Waterproof Specifications

IPX waterproof specifications are specified on instruments and equipment. Below is a table of waterproof test level definitions based on the IPX Waterproof Specification.

Test Level Definitions

IPX-0		No special protection
IPX-1		Protected against falling water Equivalent to 3-5mm rainfall per minute for a duration of 10 minutes. Unit is placed in its normal operating position.
IPX-2		Protected against falling water when tilted up to 15 degrees - Same as IPX-1 but unit is tested in 4 fixed positions - tilted 15 degrees in each direction from normal operating position.
IPX-3		Protected against spraying water - Water spraying up to 60 degrees from vertical at 10 liters/min at a pressure of 80-100kN/m2 for 5 min.
IPX-4		Protected against splashing water - Same as IPX-3 but water is sprayed at all angles.
IPX-5		Protected against water jets - Water projected at all angles through a 6.3mm nozzle at a flow rate of 12.5 liters/min at a pressure of 30kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters.
IPX-6		Protected against heavy seas - Water projected at all angles through a 12.5mm nozzle at a flow rate of 100 liters/min at a pressure of 100kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters.
IPX-7		Protected against water immersion - Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter.
IPX-8		Protected against water submersion - The equipment is suitable for continual submersion in water under conditions which are identified by the manufacturer.

IP Code

The IP Code (or Ingress Protection Rating, sometimes also interpreted as International Protection Rating consists of the letters IP followed by two digits or one digit and one letter and an optional letter. As defined in international standard IEC 60529, IP Code classifies and rates the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in mechanical casings and with electrical enclosures.

The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof. However, no edition of the standard is openly published for unlicensed readers, hence leaving space for varying interpretation.

The digits (characteristic numerals) indicate conformity with the conditions summarized in the tables below. Where there is no protection rating with regard to one of the criteria, the digit is replaced with the letter X.

For example, an electrical socket rated IP22 is protected against insertion of fingers and will not be damaged or become unsafe during a specified test in which it is exposed to vertically or nearly vertically dripping water. IP22 or 2X are typical minimum requirements for the design of electrical accessories for indoor use.

Solids, first digit

The first digit indicates the level of protection that the enclosure provides against access to hazardous parts (e.g., electrical conductors, moving parts) and the ingress of solid foreign objects.

Level	Object size protected against	Effective against
0	—	No protection against contact and ingress of objects
1	>50 mm	Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part
2	>12.5 mm	Fingers or similar objects
3	>2.5 mm	Tools, thick wires, etc.
4	>1 mm	Most wires, screws, etc.
5	Dust protected	Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact
6	Dust tight	No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact

Liquids, second digit

Protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful ingress of water.

Level	Protected against	Testing for	Details
0	Not protected	—	—
1	Dripping water	Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful effect.	Test duration: 10 minutes Water equivalent to 1mm rainfall per minute
2	Dripping water when tilted up to 15°	Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle up to 15° from its normal position.	Test duration: 10 minutes Water equivalent to 3mm rainfall per minute
3	Spraying water	Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect.	Test duration: 5 minutes Water volume: 0.7 litres per minute Pressure: 80–100 kN/m²
4	Splashing water	Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.	Test duration: 5 minutes Water volume: 10 litres per minute Pressure: 80–100 kN/m²
5	Water jets	Water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.	Test duration: at least 3 minutes Water volume: 12.5 litres per minute Pressure: 30 kN/m² at distance of 3m
6	Powerful water jets	Water projected in powerful jets (12.5mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.	Test duration: at least 3 minutes Water volume: 100 litres per minute Pressure: 100 kN/m² at distance of 3m
7	Immersion up to 1 m	Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion).	Test duration: 30 minutes Immersion at depth of 1m
8	Immersion beyond 1 m	The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects.	Test duration: continuous immersion in water Depth specified by manufacturer

Additional letters

The standard defines additional letters that can be appended to classify only the level of protection against access to hazardous parts by persons:

Level	Protected against access to hazardous parts with
A	Back of hand
B	Finger
C	Tool
D	Wire

Further letters can be appended to provide additional information related to the protection of the device:

Letter	Meaning
H	High voltage device
M	Device moving during water test
S	Device standing still during water test
W	Weather conditions

Mechanical impact resistance

An additional number has sometimes been used to specify the resistance of equipment to mechanical impact. This mechanical impact is identified by the energy needed to qualify a specified resistance level, which is measured in joules (J). This has now been superseded by the separate IK number specified in EN 50102.

Although dropped from the 3rd edition of IEC 60529 onwards, and not present in the EN version, older enclosure specifications will sometimes be seen with an optional third IP digit denoting impact resistance. Newer products are likely to be given an IK rating instead. However there is not an exact correspondence of values between the old and new standards.

Dropped IP level	Impact energy	Equivalent drop mass and height
0	—	—
1	0.225 J	150 g dropped from 15 cm
2	0.375 J	250 g dropped from 15 cm
3	0.5 J	250 g dropped from 20 cm
5	2 J	500 g dropped from 40 cm
7	6 J	1.5 kg dropped from 40 cm
9	20 J	5.0 kg dropped from 40 cm

IK number	Impact energy (joules)	Equivalent impact
00	Unprotected	No test
01	0.15	Drop of 200 g object from 7.5 cm height
02	0.2	Drop of 200 g object from 10 cm height
03	0.35	Drop of 200 g object from 17.5 cm height
04	0.5	Drop of 200 g object from 25 cm height
05	0.7	Drop of 200 g object from 35 cm height
06	1	Drop of 500 g object from 20 cm height
07	2	Drop of 500 g object from 40 cm height
08	5	Drop of 1.7 kg object from 29.5 cm height
09	10	Drop of 5 kg object from 20 cm height
10	20	Drop of 5 kg object from 40 cm height

IP69K

German standard DIN 40050-9 extends the IEC 60529 rating system described above with an IP69K rating for high-pressure, high-temperature wash-down applications. Such enclosures must not only be dust tight (IP6X), but also able to withstand high-pressure and steam cleaning.

The test specifies a spray nozzle that is fed with 80°C water at 8–10 MPa (80–100bar) and a flow rate of 14–16L/min. The nozzle is held 10–5 cm from the tested device at angles of 0°, 40°, 60° and 90° for 30s each. The test device sits on a turntable that rotates once every 12s (5rpm).

The IP69K test specification was initially developed for road vehicles, especially those that need regular intensive cleaning (dump trucks, cement mixers, etc.), but also finds use in other areas (e.g., food industry, car wash centres).

NEMA Rating

IP Code	Min. NEMA Enclosure rating to satisfy IP Code
IP20	1
IP54	3
IP65	4, 4X
IP67	6
IP68	6P

The United States National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) also publishes protection ratings for enclosures similar to the IP rating system published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). However, it also dictates other product features not addressed by IP codes, such as corrosion resistance, gasket aging, and construction practices. Thus, while it is possible to map IP Codes to NEMA ratings that satisfy or exceed the IP Code criteria, it is not possible to map NEMA ratings to IP codes, as the IP Code does not mandate the additional requirements. The table above indicates the minimum NEMA rating that satisfies a given IP code, but can only be used in that way, not to map IP to NEMA.

North American enclosure rating systems are defined in NEMA 250, UL 50, UL 508, and CSA C22.2 N°. 94.