Safe Area Wiring Practices
Intrinsically safe wiring between Quantum Intrinsically Safe modules and the field devices located in the hazardous area must be separated from all other wiring. This can be accomplished by the following methods:
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Separate blue wire ducts, raceways or conduits,
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Grounded metal or insulated partitions between the intrinsically safe and non- intrinsically safe wiring,
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A separation of two inches (50 mm) of air space between the intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe wiring. With this method, the intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe wires must be tied down in separate bundles to maintain the required separation.
Identification and Labeling
Intrinsically safe wiring must be properly identified and labeled. Light blue color coding should be used for all intrinsically safe wiring. The terminal strip wiring connector on all Quantum Intrinsically Safe modules is colored blue to distinguish it from all non-intrinsically safe modules.
All wire ducts, raceways, cable trays, and open wiring must be labeled "Intrinsically Safe Wiring" with a maximum spacing of 25 feet between labels.
Wiring Type and Grounding
Shielded twisted pair wires shall be used for each of the input or output pairs connected to the Quantum Intrinsically Safe module blue terminal strip. The wire gauge size can be between AWG 20 and AWG 12. Each twisted pair wire shield must be connected to the ground screws on the rack, at the module end, and left open at the field device connection end in the hazardous area. The instruction sheet packaged with each Quantum Intrinsically Safe module contains a wiring diagram applicable to that type of module.
Intrinsically Safe Wiring Diagram
The following diagram illustrates a Quantum Intrinsically Safe module using a separate raceway to isolate its external wiring to the hazardous area. This is just one of the possible ways of field wiring the module. Other methods would include bundling and laying the intrinsically safe wires in the same wiring trough with the bundled non-intrinsically safe wires, with each bundle tied down and separated by minimum of two inches of air space through out the wiring runs.
Questions Regarding Intrinsically Safe Wiring Practices
The information concerning intrinsic safety wiring practices is general and is not intended to cover installation requirements for any specific site. Questions regarding intrinsic safety wiring requirements for your site should be referred to the approval agencies listed
