Written by: Paul Eskin, Stromquist & Company Florida Manager
Paul has been in the controls business for so long that no one can remember when he started. Paul knows controls and runs our Stromquist & Company, Florida operation! He knows which ones work and which ones don't. This makes Paul the perfect guy to write this product review.
If you have chilled or hot water valves mounted outdoors and exposed to the elements, you know it’s always been a race against time to see if the elements destroy the actuators before the warranty runs out. Moisture and humidity, excessive dust build-up, severe cold, and UV radiation can shorten service life. Over the years we’ve seen all of the major control companies come out with enclosures that were expensive and usually an aftermarket installation, thus labor intensive. They would do the job, but they weren’t always the most practical or economical solution.We were happy to find out that Belimo developed NEMA 4X actuators that are available for air dampers and characterized control valves. The unique NEMA 4X housing is factory assembled as part of the actuator, so it comes to you ready to be used in even the harshest conditions. The enclosure was designed to be weather-tight and corrosion resistant for conditions such as rooftop applications, indoor swimming pools, wood drying kilns, agriculture and food industries. The housing even provides enough internal space to install components such as a relay or controller — a feature we think is very smart. For high humidity locations (like us in the deep south) or low temperature (-40°F) applications, a heater with controller can be supplied with the NEMA 4X actuator. Now that is great thinking and planning on Belimo’s part!
We are very impressed with the design, build and features of this new product from Belimo, and we think it will stand the test of time and hold up well in field conditions. The heat and humidity here in Florida will certainly provide a challenge, but we believe the Belimo NEMA 4X actuators will stand up to the challenge as a top quality product line from a top manufacturer.