs. Neglected switchgear is the leading cause of arc flash incidents. Regular inspections catch loose connections, deteriorating insulation, and misadjusted protective devices before they cause unplanned outages.

Transformer Testing

A suite of electrical tests to assess transformer condition: turns ratio testing (verifying winding ratios), winding resistance measurement (detecting shorted turns or loose connections), insulation resistance / megger testing, power factor / dissipation factor testing (detecting moisture and contamination), and sweep frequency response analysis (SFRA) to detect winding deformation. Testing is especially critical after through-fault events (downstream short circuits) which mechanically stress windings. Tests follow IEEE C57.152 standards with results trended against previous inspections to identify degradation patterns.

Often called the "blood test" for transformers, dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is the single most valuable predictive maintenance tool for oil-filled transformers. Oil samples are analyzed via gas chromatography to measure dissolved gases, each pointing to a specific fault type: hydrogen indicates partial discharge, ethylene indicates high-temperature thermal faults, and acetylene indicates active arcing. Additional tests include dielectric breakdown voltage, moisture content, acid number, and furan analysis (which specifically indicates paper insulation aging). A single oil sample costs a few hundred dollars; a transformer failure costs hundreds of thousands. DGA can detect developing faults months or years before they cause failure, allowing planned intervention.

Repair and Reconditioning

Ranges from minor repairs (replacing gaskets, bushings, gauges, and reprocessing oil) to full reconditioning (pulling the core and coil assembly, inspecting for insulation degradation, replacing insulation materials, re-clamping windings, and reprocessing oil). A full reconditioning costs 40-60% of a new transformer and can be completed in weeks rather than the 12-18 month lead time for new units. For legacy or custom-spec transformers (odd voltages, impedances, or tap configurations), reconditioning may be the only practical option.

Contactor Rebuilds

Complete disassembly and restoration of NEMA and IEC contactors used in motor control centers. Includes replating contacts with silver, replacing arc chutes and springs, nickel plating moving mechanical parts, and full operational testing. MCCs in industrial facilities often contain hundreds of contactor-based starters, and a failed contactor means a dead motor and a stopped process. Rebuilding is far more economical than replacing entire MCC buckets, especially for legacy equipment where new buckets may not be available. We handle all major MCC platforms: GE 7700, Westinghouse 2100, Square D Model 6, Siemens, and Cutler-Hammer Advantage/Freedom.

Hard-to-Find Parts

Many industrial facilities operate switchgear and breakers manufactured by companies that no longer exist (Allis-Chalmers, Federal Pacific, ITE, Gould, Brown Boveri) or models that have been out of production for 20-40+ years. When a critical part fails, we maintain extensive warehouse inventory of breakers and parts going back decades, along with the knowledge to cross-reference part numbers across manufacturer lineages (e.g., ITE to Gould to ABB to ABB/Siemens). Combined with our in-house machining and plating capability, we can solve problems that pure parts-sourcing companies cannot.