On Feb 5, 13:07, Eric Smith wrote:
> Owen wrote about the notched power connector:
> > 20A rated.
>
> That makes more sense than high-temp, but I'm a little surprised
> as IEC 60320-1 (formerly IEC 320) only covers plugs and sockets up
> to 16A. Is there another standard that covers the 20A variant?
There isn't a 20A variant here :-)
In Europe (where the standard comes from!), there are two versions. As
I recall:
The first you commonly see on electronic equipment, which was
originally rated for 6A (IIRC) and later I think up to 10A or 12A
(*providing* the cable is also suitable for that current). There are
"hot condition" and "cold condition" variants, the "hot condition"
being the one for appliances like kettles, platewarmers, etc, which get
hot (or warm, at least) and which has a notch in it, to prevent a
normal "cold condition" plug being used in error. Although you rarely
see hot-condition plugs rated less than 10A or so, that's because you
need a 10A rating or more for a kettle element, not because the
hot-condition plugs are designed for high current and cold-condition
ones for low current (as some people mistakenly think). Eric (Smith)
is correct, the difference with the notch is purely temperature rating;
maximum current rating catered for by the standard is the same in each
case.
Be aware, however, that while there are few 6A hot-condition cables,
there are quite a lot of 5A/6A cold-conditon ones; indeed they're the
most common here, being supplied with every Sun, PC, monitor, network
switch, and many domestic electronic devices. Don't chop a lump out of
the edge of one of those and expect it to handle 10A safely. Look at
the printing on the socket first.
The second version is a little larger, has the pins at right angles to
the pins in the 10A version, and is rated 16A.
In the USA, both versions are allowed higher current ratings, so what
you call a 20A version is what we rate for 16A here. This is a result
of the USA using an inferior voltage standard, requiring higher
currents and leading to greater losses :-)
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
Received on Wed Feb 05 2003 - 16:23:00 GMT