I have been buying tips for the obsolete Cutler Hammer contactors that we have and now I'm starting to question the tips I am buying.
What kind of contactor tips are better? The solid copper tips or the silver coated tips?
As for the silver coated tips, are they pure silver or some kind of silvery mixture of metals?
We seem to go through alot of these and I'm not sure it is the high current or if the wrong tip has something to do with it.
Thanks!
One thing is for sure, the silver colored contact tips aren't pure silver, at some level they are a silver alloy. I don't know enough to elaborate, I just know they are not pure silver.
Some of the contactor brands that I have seen using silver alloy tips are: ABB, Allen Bradley, Cutler Hammer, Furnas Innova, General Electric, Joslyn-Clark, Sylvania, Siemens, Square D, Telemecanique, Ward Leonard, and Westinghouse.
I actually had some recent experience with Cutler hammer contactors. I purchased an aftermarket Cutler Hammer contact kit that is coated with a silver alloy. I double checked the size and the load on the contactor and everything checks out within spec. All I can do is wait it out and see how it holds up. They were made in Mexico. It would be hard to tell at this point if these contacts are any good.