Danfoss VLT Drives and Soft Starters, New Zealand

RFQ / Danfoss

A Danfoss drive is described by a type code, not by a model name. FC-302P7K5T5E20H2BGCXXX and FC-302P7K5T5E20H2XGXXXX are both 7.5 kW FC-302 units. One has a brake chopper and conformal coating and the other does not, and neither can be added later.

Danfoss VLT drives are on a great deal of New Zealand plant, particularly water and wastewater, dairy, refrigeration and building services. Much of the installed base is long discontinued and still running.

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Reference pages

Page	Covers
VLT AutomationDrive FC-301 and FC-302	The four option slots and the MCA and MCB cards, Safe Torque Off on terminal 37, the Smart Logic Controller, parameter groups, AMA and the common alarm codes
VLT HVAC Drive FC-102 and AQUA Drive FC-202	Deragging, pipe fill, dry run detection and the cascade controller. Fire mode as a life safety function, resonance skip, and why the parameter set is worth more than the drive
VLT 2800, VLT 5000 and VLT 6000	Why LCP 2 does not fit an FC drive, what each range became, load sharing on the 2800, fans as the usual failure and capacitor reforming on shelf spares
MCD soft starters	Bypassed against not bypassed, in line against inside delta, sizing by duty rather than kilowatts, and the shorted SCR that looks like a motor fault

The ranges

Current production

Type	Name	Built for
FC-051	VLT Micro Drive	Small simple applications
FC-101	VLT HVAC Basic Drive	Fans and pumps, cost focused
FC-102	VLT HVAC Drive	Building services
FC-103	VLT Refrigeration Drive	Compressors and pack systems
FC-202	VLT AQUA Drive	Water and wastewater. Pump specific functions
FC-280	VLT Midi Drive	General machinery
FC-301, FC-302	VLT AutomationDrive	Machine building, the workhorse range
FC-360	VLT Midi Drive FC 360	General machinery
iC2, iC7	Current generation	Replacing the FC families over time
MCD	Soft starters	MCD 200, MCD 500, MCD 600
FCM, FCP	DriveMotor	Drive mounted on or near the motor

Discontinued, and still everywhere

Range	Notes
VLT 2800	Small compact drive. Very large installed base
VLT 5000	General purpose, the FC-302 predecessor
VLT 6000	HVAC and pump. The FC-102 and FC-202 predecessor
VLT 3000, VLT 4000	Earlier general purpose
VLT 5000 FLUX	Closed loop variant
MCD 201, MCD 202, MCD 3000	Earlier soft starters

VLT 6000 on a pump station and VLT 2800 on a small conveyor are the two we are asked for most. Both are long out of production and both are still doing their job on plenty of sites.

Reading a Danfoss type code

The most useful thing on this page. Once you can read the string, you can tell whether a drive is a valid replacement without opening a catalogue.

Take FC-302P7K5T5E20H2BGCXXXSXXXXA0BXCXXXXDX.

Position	Meaning
FC-302	The product family
P7K5	Power rating. 7.5 kW
T5	Mains voltage
E20	Enclosure and IP rating. IP20
H2	RFI filter class
B or X	Brake chopper fitted, or not
C or X	Conformal coating
Remaining groups	Mains option, control panel, software, language, option cards

The power field

P7K5 is 7.5 kW and P1K1 is 1.1 kW. The K stands in for the decimal point, so the letter position is the decimal.

That reads cleanly once you know it, and it is why a Danfoss power rating never looks like a number.

The voltage field

Code	Mains
T2	200 to 240 V
T4	380 to 480 V
T5	380 to 500 V
T6	525 to 600 V
T7	525 to 690 V

T4 and T5 overlap and are not the same part. On a 400 V New Zealand supply either may be correct depending on what was originally specified, and the drive has to be rated for the supply it is on.

Send the code rather than telling us the site is 400 V.

The enclosure field

Code	Rating	Typical location
E20	IP20	Inside a switchboard
E55	IP55	Wall mounted in a plant room
E66	IP66	Washdown, outdoor kiosk, reservoir site

An IP20 drive is not a replacement for an IP55 or IP66 one unless it is going inside an enclosure that provides the protection instead.

Three things that are factory fitted only

The section worth reading before ordering any Danfoss drive.

Option	Code	Can it be added later
Brake chopper	B against X	No. It is internal
Conformal coating	C against X	No
RFI filter class	H1, H2, H3, H4	No. Built into the unit

Why each one matters

The brake chopper is what dissipates energy into a braking resistor. On a hoist, a centrifuge, a high inertia fan or anything that has to stop faster than it coasts, a drive without one will trip on DC overvoltage. And if there is a braking resistor mounted in the panel, the drive it feeds has a chopper.

Conformal coating is why a drive survives a wastewater plant or a coolstore. Coated and uncoated units look identical. Fitting an uncoated drive into a corrosive or condensing environment works, and it fails years earlier without anyone connecting the two events.

Note that coating and IP rating are different questions. A sealed enclosure keeps water out and does not stop hydrogen sulphide attacking the board. On wastewater you want both.

The RFI filter class sets what the drive is allowed to emit. A lower class than the original may not meet the site's requirement, and it interacts with motor cable length. Worth matching rather than guessing.

So if you have a braking resistor in the panel, or the plant is wet or corrosive, say so. Those two facts change which drive you need.

FC-301 against FC-302

One digit, and the most consequential single character in the Danfoss range.

Capability	FC-301	FC-302
Open loop speed control	Yes	Yes
Encoder feedback and closed loop	No	Yes
Safe Torque Off	No	Yes, terminal 37
Motion and positioning functions	Limited	Yes
Control terminal count	Fewer	More

Safe Torque Off is the one to be careful about. If a machine's safety circuit lands on terminal 37, that function is part of the assessed safety system and an FC-301 cannot provide it.

So an FC-301 is not a cheaper FC-302. It is a different drive, and substituting one silently removes a safety function or a feedback loop.

Whether a substitution is valid on a safety circuit belongs with whoever holds the machine's safety assessment. We supply what you specify. The AutomationDrive page covers the option cards and the rest of the differences.

The application software is the product

Worth understanding before comparing two drives of the same rating.

Several of the FC families share a great deal of hardware and differ mainly in application software. An FC-102 and an FC-202 of the same size are close cousins; what separates them is deragging and pipe fill on one and fire mode and building protocols on the other.

So a physically identical drive of the wrong type runs the motor and does not do the job it was bought for. On a wastewater station or a smoke extraction fan that difference is the whole point of the purchase.

The HVAC and AQUA page goes through the functions and which ones are protection rather than convenience.

The control panel is an option, and it is also the backup

Two useful facts in one part.

The Local Control Panel is ordered separately or as a type code option, and a drive can be supplied with a blank front. On a panel where the drive is operated from the PLC, that is deliberate and correct.

Panel	Notes
LCP 101	Numeric display
LCP 102	Graphic display. Holds and copies parameter sets
LCP 2	The legacy panel, for VLT 2800, 5000 and 6000

The graphic panel copies parameters between drives

This is the Danfoss equivalent of a memory card, and most sites do not use it.

An LCP 102 can upload a full parameter set from a drive and download it into another. No laptop, no software licence, no cable.

Situation	Outcome
Drive fails, parameter set on the LCP	Fit the replacement, download, run. Minutes
Drive fails, no backup	Every parameter set by hand from the drawing, if there is one
Several identical machines	One panel commissions all of them

So the single cheapest thing a Danfoss site can do is take a parameter copy off each running drive now. One LCP 102 on the shelf covers a whole plant.

The legacy LCP 2 does not fit the FC range and an LCP 101 or 102 does not fit a VLT 5000. Generations do not cross over.

A replacement drive arrives at defaults

Item	On a replacement
Parameters	Factory defaults. Not the machine's settings
Motor data	Needs entering, then an auto tune
Option cards	Move them across, or order them
Control panel	May not be included
Brake resistor	Separate part, stays in the panel

Option cards are the ones that get missed. Fieldbus cards for PROFIBUS, PROFINET, Modbus TCP or EtherNet/IP, and I/O and encoder option cards, all plug into the drive and are separate order lines.

Tell us what is in the slots, or send a photo with the front cover off.

Before you touch a Danfoss drive

A genuine safety point rather than a disclaimer.

The DC link holds a dangerous voltage after the mains is removed, and the required waiting time depends on the frame size. Danfoss specifies discharge times running from a few minutes on small frames to considerably longer on large ones.

Isolating the supply does not make the drive safe. Wait the specified time for that frame, then measure the DC link before working on it.

Same discipline as the Beckhoff AX and ABB drive pages. Larger frame, longer wait.

Capacitor reforming on stored drives

Worth stating plainly, because it applies directly to surplus and new old stock.

The DC link capacitors in a drive that has sat unpowered for a long period need reforming before the drive is run at full mains. Powering up a long-stored drive straight onto the line can damage the capacitors.

Situation	What we do
Used or surplus drive from us	Powered up and tested before it ships
New old stock	We tell you how long it has been stored
A spare sitting on your shelf	Power it up periodically rather than leaving it for years

That last point is the one people miss. A drive bought as a spare and left in the store for five years is not necessarily a working spare. Powering it up occasionally keeps it one.

Before ordering a replacement

Symptom	Check first
Trips on DC overvoltage when stopping	The brake chopper and the resistor. Not necessarily a faulty drive
Trips on overtemperature	The cooling fan and the heatsink. Both serviceable
Nuisance earth fault or RCD tripping	Motor cable length and the RFI filter class
Drive faults only under load	Motor data and auto tune, before the hardware
Blank display	Whether an LCP is fitted at all. Some drives ship without one
Drive fails early in a wet plant	Whether the original was conformal coated
Fieldbus lost after a swap	The option card. It does not come with the drive
Machine runs but does not sequence	The Smart Logic Controller. Logic may have lived in the old drive
Pump blocking more since a drive swap	Whether deragging was configured on the original

What to send us

The full type code off the label. It is the whole specification.

The eight digit code number, if the type code is unreadable.

A photo of the rating label. On a drive that has been in a wet plant this is often the only legible option.

Whether there is a braking resistor in the panel.

Whether the plant is wet, corrosive or refrigerated, for the coating question.

What the drive is doing, because on the HVAC and AQUA ranges the application decides the product.

What option cards are fitted, and whether you need them supplied.

Whether the safety circuit uses terminal 37.

Whether you have a parameter backup.

What we can supply

Current production. The FC-051, FC-101, FC-102, FC-103, FC-202, FC-280, FC-301, FC-302 and FC-360 families, iC2 and iC7, MCD soft starters, LCP panels, option cards and braking resistors. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued. VLT 2800, VLT 3000, VLT 4000, VLT 5000, VLT 6000, earlier MCD soft starters and LCP 2 panels. Surplus and tested used, which is frequently the only way to keep a pump station or a machine on its original parameter set.

Parts rather than whole drives. Cooling fans, LCP panels, option cards, semiconductor fuses and braking resistors, which are often the actual fault.

Why like for like matters on a pump station

Worth stating because it is the common New Zealand case.

A VLT 6000 on a water or wastewater pump is usually carrying a commissioned parameter set that reflects the hydraulics, the ramp rates and the protection settings for that specific station.

An identical drive takes the parameter set and runs. A current FC-202 does the same job better and needs recommissioning, new documentation and often a different fieldbus arrangement.

Both are legitimate. On a station with a maintained asset record and no engineering budget, the identical drive is the cheaper answer, and supply of it thins out and does not improve. The legacy VLT page goes through what changes on a migration.

We buy Danfoss

VLT drives hold real value, particularly the discontinued 2800, 5000 and 6000 ranges, because plants running them cannot buy new. MCD 200 and MCD 3000 soft starters the same.

Keep option cards in their slots, LCP panels with their drives, and braking resistors with the drive they fed. Matched sets are worth more. Coated units are worth more again, so if you know a drive came out of a wet plant, tell us. See Sell To Us.

Common questions

Can you get a part that is not listed on your site?
Usually. The site shows what we hold, not what we can source.

Can I fit an FC-302 in place of a VLT 5000?
Electrically yes in most cases. It is a recommissioning job, not a swap, and the LCP and option cards do not carry across.

Is an FC-301 a valid replacement for an FC-302?
Only if the application uses neither encoder feedback nor Safe Torque Off. Check terminal 37 first.

Can I use an FC-302 on a wastewater pump instead of an FC-202?
It will run the pump. It does not have deragging, pipe fill, dry run detection or the cascade controller.

Can a brake chopper be added?
No. It is factory fitted and it is in the type code.

Does the drive come with a keypad?
Not always. The LCP is an option, and plenty of drives are specified without one.

Will a soft starter slow my motor down?
No. If you need speed control you need a drive rather than an MCD.

Do you supply used equipment?
Yes, where new is not available. Used drives are powered up and tested before they ship.

What is the lead time?
Ex stock items ship the next working day within New Zealand. We give you a firm lead time with the quote.

Do you quote in NZD?
Yes, in NZD including GST for New Zealand customers.

Send us your type codes

The type code is the whole specification, and a photo of the rating label does the same job. Tell us whether there is a braking resistor in the panel and whether the plant is wet. Quotes in NZD including GST.

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Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with Danfoss. Danfoss, VLT, AutomationDrive, AQUA Drive, HVAC Drive, MCD and DriveMotor are trademarks of Danfoss A/S. All trademarks, brand names and type codes are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.