Found out arc flash suits expire like milk, check your dates

Was doing a panel swap at a warehouse in Tulsa last month and the customer handed me his old arc flash gear to use. I noticed the tag said 2016, so I looked up the shelf life standard, turns out most of those suits are only rated for 5 years before the material breaks down. Even stored in a bag, heat and humidity cook the fibers, dude was about to let me work on 480 volts with a 9 year old suit. I told him to grab a new hood at least, and he just shrugged like it was fine. How often do you guys actually replace your PPE, or do you just trust the sticker?

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1 Comment

richard11021d ago

Nine years old and the guy acted like you were asking him to sacrifice a goat.