Master Magnets are celebrating success, having won CSA (Canadian Standards Agency) hazardous location approval for one of their large in-line electro-magnetic overband separators.

The Canadian end users required a heavy-duty solution, manufactured to CSA standards for a potentially explosive atmosphere but were struggling to find a supplier willing to handle the extra work to accommodate the Standards.

Sales engineer Alison Flower explains:

“CSA standards are hard for European magnet companies to manufacture to. Unlike ATEX, there is no self certification available and there are currently no agencies in the UK able to certify equipment such as ours. This meant that on top of all the costs associated with the CSA potentially explosive proof atmosphere legislation, we also had to have a Canadian certifier visit our UK facility, to check all of the paper work and to perform heat checks on the equipment, both with and without a layer of dust.”

After carrying out extensive testing on the magnets temperature increases and reviewing all the certificates from the propriety equipment, the manuals and risk assessments, the CSA certifier awarded Master Magnets the certificate for the magnet.

Alison continues:

“The CSA do not recognise ATEX approval and insist on the strict criteria set by their own CSA hazardous area standards. Ensuring that our equipment had the correct approvals took a lot of research and development, but it was work that Master Magnets were happy to undertake to provide the customer with their required specification.”