The 6-20 is a designation for a 20 amp circuit. Most homes have receptacles rated for 15 amps. The cord is designed so that you cannot plug it into a 3 prong 15 amp outlet for safety purposes. The wire, fuse or circuit breaker as well as the receptacle must be properly rated so you don't burn your house down. Proper inspection and possible rewiring to the power panel is needed to operate it safely.
No. You can't replace a 220V outlet with a 110/220V outlet without running the requisite neutral wire. If you do you will blow out any device that expects the neutral line to be connected.
The NEC allows connection of ungrounded, 3-prong outlets if there is a properly installed GFCI "upstream" of the ungrounded outlet. As long as everything is working as designed, nothing will happen, but that third connector is a safety feature to protect you. It is connected to the frame of the appliance and if there is an internal short, leads the electricity back to ground. Without that connection, the operator may become the ground, i.e., crispy critter. No, it is not safe. Ground is a safety line, without it the appliance is not safe. It may work, and you probably will not be harmed, but it is not safe.
It's probably more difficult than you might expect. I'm assuming you have a NEMA 5-15R outlet, and you want to plug in a dryer that has a NEMA 14-30P plug at the end of its electric cable. The NEMA 5-15R outlet is by far the most common type of outlet in North America. It has two flat slots (hot and neutral), and a round safety ground hole. It is rated for 15 A and 125 V. On the other hand, most electric clothes dryers have an electric cable with a NEMA 14-30P plug on the end. It has two flat slots (2 hots from 2 different phases, each one 120 V from neutral, and each one rated at 30 A), an L slot (neutral), and a round safety plug. It is possible for an electrician to "fish" a electric cable carrying the necessary phases through the wall from the fuse box to that outlet, and then pull the old outlet and install a new outlet. If one merely did that last part -- pulled the old outlet and placed a new outlet -- without the proper electrical cables in the wall behind it, then the dryer would probably blow the fuse at the fusebox every time it was turned on.
The following are the most commonly used wiring enclosures. NEMA 1, NEMA 12, NEMA 3R, NEMA 4, NEMA 7, NEMA 9
The 50 amp receptical will not be a three prong receptacle it will be a 3-pole 4-wire grounding receptacle. It will be a 125/250 volt rating NEMA number 14–50R. The red and black wires connect to the X and Y terminals, the white wire to the W terminal and the ground wire to the G terminal.
Need to know the amperage rating of the plug or the NEMA configuration of the plug and receptacle
No. You can't replace a 220V outlet with a 110/220V outlet without running the requisite neutral wire. If you do you will blow out any device that expects the neutral line to be connected.
There are two different electrical outlets for North America. The first, electrical outlet A, is used in North America and Japan. It is 2 blade NEMA 1-15 ungrounded. The second, only used in America, is 3 pinned NEMA and both are 15A/125V.
The NEC allows connection of ungrounded, 3-prong outlets if there is a properly installed GFCI "upstream" of the ungrounded outlet. As long as everything is working as designed, nothing will happen, but that third connector is a safety feature to protect you. It is connected to the frame of the appliance and if there is an internal short, leads the electricity back to ground. Without that connection, the operator may become the ground, i.e., crispy critter. No, it is not safe. Ground is a safety line, without it the appliance is not safe. It may work, and you probably will not be harmed, but it is not safe.
It's probably more difficult than you might expect. I'm assuming you have a NEMA 5-15R outlet, and you want to plug in a dryer that has a NEMA 14-30P plug at the end of its electric cable. The NEMA 5-15R outlet is by far the most common type of outlet in North America. It has two flat slots (hot and neutral), and a round safety ground hole. It is rated for 15 A and 125 V. On the other hand, most electric clothes dryers have an electric cable with a NEMA 14-30P plug on the end. It has two flat slots (2 hots from 2 different phases, each one 120 V from neutral, and each one rated at 30 A), an L slot (neutral), and a round safety plug. It is possible for an electrician to "fish" a electric cable carrying the necessary phases through the wall from the fuse box to that outlet, and then pull the old outlet and install a new outlet. If one merely did that last part -- pulled the old outlet and placed a new outlet -- without the proper electrical cables in the wall behind it, then the dryer would probably blow the fuse at the fusebox every time it was turned on.
A NEMA 5-20 plug is a standard 3 prong plug. It wires the same as a NEMA 5-15 plug (Ground wire to the "D" contact, Hot to vertical terminal and neutral to the horizontal terminal (with the Ground terminal either at the top or bottom)).A 5-20P plug has the neutral blade rotated 90°. The 5-20R receptacle usually has a T-shaped neutral hole, to accept both 5-15P and 5-20P plugs.
The following are the most commonly used wiring enclosures. NEMA 1, NEMA 12, NEMA 3R, NEMA 4, NEMA 7, NEMA 9
The 50 amp receptical will not be a three prong receptacle it will be a 3-pole 4-wire grounding receptacle. It will be a 125/250 volt rating NEMA number 14–50R. The red and black wires connect to the X and Y terminals, the white wire to the W terminal and the ground wire to the G terminal.
Depends upon which prong is horizontal. Under NEMA standards (in the USA) it could either be 250v (6-20p) with both non-grounded terminals hot, or 125v (5-20p) with the horizontal being neutral. Obviously, WHICH terminal is horizontal determines the possible voltage, so you cannot accidentally plug a 125v device into a 250V socket.
Our NEMA (like in NEMA 3R) stands for the National Electric Manufacturers Association.
No, you cannot use a NEMA 6-20 heater on a 10-30R outlet. The NEMA 6-20 outlet has two flat pins and one round pin, while the 10-30R outlet has two flat pins and one L-shaped pin. The shape and configuration of the pins are different and not compatible, so they cannot be used together.
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