So when I lop off the 15A 115V plug - I suppose I'll see three wires. Black,
n' white, n' green.
When I attach the NEMA 6-20P plug, he said redundantly, does the black need
to go to one particular blade, or can I choose thanks to the magic of
Alternating Current.


I ask 'cuz thanks to the magic of the internet, I learned a few years ago
that there was a right way to wire zip cord in a lamp with a polarized
plug...


Gracias Amigos!

patrick conroy said:

So when I lop off the 15A 115V plug - I suppose I'll see three wires. Black,
n' white, n' green.
When I attach the NEMA 6-20P plug, he said redundantly, does the black need
to go to one particular blade, or can I choose thanks to the magic of
Alternating Current.

It doesn't matter. As long as the green goes to the ground pin.

I ask 'cuz thanks to the magic of the internet, I learned a few years ago
that there was a right way to wire zip cord in a lamp with a polarized
plug...

It does matter. ;-)

FWIW,

Greg G.

Try this color combination . . . .
Black wire = copper colored screw (narrower blade)
White wire = silver colored screw (wider blade)
Green wire = Green screw (rounded blade)

"patrick conroy" wrote in message
...
So when I lop off the 15A 115V plug - I suppose I'll see three wires.
Black, n' white, n' green.
When I attach the NEMA 6-20P plug, he said redundantly, does the black
need to go to one particular blade, or can I choose thanks to the magic of
Alternating Current.


I ask 'cuz thanks to the magic of the internet, I learned a few years ago
that there was a right way to wire zip cord in a lamp with a polarized
plug...


Gracias Amigos!

Try this color combination . . . .
Black wire = copper colored screw (narrower blade)
White wire = silver colored screw (wider blade)
Green wire = Green screw (rounded blade)

Any 6-20P I have used has all terminals the same color, and the blades are
the same width. Are you quite sure about this??!

On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 07:53:20 -0400, "Wayne Cattanach"
wrote:



Try this color combination . . . .
Black wire = copper colored screw (narrower blade)
White wire = silver colored screw (wider blade)
Green wire = Green screw (rounded blade)


Hmmmm - on the NEMA 6-20P's I scanned, the blades are all the same
width, only their orientation varies and the screws are all the same
color.

But thanks...

On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 06:40:04 -0400, Greg G. wrote:


It doesn't matter. As long as the green goes to the ground pin.

Thanks!


that there was a right way to wire zip cord in a lamp with a polarized
It does matter. ;-)

Yep! Problem is now I can never remember whether the ridged side
of the zip cord goes to the wide plug or vice versa...

Greetings all,

Perhaps this confusion arose with the change from the 5-15 (15 amp)/5-20 (20
amp) [125 VAC] to the 6-15 (15 amp)/6-20 (20 amp) [250 VAC] rated plugs.
They ARE different (hmmm ... THAT'S why they have different numbers).

Pictures often tell us more, so here's a quick picture to help you sort
things out (diagram credit McMaster-Carr online catalog ...
http:/www.mcmaster.com) :

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/110/...l/d1bga19s.gif



The 5-15 and 5-20 plugs conform to the wiring described below, the 6-15 and
6-20 don't, because we're not bringing a neutral line into the plug.

HTH

Rick



"toller" wrote in message
...



Try this color combination . . . .

Black wire = copper colored screw (narrower blade)

White wire = silver colored screw (wider blade)

Green wire = Green screw (rounded blade)

patrick conroy said:

On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 06:40:04 -0400, Greg G. wrote:

that there was a right way to wire zip cord in a lamp with a polarized
It does matter. ;-)

Yep! Problem is now I can never remember whether the ridged side
of the zip cord goes to the wide plug or vice versa...

Usually, the ridged side of the cord is the neutral side (wide blade),
but I always verify this with an ohm meter, just to be sure - some old
Chinese wiresets fly in the face of convention...


Greg G.

Yep! Problem is now I can never remember whether the ridged side
of the zip cord goes to the wide plug or vice versa...

Remember you "identify" the neutral. That is the silver screw, the wide blade
on the plug and the ridged conductor on the zip cord.
The wire will almost always be white except when it is 277v derived from 480v
(used in big building lights) That is grey.
Since we are global these days you may also see line cords from Europe that
have blue and brown. Blue is neutral over there.

In article ,
patrick conroy wrote:
So when I lop off the 15A 115V plug - I suppose I'll see three wires. Black,
n' white, n' green.
When I attach the NEMA 6-20P plug, he said redundantly, does the black need
to go to one particular blade, or can I choose thanks to the magic of
Alternating Current.

Authoritative answer: "Yes." *grin*

The black wire must go to _one_ of the 'hot' blades -- *which*one* =is=
a matter of 'your choice'.

then the white wire goes to the "other" 'hot' blade.

And the green goes to the 'safety ground', obviously.

I ask 'cuz thanks to the magic of the internet, I learned a few years ago
that there was a right way to wire zip cord in a lamp with a polarized
plug...

Ayup. That there is. because you're dealing with one 'hot', and one 'neutral',
vs. two 'hot' leads.

'hot' leads are, in general, interchangable -- from a safety standpoint, that
is -- although, in poly-phase circuitry, said interchanging of hot leads
may have an effect on the direction of rotation of any motors involved.

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 08:17:07 +0000,
(Robert Bonomi) wrote:


The black wire must go to _one_ of the 'hot' blades -- *which*one* =is=
a matter of 'your choice'.

then the white wire goes to the "other" 'hot' blade.

And the green goes to the 'safety ground', obviously.

Thank you!



'hot' leads are, in general, interchangable -- from a safety standpoint, that
is -- although, in poly-phase circuitry, said interchanging of hot leads
may have an effect on the direction of rotation of any motors involved.

Wow - if you read that last paragraph, slowly, in a dark room, it
sounds kind'a erot^H^H^H^H like something inappropriate for
rec.dorking.all-ages