What can I do with this??? Baytech RPS52DE

[Dark Sky Solutions]

So, I got a couple of these after a retrofit of some systems. What can I do with it at home? It has a 208v/20A end plug. I don't have any of these plugs at the house. Can I just switch te end plug and plug it into a 110v? Or what would happen if I put a 240 plug on it? I think it would pop the fuses?

If I can't use them at the house what do you guys think I could ask for it if I sell it? Please see herehttp://www.baytech.net/products/show...rod=RPS52DE-20

[Ryououki]

The site you link says it can take 120v or 208v. So, I would think it'd be fine with a 110v outlet. I of course am not a professional, so don't take my word for it.

[Dark Sky Solutions]

I just saw that on the details actually. I am just wondering who has the 208v outlets in their home/. Is it a special voltage meter thing only for Server racks? I have never heard of the 208v thing until i got these things.

Does anyone actually have any tools or machines intheir shop/garage that uses 208v stuff?

Ryououki,

Thanks for your reply.

[msound]

208 v is actually 3 phase. You are right that you don't have this in your house. Almost all residential power is split phase in the US. DO NOT just cut off the plug and put a standard plug on it depending on how this is wired that could be very dangerous. I don't think there is much you will be able to do with this at home.

[Dark Sky Solutions]

208 v is actually 3 phase. You are right that you don't have this in your house. Almost all residential power is split phase in the US. DO NOT just cut off the plug and put a standard plug on it depending on how this is wired that could be very dangerous. I don't think there is much you will be able to do with this at home.

Well crud!!!! Anyone interested in purchasing this for their shop or server room. I was stoked to have a 5 foot long power plug but now I am sad!!!!!


Sent from my IPad so... Ease off the spelling

[CGT80]

Part of the receptacles on that strip are 125v and would work for general use. The others are 208/240v use and wouldn't help you much. A single leg of 208 with neutral will give you 125v in all the buildings I have worked on. There are some 3 phase setups that will give you 277v to a single leg, which is common for lighting and electric water heaters. It has been a while since I worked on a 3 phase panel. I did a lot of electrical, but it was mostly either replacing lighting and water heaters or running single phase circuits for offices and homes. I had no problem using a meter to figure out all the legs in a panel to work from that point out (didn't matter if it was 1, 2, or all three legs being used), but I have not setup the transformer side of the 3 phase power for the buildings I worked on and I didn not keep track of the different types of 3 phase setups. I did the more basic work for our company and left the bigger jobs to my electrician friend, or a sub. I was good at what I knew, but I also knew that my knowledge stopped at a certain point and it wasn't safe for me to work past that point, unless I was just helping out someone who was more experienced and they were able to call the shots.

There is a possibility that you could use one or two legs of the split phase power in your home to use that strip, BUT it would depend on how it is wired internally and if there are an electronic circuits inside. It appears that the strip may be "smart." It has an Rs-232 connection that I assume would be to tie into a computer to monitor the strip. I might be totally wrong here, though.

If you were to properly wire the receptacles without electronics, it could be done. Might not be worth your while. You might be better off selling them and buying a strip that is 125v single phase. Also, rewiring it may be something you are unfamiliar with, and could be risky if you are unsure of yourself.

[Dubious_Beans]

You should open one up for a look.

Is it a 5 wire plug?

208V 3-phase is used in lots of commercial buildings. It generally involves 4 power conductors plus the safety ground.

The 4 power conductors will be: 1 neutral conductor and 3 "hot" conductors.
If you measure the voltage between any 2 of the 3 hot conductors you get 208 volts.
If you measure from the neutral to any one of the 3 "hots" you get 120 Volts. Magic! This is how 120 volts for wall outlets, lights, etc is obtained in buildings that are wire for 208v 3-phase. The outlets just use the neutral, the ground and any one of the 3 hots to get 120 volts.


On your fancy power strip, I'd bet that 1/3 of the outlets are connected to one of the 3 phases, 1/3 are connected to the second of 3, and 1/3 connect to 3rd of 3.
The neutral wire and the safety ground will connect to ALL of the outlets.
So you could find the ground wire, the neutral wire, and any one of the 3 hot wires and put a regular 120VAC plug on it then 1/3 of the outlets would work.
You could connect all 3 of the hots together and treat them as one hot wire, and along with neutral and ground wire put a regular 120VAC plug on it and ALL the outlets should work, but of course the total consumption on all outlets couldn't exceed 15 amps on a normal 120V residential circuit.

At least that's how it would work for a "normal" 3-phase / 120 volt power strip. But yours is fancy with voltage sensing and stuff. I have no idea how the internal current and voltage sensors would feel about that, but it would probably be OK.
As long as there's 120VAC on each of the 3 "legs" it probably wouldn't care (or know) that the phase angle between them ain't 120 degrees...

Photos of the inside of one would be useful. Or send me one I can have and after I've got it working I'll send you instruction how to make yours work too.
Cuz I'll bet it can be made to work.

[CGT80]

You should open one up for a look.

Is it a 5 wire plug?

208V 3-phase is used in lots of commercial buildings. It generally involves 4 power conductors plus the safety ground.

The 4 power conductors will be: 1 neutral conductor and 3 "hot" conductors.
If you measure the voltage between any 2 of the 3 hot conductors you get 208 volts.
If you measure from the neutral to any one of the 3 "hots" you get 120 Volts. Magic! This is how 120 volts for wall outlets, lights, etc is obtained in buildings that are wire for 208v 3-phase. The outlets just use the neutral, the ground and any one of the 3 hots to get 120 volts.


On your fancy power strip, I'd bet that 1/3 of the outlets are connected to one of the 3 phases, 1/3 are connected to the second of 3, and 1/3 connect to 3rd of 3.
The neutral wire and the safety ground will connect to ALL of the outlets.
So you could find the ground wire, the neutral wire, and any one of the 3 hot wires and put a regular 120VAC plug on it then 1/3 of the outlets would work.
You could connect all 3 of the hots together and treat them as one hot wire, and along with neutral and ground wire put a regular 120VAC plug on it and ALL the outlets should work, but of course the total consumption on all outlets couldn't exceed 15 amps on a normal 120V residential circuit.

At least that's how it would work for a "normal" 3-phase / 120 volt power strip. But yours is fancy with voltage sensing and stuff. I have no idea how the internal current and voltage sensors would feel about that, but it would probably be OK.
As long as there's 120VAC on each of the 3 "legs" it probably wouldn't care (or know) that the phase angle between them ain't 120 degrees...

Photos of the inside of one would be useful. Or send me one I can have and after I've got it working I'll send you instruction how to make yours work too.
Cuz I'll bet it can be made to work.

That pretty much matches what I got from looking at his link and my understanding of how that works on 3 phase power, except that a handful of the receptacles on the strip are 208/240v only with no neutral. Of course, non of his 120v equipment should be able to plug into those anyway, and I doubt he has any 208/240 items that would be used with that strip. He could probably ignore them or remove them from the circuit. The electronics are the question mark? I am curious to see what is inside too. I haven't seen these before.