NEMA 4 RIB Relays for Outdoor Use

Need a relay rated for outdoor use? Learn about our 20 Amp NEMA 4 Relay in this brand new Tech Tuesday!

E2021 Tech Tuesday Blog Banner 2019

We often have customers request a RIB® that is rated for outdoor use. Functional Devices offers several NEMA 4/4X relays to choose from. However, all of our standard RIB® relays are only rated for up to 10 Amps. When we present this to the customer, and they say, “We really need something rated for 20 Amps,” we typically go with the same recommendation. Use our NEMA 4 rated enclosure (PE6010). This model comes with a 4″ long piece of our 4″ wide plastic mounting track inside. A track-mount relay will fit into it.

The image below shows an example of our PE6010 with three 20 Amp rated SPDT relays installed (two – RIBM2401B and one – RIBM2402B). The enclosure is NEMA 4/4X rated thanks to its plastic construction, the gaskets around the lid, and the 0.75″ NPT Nipple. The two relays used also have 16 Amp Electronic Ballast ratings. They work in lighting applications, including LED lighting.

The PE6010 is great for mounting a small number of our relays outdoors. If you need a larger enclosure for outdoor use, check out the MH2204-N4 or MH3204-N4. They are larger metal enclosures with a sub-panel and key latch on the door. We also offer some of our BACnet® and LonWorks® relays with a NEMA 4 or 4X rated enclosure. All of those models come with an integral 20 Amp rated relay. Those products require a BACnet® or LonWorks® front-end to communicate with, and control, that relay.

Henry Smith
Henry Smith

Henry Smith is the Product Design Manager at Functional Devices, Inc. He has a BS in EET obtained from Purdue University in 2014 and a lifelong interest in electronics. As an engineer at Functional Devices, he gets to provide Technical Support to our customers, from distributors to specifying engineers and installers.

Henry enjoys providing tech support, as it allows our company to assist at every level of our product’s lifecycle and exposes us to interesting and unique applications. While not every technical question is unique, even answering a simple question or providing someone with the information in a timely manner can go a long way to helping them meet a deadline.

Articles: 45