Members rxnet Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 simple I'm sure but not sure myself... What's the purpose of putting a 20amp male edison plug off a quad box and using 20 amp receptacles. Do most bars/clubs have 20 amp circuits you can plug into from the wall? And if they don't I assume you need a 20amp->15amp adaptor cable? And what would be the purpose of having 20amp receptacles in the quad box...isn't most of the gear you would patch into the quad box standard 15amp edison plug?? can someone please clarify?? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 If you look at a 20A edison panel it accomodates the 20A plug as well as the 15A edison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Devices that require a 20 amp branch circuit to operate correctly (and for UL listing) require a NEMA 5-20P plug so that they can't be operated off of a 15 amp branch circuit which uses a 15 amp receptacle. A 20 amp [duplex] receptacle generally uses a combination 15/20 amp configuration, but there are 20 amp only receptacles also available [pretty rare BUT they are vailable] so it's important to clarify when specifying 20 amp branch circuits that you need the 15/20 amp combination receptacle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dark Ice Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 So glad I live in the UK Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashivraj Posted July 21, 2006 Members Share Posted July 21, 2006 Originally posted by Dark Ice So glad I live in the UK Steve. +1! One single kind of socket and no adapters for ungrounded stuff. Not the most compact though! AS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted July 22, 2006 Members Share Posted July 22, 2006 Originally posted by Dark Ice So glad I live in the UK Steve. Yeah ... high wall power and real beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rxnet Posted July 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 22, 2006 I guess my point is if most bars and clubs don't even have 20 amp receptacles in their walls why make ext cords/quad cords with 20 amp edison plugs?? from what I understand (and its not much...believe me)...you are allowed to have a 20amp circuit with a 15amp receptacle with the understanding you can't overpower the 20 amp circuit because nothing more than 15 amp can be plugged into it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 22, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted July 22, 2006 Originally posted by rxnet I guess my point is if most bars and clubs don't even have 20 amp receptacles in their walls why make ext cords/quad cords with 20 amp edison plugs??from what I understand (and its not much...believe me)...you are allowed to have a 20amp circuit with a 15amp receptacle with the understanding you can't overpower the 20 amp circuit because nothing more than 15 amp can be plugged into it... That's wrong logic though, IMO....the 20amp breaker won't trip if it's passing current that the 15amp device can't handle. In other words unless it's a direct short or close to it, the 20amp breaker will merrily stay closed while the device or its wiring cooks away. NEC allows a *residential* circuit (this is forbidden for stage use) that has multiple 15amp duplex receptacles to use a 20amp overcurrent and wiring. I'm not a believer in this loophole on their part...it's bad enough we allow skinny 18ga wires with thin insulation on 15amp circuits...you can definitely start a fire before tripping OCP with them, but to allow it on a 20amp circuit is ridiculous. To the point of your intended use...my logic supporting a 20amp quad is that if you provide the cable and plugs to handle it, when you do get lucky and find a 20a circuit you can take full advantage of it. I keep a short, 10 foot 'adapter' cord handy for the rest of the times. It doubles as a normal 15a extension cord, which is why I make a somewhat useful length rather than a 2ft shorty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rxnet Posted July 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 22, 2006 thanks craigv!! now that makes sense...and yes I was referring to your quad box suggestion on the other post...I see your reasoning with the idea...why have 15 and 20 amp quad boxes when you would only need the 20's as long as you brought that 10ft adapter cable when needed....makes sense ha:idea: and what the general consensus of using powercon's...or as i call them...electrical tinker toys!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted July 22, 2006 CMS Author Share Posted July 22, 2006 If you go the Powercon route, be sure to carry all the spares you'll ever need to every gig...if anything fails (not that they're unreliable, but Murphy and all....) you can't get these at the local Ace Hardware. And you obviously are all alone in 90% of the gigs if you need to borrow a cable. My general opinion is that they are nice, but solve a problem that doesn't really exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 A 15 amp plug on a 20 amp [recept] quad box is not illegal since it's not a defined load, and load diversity is factored into most applications. IF it's defined that the load will be >15 amps, the a 20 amp plug is required, but genetally this applies to manufactured equipment that requires this in order to obtain it's UL listing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted July 23, 2006 Members Share Posted July 23, 2006 Originally posted by dboomer Yeah ... high wall power and real beer! But the beer's not COLD ;-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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