Type an enclosure type (NEMA 4X, Type 12, 3R) or a line from a data sheet. Each type gets its own card.
A whole line can be pasted, such as "Enclosure: NEMA 4X, IP66" or "Type 12/4": the page finds the type in it. An IP code is not converted to a NEMA type.
Enter the type from a nameplate or a data sheet: NEMA 4X, Type 12, 3R, NEMA4X, Type 4 X or a dual marking such as NEMA 12/4. The page says what each type means: indoor or outdoor use, a yes or no grid of what it protects against (falling dirt, dust, dripping water, rain and sleet, hose-directed water, submersion, corrosion, oil), its behaviour under ice and the one-way comparison with an IP code. The request line can be copied or added to the RFQ.
Only what two independent sources give the same way is decoded; where they differ, the page says so. Types 7 to 10 are read only as hazardous-location or mine designations, with no Ex, ATEX or IECEx equivalent. There is no enclosure choice here: the marking on the enclosure and its data sheet govern.
The number is the type, from 1 to 13; it is not a ladder, so a higher number does not include the tests of a lower one. X adds extra protection against corrosion (3X, 3RX, 3SX, 4X). 3R is Type 3 without windblown dust, 3S is Type 3 with external mechanisms that work when ice laden, 6P is Type 6 with prolonged submersion and 12K is Type 12 with knockouts.
Types 1, 2, 5, 12, 12K and 13 are indoor types. Types 3, 3R, 3S, their X forms, 4 and 4X are for indoor or outdoor use: they keep out rain, sleet and snow and stand up to ice: undamaged by it or, on 3S and 3SX, with external mechanisms that work when ice laden. Types 6 and 6P add submersion.
NEMA compares its types with IP codes in one direction: a type meets or exceeds certain IP codes, but an IP code cannot be converted to a NEMA type, because NEMA also tests corrosion, ice, oil and coolant and gasket ageing. The page gives an IP figure only where two independent tables agree; for 4, 4X and 6P they do not.
| Type | Where used | Protection against | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indoor | Falling dirt | NEMA 1 |
| 2 | Indoor | Falling dirt; dripping and light splashing water | Type 2 |
| 3 | Indoor or outdoor | Falling dirt, windblown dust, rain, sleet and snow; undamaged by ice | NEMA 3 |
| 3R | Indoor or outdoor | As Type 3 without windblown dust | 3R |
| 3S | Indoor or outdoor | As Type 3; external mechanisms operable when ice laden | NEMA 3S |
| 3X, 3RX, 3SX | Indoor or outdoor | As Types 3, 3R and 3S, with extra corrosion protection | NEMA 3RX |
| 4 | Indoor or outdoor | Falling dirt, dust, rain, sleet and snow, splashing and hose-directed water; undamaged by ice | Type 4 |
| 4X | Indoor or outdoor | As Type 4, with extra corrosion protection | NEMA 4X |
| 5 | Indoor | Falling dirt, dust; dripping and light splashing water | NEMA 5 |
| 6 | Indoor or outdoor | Hose-directed water; occasional temporary submersion at a limited depth | NEMA 6 |
| 6P | Indoor or outdoor | As Type 6, with prolonged submersion at a limited depth | 6P |
| 7 | Indoor | Class I, Division 1, Groups A to D hazardous locations (NEC) | NEMA 7 |
| 8 | Indoor or outdoor | Class I, Division 1, Groups A to D hazardous locations (NEC) | NEMA 8 |
| 9 | Not given here | Class II, Division 1, Groups E to G hazardous locations (NEC) | NEMA 9 |
| 10 | Not stated | Mines: MSHA, 30 CFR Part 18 | NEMA 10 |
| 12, 12K | Indoor | Falling dirt, circulating dust, lint and fibres, dripping and light splashing water; 12 without and 12K with knockouts | Type 12 |
| 13 | Indoor | As Type 12, plus spraying, splashing and seepage of water, oil and non-corrosive coolant | NEMA 13 |
The page decodes every example in this table the same way. Types 7 to 10: only the meaning of the designation; the certification marking on the equipment governs.
Type definitions and the indoor and outdoor comparisons: the summary of NEMA 250 that NEMA publishes (NEMA Enclosure Types), checked against reference pages that reproduce it, the technical pages of enclosure, sensor, cabling and transformer makers, and a test laboratory comparison of NEMA 250 and IEC 60529. The one-way IP rule and what NEMA tests beyond IEC 60529 (corrosion, icing, oil and coolant, gasket ageing): the NEMA summary, a reference table, the test laboratory and an enclosure maker. IP figures: two independent tables that agree, with no table read giving a lower figure; Types 4, 4X and 6P (IP56 against IP66, IP67 against IP68) and 3X, 3RX, 3SX and 7 to 10 (no figure given twice) get none. Where the sources differ on a detail (dust and dripping water for Types 1 and 2, ice, oil and rain for 6 and 6P, corrosion for 6P, indoor or outdoor for Type 9), the detail is left out; so is a detail that only one source gives (oil and coolant seepage for Types 12 and 12K, dust for 6P).
Type 4X is an enclosure for indoor or outdoor use that protects against falling dirt, dust, rain, sleet and snow, splashing and hose-directed water, and is undamaged by ice forming on the outside. The X adds a further level of protection against corrosion. Type 4X is not a submersible type: submersion belongs to Types 6 and 6P.
All three are for indoor or outdoor use against falling dirt, rain, sleet and snow. Type 3 also keeps out windblown dust; Type 3R does not. Type 3S is Type 3 with external mechanisms that stay operable when the enclosure is ice laden. 3X, 3RX and 3SX add protection against corrosion.
No. NEMA states the comparison one way only: a NEMA type meets or exceeds certain IP codes, but an IP code cannot be converted to a NEMA type, because the NEMA tests also cover corrosion, ice, oil and coolant and gasket ageing that the IP code does not. The page gives an IP figure only where two independent tables give the same one, and shows it as the least the type meets.
The enclosure is marked with more than one type. The page reads each type on its own. NEMA types are not a ladder: a higher number does not include the tests of a lower one, so a Type 4 marking alone does not show that the Type 12 tests were met.
Types 7 and 8 are for Class I, Division 1, Groups A to D hazardous locations as the NEC (NFPA 70) defines them, Type 7 indoors, Type 8 indoors or outdoors. Type 9 is for Class II, Division 1, Groups E to G. Type 10 meets the MSHA requirements of 30 CFR Part 18 for mines. The page gives no Ex, ATEX or IECEx equivalent: the certification marking on the equipment governs.
No. A figure after NEMA such as 56C, 143T or 256T is a motor frame size, not an enclosure type: the enclosure types run from 1 to 13. A pattern such as NEMA 5-15 is a plug or socket configuration, and NEMA Size 1 is a starter or contactor size. The page says so instead of reading them as enclosures.
A decoded type is a cross-check, not an enclosure selection. Attach a photograph of the plate or the data sheet and give the equipment and the size, and Vessel Core checks the type before an offer goes back.
