Nema 6-15R power strip

[Roland Huisman]

Hi,

I'm looking for a Nema 6-15R power strip but I don't really know where to search.
These are 230V versions of the standard 115V US mains plugs. I do have a DEC 230V
power controller but I don't have that space in my rack any more...

So I'm looking for something smaller like this:
Power strip.jpg
Preferably with a bit of extra space inside where I can put in a little PCB to delay
the power-on moment.


Something like this one would be very nice as well:
115V model.jpg
But then I have to replace the outlets. Maybe a stupid problem, but I don't want
to replace all the plugs on my old DEC stuff. I prefer to keep it all in US style...

Any ideas where to get these things without insane (shipping)prices? Thanks!

Roland

[glitch]

You might have better luck with a IEC C19 style PDU, they're common in modern server racks.

[Chuck(G)]

Well, they are made, but aren't common. I second glitch on the C19 type--many of them come with remote switching capabilities. And they'll also work with 120VAC; they're pretty common.

[glitch]

They won't void your fire insurance, either Not sure what the situation would be, running US/Canada certified PDUs in Europe.

If you want to run DEC 120VAC PDUs, you might look into a large isolation/step-down transformer. Probably easier to find than US 240V PDUs, I hear 240 -> 120 isolation transformers are common for power tool safety isolation in the UK. Probably big enough to run DEC stuff, too.

[m_thompson]

I looked for a 220VAC power strip in the US a few years ago. I couldn't find one, so I got a European power strip for free, and put a US 220VAC plug on the end. I had plenty of European power cords so it was a simple setup.

[jafir]

You could get a C14 PDU and C14 to NEMA 6-15 adapters.

[Chuck(G)]

Wondering if there's an issue with a US 240V PDU on Euro mains. US 240V (and 208V) single-phase assumes that both legs are "hot" with respect to ground and uses a 2-pole circuit breaker. Euro convention, I believe has one leg neutral and the other "hot" and uses a single-pole breaker.

It could be that DEC made their PDU to be agnostic, so doesn't care about the difference.

This is somewhat like using a UK portable power tool step-down transformer, but in reverse. The UK power tool convention assumes that 110V is 55V-0-55V, with both legs "hot" with respect to ground/neutral. The US convention is similar to the Euro 220/230V convention with only one "hot" leg.

[Roland Huisman]

Wondering if there's an issue with a US 240V PDU on Euro mains. US 240V (and 208V) single-phase assumes that both legs are "hot" with respect to ground and uses a 2-pole circuit breaker. Euro convention, I believe has one leg neutral and the other "hot" and uses a single-pole breaker. It could be that DEC made their PDU to be agnostic, so doesn't care about the difference.

Hi Chuck,

I have this official PDU from Digital. Nothing special is done. The N and L are fused and
the N and L still go trough the common mode filter as one would expect. The difference with
the US is that the N has approximately the same level as the ground wire and the L is at 230V level.
So that might need a higher voltage filter model. But it is all done well in the PDU from Digital.

DEC PDU.jpg

I think the easiest way for me is to get an 115V model power strip and replace the outlets with the 6-15 models...
But even an 115 model power strip is not easy to find here... Especially with a bit of extra space to
add a little power on delay circuit...

That is why I would like to find something like this one:

115V model.jpg

Regards, Roland

[Terry Kennedy]

That is why I would like to find something like this one:

115V model.jpg

One thing to be careful of, particularly when using devices with prolonged high startup current (like disk drives) is that many of these made-in-Asia power strip / surge protector device just have receptacles that look like regular US/Canada duplex receptacles, but are actually cheap pieces of junk. The "better" ones are backstabber receptacles, while the cheaper ones are insulation displacement receptacles.

I've had a number of supposedly high quality outlet strips fail, either from the receptacle plastic failing and cracking, or from heat-induced failure where the wires connect to the receptacle.

A quality brand is no guarantee against this type of failure. I have several of this Belkin F5-H300EXT strip:

Note: This is before Belkin switched to even cheaper complete molded-plastic strips.

They all failed over time. Since the overall housing was excellent, I decided to re-do the "guts". I drilled out the 4 rivets holding the case together and replaced all 5 duplex IDC receptacles with commercial grade Hubbell devices, then reassembled the case with 4 short sheet metal screws instead of re-riveting it.

[Roland Huisman]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for the info! I have ordered an used Tripp Lite Isobar 6 and a few new wall outlets.
I'm curious how things will hold up. I had the feeling that this was the easiest way to go.
When these things arrive I will post the progress.

Tripp Lite Isobar.jpg

wcd 1.jpg wcd 3.jpg

Regards, Roland