| I am adding to my server farm at home. Instead of pulling a second 110 | line I was pondering migrating the current one to 220, perhaps | installing a sub breaker box in that room. To wire a sub box, I need to | run both hots, ground and the neutral wire as well right? So I will | need 4 wire cable running across the house rated for at least 30 amps. | And then from the box I can pull off my split 110 with breakers.
If you are going to power everything at 240 volts (that's the nominal voltage in the US ... "220" is the legacy name still commonly said), then you don't need the neutral.
| I am pondering buying a surplus 6000va/220 ups. From everything I can | find, it does not drop 110 nor do any of the pdus that come with it. I | will assume that the unit wires only 220 hots and ground, so there is | probably no neutral on the output side of it that would allow me to | split it into 110.
Some UPSes will created 120 volts where none was available (e.g. no neutral). Others will require the neutral be supplied to it and usually provide 120 volts out as well as 240 volts. Some can do 240 only and need no neutral. But almost all of these are large units, 30 amps and up.
| How can I get 110 from this unit? It is a Compaq R6000 and nowhere in | any reference does is suggest using it with 110 equipment. I've heard | of folks using these as a whole house ups, but again, you need to tap | neutral to do so right, and I dont see anything regarding that or any | pdu option that splits for you in the rack.
Large computers require 208 to 240 volts to work because at 120 volts the current drawn is just too much. A UPS like you described is made for such a computer.
Almost every PC and a great amount of peripheral equipment will work at
240 volts. Inventory all your equipment and check to see just what they will take.
I'm planning to eventually convert to 240 myself. One issue I have found is that although most of my wall "transformers" (power supplies in a big fat plug) will accept anything from 100 to 240, the plugs are standard NEMA 1-15P variety. I'd have to end up with some power strip with NEMA
5-15R driven by 240 volts, which I would consider to be unsafe to have. What I'd have to do is trade these in for a different kind of plug. They don't come with NEMA 2-15P or 6-15P. But they do come with Europlug. So I may end up with a bunch of Schuko strips. Either that, or set up a big
12 VDC power system (most of the stuff runs on 12 VDC). 12 VDC power strips with fusing do exist (look in ham radio cataogs).