Services | North Star Power

Our testing standards:

Primary injection testing on all phases for long time pickup and delay, short time pickup and delay, instantaneous pickup, and ground fault

Pole resistance testing for all phases and ground

Insulation resistance across all phases

Inspection of mechanism, primaries, lubrication, and more

Additional tests for electrically operated breakers

Hi pot testing for medium voltage breakers

TESTING

Our quality is quickly becoming known as the best in the country. From testing your substations all the way to rebuilding your breakers, you can trust that your electrical power system is in good hands.

North Star Power's testing parameters cover a wide scope. We test circuit breakers on-site and can diagnose issues within your substation, and we test all rebuilt breakers to ensure full working order. Our standards meet the criteria for NEMA, IEEE, and ANSI. Our low voltage substation testing rate is extremely fast, with our typical rate being 6-10 minutes per breaker.

REBUILDS

This is where our "better-than-new" slogan comes from. We rebuild low and medium voltage breakers, switches, and MCC buckets. We take on tough jobs, and we make it look easy. How do we do it? Consistency!

First, we visually inspect the breaker and determine any major damage that will need to be repaired or replaced. Then, we take the entire breaker apart. Any nut, bolt, washer, pin, or whatever piece no matter how small is taken out and sorted. Each segment is thoroughly checked for damage and wear to determine if it can continue to be of service, and what kind of treatment it needs to restore it to factory condition. We are meticulous in not letting anything go untouched, eliminating the possibility of any components failing prematurely.

Step 1. Disassembly Process

This step means we clean everything on the breaker inside and out. We get rid of the years of hardened grease, solidified dust, stubborn grime, illegible labels, and anything that might interfere with the breaker's ability to function normally. We get every nook and cranny and work gently with fragile components like the arc chutes. We also use eco-friendly cleaning agents that are safe on the environment and don't leave any residues on the breaker.

Step 2. Cleaning

Step 3. Resurfacing

After everything is completely clean an additional process we provide is complete resurfacing. This is where any parts that are plated, black oxide, and painted are further processed. All rust, old toxins like lead paints and flaky chromates, and previous surface treatments are stripped from the parts. Then, the parts are given new plating, black oxide, and powder coating as close to the original breaker as possible. We make sure that parts are not sent anywhere that would simply "flash plate" a thin layer of zinc or paint over rust and corrosion. The parts are all processed in a finish that is dependable and long-lasting.

Step 4. Reassembly

Now that all of the pieces look shiny and new, it is time to put the breaker back together. All broken, worn, and missing parts are replaced, as well as all bushings, bearings, bumpers, locking hardware, retaining clips, rollpins, and spring pins. New vinyl labels are made to match the old ones. New lubrication is applied. Mechanical and torque adjustments are made per manufacturer's specifications. When applicable, we also install a brand new AC-Pro II trip unit.

Step 5. Quality Inspection

The final step in our rebuild program is to inspect the entire breaker in and out. We double check that the wiring is correct, all of the hardware is tight, and everything functions as intended. We fully test the breaker to make sure it will work safely. When we are done we set the breaker to the original settings that it came in with so it can go straight back into the cubicle it came from if needed. In our first year of rebuilds, we built over 100 breakers and none of them failed! Among this, we are continuing to find innovative ways to improve our processes so we can continue to service as many breakers as possible.