UL approval

A friend of mine has retired. He was a master electrician. He wants to make some widgets used in electrical work like kerneys, and some smaller connectors and widgets.

In order to get UL approval, is that a process of submission and approval, or is it a procedure where one would have to pay to have it tested, etc?

TIA

Steve

Reply to
Steve B
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The approvals I've been involved with- you had to submit it to a testing laboratory (UL is one, ETL and CSA are others) and have it tested. If it fails, you modify the design and pay for more tests. Total cost depends on the hours it takes, but figure on $ thousands if not more. Testing a whole series of related doodads may not be much more expensive than testing one device. There are also some maintenance costs (miss a payment and they'll pull the certification).

Consider talking to them at an early stage:

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I've dealt with CSA and they're quite decent guys (at least on an engineer-to-engineer basis).

Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

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I was going to comment, but the reply above is pretty much on the nose. I deal with UL issues in my field all the time. UL is a self serving organization that has managed to give themselves the glossed over look of government authority. Remember they are a private company, not a government organization.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

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Yes, a private company, but the insurance industry relies on their label, and in Oregon, if not some other states, an item that plugs into commercial AC power must have the UL label before it can be sold here.

Paul

Reply to
Paul Drahn

CSA and ETL (and others) also have NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) status, so their marks should be equivalent. All will test to the same safety standards.

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Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

In many states, an item has to have a certification (UL or ETL) before it can be used in a public building or workplace.

BobH

Reply to
BobH

Yep - need to deliver 3 as I recall to them.

S> A friend of mine has retired. He was a master electrician. He wants to

Reply to
Martin Eastburn

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