Drawing an arc during plug removal is an inherent hazard with traditional pin and sleeve and twist type devices. Meltric Decontactors are designed to eliminate this hazard by isolating the making and breaking of the contacts in enclosed arc chambers and by ensuring that the plug contacts are deenergized and isolated from live parts before the plug can be removed.

When a Decontactor's 'OFF' button is pushed, its spring-loaded operating mechanism instantly opens the contacts to break the circuit and ejects the plug to the 'OFF' position. The quick breaking of the contacts (15 milliseconds) minimizes arcing; any that does occur is safely contained within the arc chamber.

In the 'OFF' position, the plug contacts are dead and are separated from live parts by a safe distance. All contacts remain isolated in an enclosure formed by the interface of the skirted plug casing with the receptacle and are inaccessible to the user.

The rotation of the plug and closing of the safety shutter during plug removal ensures that potential arc paths are blocked before the plug can be removed. There is no possibility of
drawing an arc.

Drawing an arc is possible with pin & sleeve devices