[rescue] RE: Looking for 15Amp extension cord

[Greg A. Woods]

[ On Saturday, March 16, 2002 at 11:50:31 (-0500), Sheldon T. Hall wrote: ]
> Subject: [rescue] RE: Looking for 15Amp extension cord
>
> Yeah they have, but not for 110v service.  Those plugs are usually used for
> 220V 20Amp;

Well...  Someone's looking in a mirror...  :-)

I'm now not so sure if it's you, or Francisco though.  Originally I
assumed Francisco was drawing the receptacle, esp. since there were
strong hints about it being for a 110V circuit.

In any case a 220V 20Amp _receptacle_ looks like this:


                  _
                 | |
                  -

                      |
           ----       |
                      |


(the vertical slot is the 'Y' connector for circuits derived from
3-phase supplies)


A 110V 20Amp _receptacle_ looks like this:


                  _
                 | |
                  -

             |
             |       -----
             |


(the horizontal slot is the wide 'neutral' connector) 

(the plugs of course are the mirror images.....)

> I've got one on my espresso machine.  Extension cords for 220V
> are usually considered A Bad Thing, so the chances of finding one already
> made up are probably slim.  Hardware stores usually have this stuff as
> components, though.

There's nothing particularly "bad" about them in the code, and in
principle they are identical to the flexible equipment cord comming from
your espresso machine or whatever, etc.  Extra connections increase the
resistance and thus decrease the maximum ampacity of the circuit, of
course, but the same applies to any extension cord at any voltage.

Most of the rest of the world uses 220V extension cords, after all.

Now high-current (20A and higher) extension cords are generally less
common and much more expensive due to the heavier gauge wire that's
necessary.  Such heavier wire is also more difficult to connect properly
to a plug or receptacle.

-- 
								Greg A. Woods

+1 416 218-0098;  <gwoods at acm.org>;  <g.a.woods at ieee.org>;  <woods at robohack.ca>
Planix, Inc. <woods at planix.com>; VE3TCP; Secrets of the Weird <woods at weird.com>