Grain Store

[Gravid]

Been asked to look into wiring a grain store, anyone done this kind of install recently?

Ideally I think it needs 8 lowbays, 4 each side, but due to cost issues thinking 4 high bays off the apex. Whatever I put has to have polycarb diffusers, but i'm also thinking of dust ingress and I read another thread mentioning an explosive atmosphere. What style of fittngs have you installed in this scenario.

Any tips, advice, things to consider, links to cheap sites would be great. Cheers.

 

[lewlec]

hello

we wired one last year, what we used were IP 65 70w hqi wall lights and mounted them on the side of the shed because big lorries were tipping in the middle so we were unable to mount them near the top. hope this is of use to you.

regards
gary

 

[Gravid]

Cheers, good point that mate, something I hadn't even thought about.

 

[scotsparky]

If its grain its an explosive area so EExp all equipment! puts price throuch the roof. Compex 5,6 (dust) remenber grain dust is explosive several bakerys have gone up in a ball of flames.

Grain Dust Peril - Latest Grain Elevator Blast Renews Safety Concerns

link is an american site but same hazzard.

 

[Des 56]

With grainstoring being a potentially explosive environment I had a look at getting information regarding intrinsic safety and grain stores,to see if intrinsic safety or flameproof apparatus was required for these places

There may be regulations that we are unaware of regarding these environments,if like me you have no experience of them
So I would be careful (as you are being) to find out what may or may not be unique to these installs before hand







The European Union's new regulations focus global attention on safety in potentially explosive environments.

Maintaining and troubleshooting equipment can be a difficult challenge in a normal manufacturing environment. Doing so in a potentially explosive environment is even more so. While many guidelines have been published to define safety processes in hazardous environments, the European Union's ATEX regulations, which became mandatory on July 1, are the first compulsory intrinsic safety rules. Intrinsic safety is a protection standard employed in potentially explosive atmospheres. Devices that are certified as "intrinsically safe" are designed to be unable to release sufficient energy, by either thermal or electrical means, to cause ignition of flammable material such as gases, dust and particulates.
Intrinsically safe standards apply to all equipment that can create one or more of a range of defined potential explosion sources:

• Electrical sparks.
• Electrical arcs.
• Flames.
• Hot surfaces.
• Static electricity.
• Electromagnetic radiation.
• Chemical reactions.
• Mechanical impact.
• Mechanical friction.
• Compression ignition.
• Acoustic energy.
• Ionizing radiation.

Intrinsic safety is particularly important for technicians working in industries such as petrochemical, pharmaceutical and pulp/paper, or around bulk materials such as grain, mining or any environment where explosive gases are present.
The importance of safety in these environments cannot be stressed enough. It takes a very small amount of energy to cause an ignition -- for example, a mixture of hydrogen in air requires only 20 microJ of energy. The proper practices and tools will minimize the inherent risk involved in working around these hazards.

 

[Griffin]

Hi,

Find out if the area is classed as hazzardous (ie what zone)
Normally 20, 21 or 22 for dusts.

You may find you need to be compex trained to carry out installation work or repairs in these areas.

More info in attatchment from HSE

G

 

[Gravid]

Cheers for all the info, not had alot of time to digest it all yet !

It's not plant or bakery or anything that size, its just a big shed on a farm and half of its for storing beans. This explosive atmosphere stuff is something I know nothing about and I'd never heard of Compex training for that matter. But I had read about grain being explosive and just wondered.

All I've been told is the shed has to comply with A.C.C.S regs which is about food storing and, from what I can gather, as far as we're concerned means polycarb covers.

Thanks everyone, I'll look into it.

 

[Spudnik]

Let us know how you get on!