30A wiring advice

Or that I am thinking things through very logically. The confusion stems from page 23, of Wiring Simplified 39th edition based on NEC 1999 by Richter and Schwan. It implies that supplies in USA are in single phase whereas I would have expected a 180deg phase differential which has indeed been confirmed by a few posters.

Also just to underline, when dealing with any such DIY projects I do get a qualified electrician in to validate the work before switching on. As far as I am aware I have not broken any Swiss regs.

JRS: In article , seen in news:sci.engr.e lectrical.compliance, Joe 90 posted at Tue,

Your location, Switzerland, is reasonably obvious to those who consider your message's header. However, you should have stated it explicitly. Those who do not do so are generally assumed to be Americans - and thus generally non-conversant with international standards.

Perhaps, personally, you are American - no born-and-bred European should expect to find "gauge" size wire available retail within the EU - and CH is within, though not of, the EU.

There must be a professional need for wire rated at well over 30A; consult a friendly professional, or your local equivalent of RS Components

I read in sci.engr.electrical.compliance that Joe 90 wrote (in ) about '30A wiring advice - a complication?', on Wed, 1 Oct 2003:

Yes, well, you and me both. I have had scorn and derision heaped by US citizens for describing their system as 'two-phase'. But it IS! (;-)

Our power is more correctly "single phase, centertapped". There is a "2 phase" but it is fairly obscure and the 2 phases are 90 out if I recall correctly.

NEVER solder wires that are clamped under a screw, the solder will flow under the pressure causing a loose joint, which will heat up and catch fire

In article , snipped-for-privacy@aol.comGreg says... | For the life of me I can't see how any logical person could say this was | dangerous if the wires were twisted and soldered and that is a pants with | suspenders answer. Just be sure any paralleled conductors are the same length, | size and composition. | | |

...And supposing one of the wires should break either within the cable, or where you have twisted them so tightly together at some time in the future?

Additionally, soldering them would be a really bad idea. Solder creeps and any screws tightened onto a soldered cable end will then work loose, producing high resistance connections plus heat.

Consider me properly spanked. I suppose it was all those years of seeing tinned stranded wire under screws that confused me. You better tell Leviton et al to stop tinning all of the wire ends on GFCIs dimmers etc.

If that happens you are screwed anyway. Good thing that doesn't happen very often.

BTW why does every electrical fault immediately burst into flames? Where is the fuel for these fires in the boxes we put these terminations in?

I don't think they tin the wire ends. Strip it in the middle and see what you find. ;-)

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Whereas On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 20:48:43 -0400, "John McGaw" scribbled: , I thus relpy:

CH is the TLD for Switzerland.

Whereas On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 01:50:42 +0200, "Joe 90" scribbled: , I thus relpy:

No, the best solution would be to hire a Swiss electrician to wire it up., or forget it and buy a Swiss/EU approved dryer, instead of trying to make the NA one to work.

Whereas On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 10:43:11 +0200, "Joe 90" scribbled: , I thus relpy:

It is Vab= -Vbc=120, Vac=240V. Note the -Vbc, it is 180 degrees out of phase of Vab.

Don't forget there is a motor and a timer in the dryer also, and they need 120V.

They seem to allow it, so it is okay.

The strands may be lead/tin coated but I am talking about that blob of solder on the end that holds all the strands together. Are we supposed to cut that off?

And generally a light bulb. Since the neutral only carries an amp or two, it could probably be recreated with a compact 230:120 control transformer or autotransformer, but I have no idea what getting that intalled to code for a Swiss residence would involve.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Can you separate the strands, or have you not done the exercise?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

I have a dimmer in my hand and the strands are firmly soldered together for about 1/2". That is the scenario that someone said would immediately burst into flames. I better call the CPSC and tell them.

Back in the days when that was seen in the UK, it also came with a note attached saying you must cut off the soldered end. It was there to make production line testing easier, and most definately not for you to put into a screw terminal.

That has not made it across the pond yet. There are no such instructions in this box. In fact it might be a violation of NEC 110.3(B) to cut it off since that is not in the manufaturer's installion instruction. The trend in US products is to have then shipped the way that the user wants for immediate use. That even gets down to whether you order devices with the screws out or screwed in (for backstabbing).