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Author Topic: Power Outlets Worldwide  (Read 21013 times)

Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #20 on: December 25, 2013, 09:38:21 AM »

Not only is the voltage written on the face, but almost always (I want to say always, but....) screws for hot wires are brass colored and screws for neutrals are silver. Perhaps a small detail-but if you are working with stuff as potentially dangerous as electricity paying attention to details should be second nature-should at least make you stop and think about what you are doing.
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Steve M Smith

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #21 on: December 25, 2013, 11:40:21 AM »

Having brass/silver screws to determine live and neutral seems strange to me as it's the sort of thing which most people are not going to notice.

We recently changed from red - live and black - neutral to brown - live and blue - neutral for fixed wiring as it is supposed to be less likely to be confused if the electrician is colour blind.

This colour scheme has been in use for at least forty years for flexible appliance cables but is a fairly recent change for house wiring.

Three phase too has changed.  It used to be red, yellow and blue for the phases and black for neutral but is now brown, black and grey for the phases and blue for neutral.

In my opinion, this seems to add confusion rather than make it more simple.


Steve.
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #22 on: December 25, 2013, 01:57:16 PM »

You definitely have too many outlets and voltages! How is the combined 120/240 dryer supply used?  120 for control circuits and 240 for heater elements?   If so, why not run it all on 240?
Steve.

They do in fact use 120-volts for the drum motor and timer control, then save the 240-volts for the heater element. I think it's because the manufacturer can use the same 120-volt motor on its washers as well as dryers. Same for all power supply transformers to run the electronics. It's only when you get into pro-sound gear that is planned to be used in various countries that you'll see auto-switching suppliers rated from 90 to 250 volt at 50 or 60 Hz. I think that about covers all worldwide possibilities.

If memory serves, the original 3-wire bootleg grounded dryer outlet was originally a "temporary" exclusion sometime in the 60's to save money for home "electrification" which was becoming popular at the time. There was a lot of fighting between the electric and natural gas industries for the home power supplier. That's about the same time that aluminum wiring was allowed (and for the same reason). But that turned into a horrible cluster with lots of fires started in the walls of home due to aluminum oxide high resistance, as well as electricians using non-aluminum rated receptacles. Did the UK (or anywhere else) go through the crazy aluminum craze the USA did?   

Mike Sokol

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #23 on: December 25, 2013, 02:02:23 PM »

Not only is the voltage written on the face, but almost always (I want to say always, but....) screws for hot wires are brass colored and screws for neutrals are silver. Perhaps a small detail-but if you are working with stuff as potentially dangerous as electricity paying attention to details should be second nature-should at least make you stop and think about what you are doing.

From "The Sound Guy is Always the Last to Know:

"No matter how idiot proof you build it, they keep making better idiots"

Kevin Graf

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #24 on: December 25, 2013, 02:06:05 PM »

Today on a electrician's forum, I read about a electrician that got a contract to wire an industrial building of about 200 feet by 135 feet.
He needs to provide AC supply voltages to equipment consisting of;

120
208
229
236
380
400
470
480
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #25 on: December 25, 2013, 02:44:36 PM »

Today on a electrician's forum, I read about a electrician that got a contract to wire an industrial building of about 200 feet by 135 feet.
He needs to provide AC supply voltages to equipment consisting of;

120
208
229
236
380
400
470
480

I used to add something called a buck & boost transformer to step voltage down or up a bit in industrial power. For instance, if you need to run a 240-volt heater on a 120/208 3-phase WYE circuit, a 208 to 32 volt transformer in "boost" mode will step up the 208-volts to 240-volts. And they're surprisingly small in size since in this instance its KW rating is only about 1/8 of the main load (32/208). Or flip the secondary windings and it's now in "buck" mode, allowing you to derive 208-volts from a 240-volt supply. And there are ones with several secondary taps for tweaking a voltage up or down a bit.

Of course TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch), so the amperage draw on the circuit with a "boost" transformer will be increased proportionally. 
« Last Edit: December 25, 2013, 02:47:12 PM by Mike Sokol »
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Steve M Smith

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #26 on: December 25, 2013, 03:17:55 PM »

Did the UK (or anywhere else) go through the crazy aluminum craze the USA did?

There was certainly a shortage of copper here after WWII and for a while, stainless steel pipe was used instead of copper for plumbing.  My brother took some out of an old school he was converting to housing and I have used it in short lengths coming up from the floor to radiators.  It polishes up nicely and looks like chrome.

I am not aware of anything other than copper being used for domestic wiring but a lot of our high voltage transmission lines are aluminium.


Steve.
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Steve M Smith

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #27 on: December 25, 2013, 03:22:44 PM »

Today on a electrician's forum, I read about a electrician that got a contract to wire an industrial building of about 200 feet by 135 feet.
He needs to provide AC supply voltages to equipment consisting of;

120
208
229
236
380
400
470
480

My only thought on this is why?

Can't manufacturers standardise on voltage?  We managed to do that over fifty years ago.  It's either three phase 415 volts or one phase to neutral 240 volts.


Steve.
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Malcolm Macgregor

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #28 on: December 25, 2013, 04:31:04 PM »

Lucky us (Holland), you get to choose between 230 Vac L to N and 400 Vac L to L and standardized plugs.
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #29 on: December 25, 2013, 04:57:41 PM »

Lucky us (Holland), you get to choose between 230 Vac L to N and 400 Vac L to L and standardized plugs.

And believe it or not, the USA still had parts of New York City electrified with DC until 1997. How would you like to tie into that for a sound gig?

Switching DC Power on in New York, 120 Years After Thomas Edison

On November 14, 2007, Con Edison, New York City’s electric utility, ceremonially disconnected its last direct current (DC) cable, on 40 Street east of 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Most of Manhattan’s DC service had long before been replaced by the utility’s alternating current (AC) system, pioneered by Nikola Tesla, promoted by Thomas Edison’s rival George Westinghouse, and now standard throughout the world. Con Edison’s ceremony ended a service to New York City customers dating back to Edison’s first DC generating station on Pearl Street inaugurated in 1882.

ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Power Outlets Worldwide
« Reply #29 on: December 25, 2013, 04:57:41 PM »


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