up vote 3 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I am hoping to turn my laundry room into a mini data-center.

My dryer takes a 4 pronged, 120/240v NEMA 14-30 receptacle.

Most all PDUs seem to have NEMA L6-30 plugs (3 prongs, twist lock).

Obviously I could call and pay an electrician to replace the NEMA 14-30 receptacle with a NEMA L6-30 Receptacle... but then I would have to do the same when I sold the house as I doubt the buyer would be interested in a data-center of a laundry room.

Even if I could find a power bar or transformer or something that gave me some NEMA 5-30 receptacles then I would be good to go.

link|improve this question
92% accept rate
feedback

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Easiest way (that is also the most flexible) is to just get a pigtail adapter that plugs into the 14-30 socket and gives you an L6-30 plug. That way you don't have to rewire your house and you still can select just about any PDU you want.

You can get one for about 100 bucks here: http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=14547 but you might also be able to find it cheaper somewhere else.

link|improve this answer
My hero! Thanks for that. Would upvote you if I had over 15 "points". Could one not simply purchase this pigtail plug and this L6-30 plug and make your own for about $50 USD? – darkAsPitch May 9 '11 at 3:56
1  
You'd actually need an L6-30 Socket, not plug (levitonproducts.com/catalog/…) since the PDU will have a male plug on it. – Alex Miller May 9 '11 at 3:59
Woops, it's late here! Of course that is what I meant :) And I have given you your upvote now as it seems other people were interested in this thread! Thank you for your help. I do have one last question now... there are two 30A breakers going to my NEMA 14-30 receptacle... Does that mean the 240V prong will be putting out 60A or 30A? And thus would I require a 60A rated cord then as well? – darkAsPitch May 9 '11 at 6:41
1  
@darkaspitch 240V outlets in America are composed of 2x 120V legs (AKA dual phase) hence why there are 4 prongs in the outlet - 2 hot legs, 1 neutral and 1 ground. Each of those legs has their own 30 amp circuit dedicated to it. However, the L6 receptacle is single phase, so it will only make use of ONE of the hot legs. TL;DR: No, a 30amp cord is fine – Alex Miller May 9 '11 at 14:06
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.