IPX1 and IPX2 Drip Test: Tilt, Flow Rate and Duration

The drip test is the gentlest water test in IEC 60529, and it is the one most often set up incorrectly because the flow rate is low enough that nobody checks it.

IPX1

The enclosure is placed on a turntable under a drip box with a defined hole pattern, and water falls vertically at 1 mm per minute, equivalent to 1 litre per square metre per hour, for 10 minutes. The turntable rotates at 1 revolution per minute so the whole top surface is exposed.

IPX2

The same drip box, but the enclosure is tilted 15 degrees from vertical and tested in four positions, rotated 90 degrees between each. Total duration stays at 10 minutes, so each position gets 2.5 minutes. The tilt is the point: water runs to one side and finds the seams that a vertical drip never touches.

Setup checks

Verify the flow rate with a graduated cylinder over one minute, not by eye. Check that the drip box holes are not blocked by scale, and that the turntable speed is right, since a faster table reduces the water per unit area. After the test, the pass criterion is that no water has reached hazardous parts or affected operation, and that no water accumulates in a way that would be harmful.

Related technical notes

• IPX3 and IPX4 with the Oscillating Tube: Angle, Flow and Hole Count
• IPX5 and IPX6 Jet Tests: Nozzle, Pressure and Distance
• IPX7 Immersion: Depth, Duration and the Trapped Air Problem