January 31, 2013
To: Standards Technical Panel (STP) for Portable Power-Distribution Equipment;
Subscribers to UL’s Standards Service for UL1640;
Subscribers to UL’s Listing Service for Portable Power-Distribution Equipment UL1640; and
Multiple and Alternate Listees of UL Listed Portable Power-Distribution Equipment (for information only).
Subject: Implementation of Continuing Certification Program for Portable Power-Distribution Equipment
This bulletin is to inform you that the Standard for Portable Power Distribution Equipment, UL 1640, has been recently revised. The new Edition 3, dated October 25, 2012, is available for purposes of evaluation and certification of new and revised Portable Power-Distribution Equipment. UL has introduced the Continuing Certification(1) approach to the Standards Technical Panel (STP) for UL1640 and the STP has voted on the implementation of the changes in requirements. The result of this vote is that the change in requirements, transitioning from UL1640, Second Edition (including revisions through January 15, 2010) to UL1640, Third Edition, do not warrant all Portable Power-Distribution Equipment certified to the Second Edition requirements to be recertified to the recently adopted requirements (Refer to CSDS work area opened 2012-08-27). Consequently, UL will not conduct an Industry File Review on Portable Power-Distribution Equipment currently certified to UL1640.
CONTINUING CERTIFICATION APPROACH
Please refer to the following for specific details of this new approach.
· Existing certifications of Portable Power-Distribution Equipment will be allowed to continue and will not be withdrawn, provided there are no changes to the design of the certified Portable Power-Distribution Equipment that requires a certification decision, or until a new/revised requirement is determined to require action be taken in the future. Changes to the design that require a certification decision will need to be evaluated to the latest edition of UL1640. For example, changes to the ratings, and/or the use of alternate components requiring testing, will result in the need for the product to be re-evaluated to the latest edition of UL1640 in its entirety.
· After October 25, 2013, only UL1640, Third Edition can be used for Portable Power-Distribution Equipment investigations.
Please see the attached summary of requirements for UL 1640, 3rd Edition, Issued: October 25, 2012
For any questions regarding this letter or the Continuing Certification approach, please contact Marvin Montenegro at (847) 664-3752 or
(1) – Visit the following link for additional information regarding the Continuing Certification approach.
http://www.ul.com/global/documents/offerings/industries/powerandcontrols/resources/Continuing_Certification_Announcement_012913.pdf
Respectfully,
WILLIAM R. CARNEY
Director, Global Chief Engineer
North American Certification Programs Office
SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS
FOR
UL 1640, 3rd Edition, Issued: October 25, 2012
STANDARD FOR PORTABLE POWER-DISTRIBUTION EQUIPMENT
This document is derived from the following Standard Development Organization (SDO) bulletin(s) or other Documentation publicly available to UL subscribers:
Standard Development Organization (SDO) / Document Type(Proposal, bulletin, etc.) / Document Designation / Date
UL / Bulletin / Subject 1640 / 10-Jun-11
UL / Bulletin / Subject 1640 / 20-Sep-11
Primary motivator for the Standards revision / Clarification of requirements and alignment with horizontal Standard for Enclosures for Electrical Equipment, Environmental Considerations, UL 50E.
CCNs Impacted / QPSH, QPSM
The following is a summary of the revised/new certification requirements
Section / Paragraph / Clause / Summary of requirements / Action /Section 22 / Revise the pass/fail criteria for "Type 3R" rating to better align with UL 50E (permitting water to enter enclosure so long as it is below the lowest live and there is no accumulation of water within the enclosure). / Revised Requirement
Section 7.6 / Revise requirement for a "spring closing cover" to allow for an "equivalent means" to provide environmental protection to inlets and receptacles. Clarified requirements that apply to equipment marked "Suitable for Use in Damp Locations" / Revised
Requirement
Entire Document / Removed ratings inconsistent with portable distribution equipment. Specifically, removed ratings such as "Type 6" and "Type 6P" that apply to equipment rated for submersion. / Revised Requirement