On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:35:05 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 10:50:46 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 05:11:59 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote:

On Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 2:06:41 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 10:23:06 -0500, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article ,
says...

I'm not questioning the safety rating of the outlet. I'm questioning
whether that outlet is supplying 120 or 220/240 volts. And you can't
tell just by examining what it is rated for.

The reason that type of outlet is rated for 250v is that it is commonly
used to supply power for electric dryers, ovens, ranges, and other high
wattage appliances that are engineered to use the 220/240 supply voltage
(yes, including use in countries that use 120v for almost all other
electrical equipment).

That is why NEMA standardizes these plugs.



Yes, there are NEMA standards.

With all the stuff coming into the US from China and sometimes other
countries you never know what they may send into the US.

Where I worked we had some big temperature controlled heaters. They ran
on 480 volts 3 phase and anywhere from 10 to 200 amps. There was a big
building project and another bank of heates were installed. While
setting they up we could not get the high end to reach anywhere the 480
volts. Come to find out the equipment was sent in as 380 volt devices.
I don't know what country uses that.

On another note everything that had the 480 volt disconnects green ment
that the breaker was supplying power and red ment it was not. Then the
European stuff came in and their idea was red ment the breaker was on
and it was dangerous to go in the box and green ment the breaker was off
and it was safe. Exectally backwards.

I don't remember the colors now,but even the 120 volt replacement cords
had blue and brown wires instead of the more normal black and white we
use in the US.


Ordering low bid stuff from offshore is always a crap shoot but you
should verify the voltage ratings are right.

It's $20 for a simple adapter and Home Depot is selling it.



You are not buying a "simple adapter" from Home Depot to get from 380v
to 480 rating.
380v is the European standard 3p wye that gives them the single phase
L/N 220v. (also in the other Brit dominated places like NZ and Oz). It
will also be rated at 50hz but I doubt a toaster wire heater cares
about that.
And normal "romex" wiring in Canada and the US is rated for 300volts
- - - - or some of it 360 or even 600.

Romex (Type NM) is ALL 600v as is virtually all chapter 3 conductors
although some are higher.
The only place you see 300v is in "junior" cords and some fixture
wires in Chapter 4. Then there is Chapter 7 low voltage wire.

The RATING of the adapter does not necessarily mean that is what it is
intended for.

There seems to be 2 threads going on here. The OP's adapter and a post
about some heaters. Ratings of devices is not the same as ratings of
utilization equipment.



LOTS of extention and power cords use brown and blue with green/yellow
stripeed ground since much equipment is builkt for the "world market".
North America may well br the only paet of the world that still uses
black and white and even here on AC it's black and white - with white
being neutral and black live - while on DC black is ground/- and RED
is live or +. -

The NEC acknowledges the blue neutral in some imported factory
assembled cords but all chapter 3 wiring methods define white or gray
as grounded conductors (usually but not always a neutral) and bare or
green, green/yellow as equipment grounding conductors.