Help with higher voltage switch or relay

I've got an industrial control design problem.

I have to switch a signal through a relay or switch that not only meets these criteria, but is fairly cheap too, and it needs to be SPDT.

Signal is 120vac at 10 amps to 220Vac at 5 amps, but must be rated to a dielectric strength of 5KV because a brief set of ignition pulses for HID lamp must travel through it. In operation the switch will never have to switch the high voltage pulse, but must be able to pass it. I've been looking for ratings of the dielectric strength. This design has to go through UL so I need a part that has a rating for these applications.

The only thing I've been able to come up with is using a connector with a good enough rating, and two jumper caps to select the signal. While I could do this it is an ugly approach. Come to think of it maybe I can sell this idea because it makes it hard to change the settings, hummm. If your given lemons make features?

Any ideas, thanks.

Rocky

Hi Rocky,

Potter&Brumfield used to be the company to ask about this stuff. Check out this link:

If all fails post again. There are ways to control a relay (or anything else) via a barrier but it'll be a challenge from a cost point of view. Actually it would help to know a $$ number here.

Regards, Joerg

Thanks but I knew about these and a host of other vacuum chamber type relays. This design can't afford this kind of solution so I can't use them at all. Rather than go into this I just said the solution has to be cheap.

Oh one note, on my connector based solution I used the word caps to mean the other end of the connector, not capacitors.

Rocky

Voltage Selector Switches (for 120/240V mains selection) might have suitable isolation specs.

I tried that too. However they wouldn't fit anyway if you mean the standard wall switch. I couldn't find any rating of dielectric strength for these switches anyway. I'm begining to think using a connector is my best hope for getting this design past UL.

Thanks anyway.

Rocky