Newson Gale has introduced VESM02, a self-retracting cable reel for its Earth-Rite systems, which are used to ground (earth) road tanker trucks, railcars, drums and other conductive plant items. Designed to provide a rugged and versatile alternative to spiral (retractable) cable, the VESM02 is especially suitable for outdoor locations, where the cable may be exposed to rough treatment when not in use.
The VESM02 reel has been assessed and approved in accordance with European ATEX requirements for installation in Zone 1 (flammable gas/vapour) and 21 (combustible powder/dust), when connected to any Earth-Rite grounding system with certified Intrinsically Safe monitoring circuit output. The unit is also suitable for use in conjunction with Earth-Rite systems with certified Intrinsically Safe monitoring-circuit outputs, according to North American NEC Class/Division approvals.
It has a durable lightweight, all-steel housing with powder-coated finish, which is suitable for use outdoors or indoors (NEMA 4 / IP56 environmental/ingress protection). The reel is fitted with 50ft/15.2m of cen-stat static dissipative hytrel protected cable with adjustable ball-stop, which is held under constant tension via a spring/auto-locking ratchet device and also comes pre-terminated with a 10ft/3m length of two-conductor connection cable, making it simple to wire in to the Earth-Rite grounding system, irrespective of local wiring preferences (flexible cable or conduit).
According to Newson Gale, the precision slip-ring assembly has a special 'ultra-low-resistance' design, making it suitable for monitoring extremely low earthing and bonding resistance values, which should be maintained at less than 10 ohms as recommended by all major international static-control technical standards and industry guidelines. The VESM02 may be specified with Newson Gale's ATEX- and FM-approved two-pole grounding clamps: for example, the VESX90-IP universal heavy-duty clamp with tungsten-carbide contact points, which is commonly used for road tanker trucks, railcars and mobile tanks.
Useful options include a pivot-swivel mounting base, which allows for up to 345deg reel rotation in areas where the reel must have a wide angle of use. The VESM02 forms part of the Earth-Rite range of static grounding and bonding equipment available from Newson Gale.