Why can't I find any American brand solar disconnect switches?

[joeright]

Why are there no name brand American solar disconnect switches? There is only these cheap weirdo name Chinese makes with no reliable certifications made by low wage workers in China. I wouldn't trust them but I've found no other options except one Chinese brand that seems to check out. I think I paid $80. I just saw one of Will's videos where he shows a few he apparently uses. They're no-name Chinese. One was $30. A naked double pole American make AC circuit breaker is $15 at Home Depot. I believe you (generally) get what you pay for and I suspect $30 is too cheap to be good. I have a Blue Sea Systems battery disconnect switch that is heavy & solid. My Chinese switch is not.

Amazon is getting unfortunately flooded by no name Chinese junk. I once bought a weirdo Chinese name 80 amp fuse because I couldn't initially find a trusted American one. I put it in my system and it was warm at only 5 amps and has 2g wire around it! I yanked that out and found a trusted American name. It cost a lot more but you get what you pay for.

I ended up using a solar disconnect that looks a lot like the single knob one in Will's recent video "How to avoid electrocution from an offgrid solar system" but mine is made by "World Sunlight / Yueqing Xianglang Electric Co. Ltd." It's Chinese but at least they have a good english website, list internationally recognized certifications and is sold & installed by Explorist life Marine & Off-Grid Electrical. I think I was able to even verify the certifications somewhere independent of the company. But I'd still feel better with something American made under our codes & regulations.

Does anybody know of one?

Commented on How to Avoid Electrocution from an Offgrid Solar System: Everyone should know this!

 

[Quattrohead]

Look for IMO brand units.

 

[zanydroid]

Your zeroth mistake is shopping on Amazon for electrical, especially solar. Use supply houses. They are online too

 

[joeright]

The IMO brand one is exactly what the World Sunlight one looks like and I've seen several others like it. I assume it's re-branded.

 

[joeright]

I found no supply house with anything different. Can you name 1 big name American brand that makes a proper solar disconnect?

 

[zanydroid]

The IMO brand one is exactly what the World Sunlight one looks like and I've seen several others like it. I assume it's re-branded.

The IMO is the go to default for the forum

 

[zanydroid]

I found no supply house with anything different. Can you name 1 big name American brand that makes a proper solar disconnect?

I don’t personally care about American vs Euro or Chinese brand, for my code compliant installs. As long as it has easily verifiable listings and is unlikely to be counterfeit. The online supply houses I trust mediates that for me.

Good luck with satisfying your different requirements from me. I will dip out as I cannot contribute further

 

[zanydroid]

And to counter point in case others see this thread in their research. If there are authentic listing certs then the listing lab has lab tested and inspected in China/wherever, and this meets the legal NRTL threshold

 

[Q-Dog]

The IMO brand one is exactly what the World Sunlight one looks like and I've seen several others like it. I assume it's re-branded.

Copied, not rebranded. The IMO has the certifications printed on it.

 

[joeright]

I appreciate what zanydroid is saying, but this particular switch feels light and has cheap, fairly thin plastic. This is an important part and I literally sleep on top of it in my RV. I'm not an electrical engineer, I'm a licensed plumber. This switch is very obviously built nowhere near the quality of the Blue Sea switch which has lower electrical ratings.

Tons of inexpensive, counterfeit, improperly labeled / made stuff that breaks comes from China all the time. I'm not trying to bad mouth China but it's a verifiable fact that many companies there do not care and do not respect the laws & standards of the wider world.

I'd simply like to know if an American branded switch (even if, as is often the case it's made with foreign labor or parts) exists. A good American company, in general, will have higher standards. I'll even take a European or Japanese one.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Amazon is getting unfortunately flooded by no name Chinese junk.

Tell me something new.

 

[Q-Dog]

I found no supply house with anything different. Can you name 1 big name American brand that makes a proper solar disconnect?

Midnite Solar makes a few.

 

[joeright]

Thank you, Q-dog. That's worth looking at. A "UL listed" and made in Austria. That information could not be seen in the photos of IMO units I looked at online.

 

[zanydroid]

Copied, not rebranded. The IMO has the certifications printed on it.

Yeah it’s more likely that the Amazon dogshit was an IMO copy that was worse than the real deal.

 

[outboard1196]

I appreciate what zanydroid is saying, but this particular switch feels light and has cheap, fairly thin plastic. This is an important part and I literally sleep on top of it in my RV. I'm not an electrical engineer, I'm a licensed plumber. This switch is very obviously built nowhere near the quality of the Blue Sea switch which has lower electrical ratings.

Tons of inexpensive, counterfeit, improperly labeled / made stuff that breaks comes from China all the time. I'm not trying to bad mouth China but it's a verifiable fact that many companies there do not care and do not respect the laws & standards of the wider world.

I'd simply like to know if an American branded switch (even if, as is often the case it's made with foreign labor or parts) exists. A good American company, in general, will have higher standards. I'll even take a European or Japanese one.

Not sure your specs, but this one was recommended to me.

Siemens General Duty 30 Amp 3-Pole 3-Wire 240-Volt Non-Fusible Indoor Safety Switch GNF321A - The Home Depot

Give the best and ultimate addition to your electrical application with this Siemens General Duty Non-Fusible Indoor Safety Switch. Offers great durability.

www.homedepot.com

 

[robbob2112]

The big differences between IMO and the copies that are made by companies that sound like a frypan bounced off the wall

• The bus bars inside are hardened to take something like 12k cycles WITH power and current running - they turn then a spring snaps the contacts open so you get an inch or more of space to kill the arc.
• The plastic is self-extenguishing - meaning if there is enough heat it will bubble, melt, and might catch fire, but when the heat source is gone it goes out.... the cheap copies are just cheap ABS and it burns like gasoline
• The connections inside where the wires attach are better quality
• you can get them in many many sizes - DC isolators
• They are UL listed and have other certifications

They may cost a bit more but they are worth it.


If you want the switch type "Square D Safety Switch H-261 30 Amp 600V 2 Pole Type 1 Enclosure" --- they can be had for about $40 used on ebay and they look new. The only hitch can be the knock-outs have been used.

That is a note - you can get all sorts of electrical boxes used on ebay that are quality stuff. You can also get breakers that are NOS (new, old stock), still in the box and never used. I just received a NOS 200amp main breaker by Schneider - $84 - still in the original box and bag.... retail cost of $350.... There are many deals like that to be had if you pick through...

 

[joeright]

Thanks, I'm aware of these needs in a DC switch. The paperwork that came with my World Sunlight switch mentions all that. It's just that I built a 525 watt bullett proof solar system on a small RV with the best materials money can buy & I could find available but this switch is the only thing I wonder about.

It switches solidly enough & the terminals work well but I question its light feel, the plastic stem for the rotary handle and just feeling not great about most things out of China. It essentially looks no different inside & out than the IMO and it did cost $80.

 

[joeright]

Sorry the quality of the photo after posting isn't great. Let's try a crop..

 

[Steadfastly]

There is an awful lot of nationalism in many of the posts I see on this forum site.

 

[MarkSolar]

Littlefuse makes disconnects and claims to be an American company, whatever that means anymore. Good luck figuring out where they make their stuff.

 

[TM48]

IMO makes a number of different switches. I bought two din rail mount style to mount inside a wiring box under my array. Got them from Industrial Controls Direct.

 

[SparkyJJO]

There is an awful lot of nationalism in many of the posts I see on this forum site.

And your problem with that is...?
It is an empirical fact that the keyboard mash brand name Chinese copies flooding the market at stupid cheap prices are also cheaply made garbage.

 

[Zwy]

IMO is a worldwide company.

If you want a metal cased disconnect, purchase the IMO internals separate and install in a box of your choosing. You could use a wiring trough if you want 20 disconnects for your 20 string array of almost 1.2 GW.

Don't be fooled by the copies of the IMO, those are not UL listed. The IMO is UL tested and listed as a PV disconnect.

Watch this video to learn more.

 

[robbob2112]

IMO is a worldwide company.

If you want a metal cased disconnect, purchase the IMO internals separate and install in a box of your choosing. You could use a wiring trough if you want 20 disconnects for your 20 string array of almost 1.2 GW.

Don't be fooled by the copies of the IMO, those are not UL listed. The IMO is UL tested and listed as a PV disconnect.

Watch this video to learn more.

I actually did this, a 2 string imo switch and a vevor metal din case

 

[Zwy]

I actually did this, a 2 string imo switch and a vevor metal din case

I think a trough with a whole line of IMO's would be so cool........

Yes, very versatile and adaptable.