AC Electical Question

   / AC Electical Question #1  

DaveNH

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Nov 28, 2000
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Fremont, New Hampshire
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Knowing very little about AC I need to ask.

I have some telcomm equipment power by an AC power strip with six outlets.
The strip is powered from an AC/DC inverter.
The are five pieces of equipment powered from the AC power strip.
(The sixth outlet is empty.)
Customer wants to move off of the existing inverter -both AC and DC over to the new one I just installed.

Customer still wants/needs to use the power strip.


Can I make a cheater cord and back feed AC into the sixth outlet
of the AC power strip and then move the main feed of the power strip to the new outlet?

The two circuits (old AC and new AC) both come from the same power panel but are on different sides of the panel. (CB 9 New -- CB 10 Old)
Panel is labled 208 volts. I'm think there maybe a phase difference between the left and right side of the power panel (????)
 
   / AC Electical Question #2  
I guess I don't understand why you would want to do this. Sounds dangerous, illegal and will almost surely void any insurance claims should there be a fire. And you would be liable for all damages.
 
   / AC Electical Question #3  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The strip is powered from an AC/DC inverter. )</font>

Dave, some things are not "stacking up" correctly in your description. You mention the "AC/DC Inverter" but you never say where the DC is coming from that you are inverting. This makes me think you are talking about a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) rather than an inverter. From what you said, you'd be mixing some AC and DC in the same power stip and thats a big, big NO-NO. I think that's why Mossroad was so strong in his response too. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
   / AC Electical Question #4  
I agree with everyone else on this subject so far. Not real sure what you are trying to do but I suspect the results could be dramatic and unsafe.
 
   / AC Electical Question #5  
if you try it, make sure someone has a video camera on at the time, you may be able to win one of those funniest/scariest home videos.
heehaw
 
   / AC Electical Question
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Ok, I'll try to claify.

I have some telcomm equipment power by an AC power strip with six outlets.
(Just like the one you probable have under your desk, you plug it into the wall and now you have six AC outlet.)

The strip is powered from an AC/DC inverter.
(The Inverter is fed by both an AC source and a DC source (big string of big batteries making -48 volts DC. If AC fails, the inverter changes the DC to AC and keeps the AC powered equipment happy. When AC comes back, the inverter switches back to commercial AC. The inverter has only one output - 115 VAC it's like a UPS only bigger (higher KV and a hell of a lot fast.)

The are five pieces of equipment powered from the AC power strip.
(The sixth outlet is empty.)

Customer wants to move off of the existing inverter -both AC and DC over to the new one I just installed.
(I installed a bigger inverter so the customer is giving back the AC feeds and the DC feeds from the inverter he is using now)

Customer still wants/needs to use the power strip.
(We only provided two new AC outlets to the customer)


Can I make a cheater cord and back feed AC into the sixth outlet
of the AC power strip and then move the main feed of the power strip to the new outlet?

( A small extension cord with male plugs on both ends, wired hot to hot, neutral to neutral, ground to ground. Plug one end into one of the new customer outlets and then other end into the sixth (empty) outlet on the power strip. Then remove the AC cord from the customers old AC outlets.)

The two circuits (old AC and new AC) both come from the same power panel but are on different sides of the panel. (CB 9 New -- CB 10 Old)

(The AC that is powering the strip now is coming from a power panel CB 10 right side and the new service will be on the left side of the power panel. )


So, thinking about this....
I guess my real question is:

Is there a phase difference between the left side of a AC Power panel and the right side of a AC power panel?
 
   / AC Electical Question
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Guess you missed the one where I put a ladder up against a swing set, climbed up to catch a swarm of bees in a near by tree, took one step to many, started to go,
grabed the branch and we all came tumbling down /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
   / AC Electical Question #8  
Sounds to me like you are tying to make a temporary connection so that you don't have to power down your equipment. Are you aware that in a main circuit panel you have 110 volts on the left side of the box and 110 volts on the right side of the box but both legs together is 220 volts?
 
   / AC Electical Question #9  
<font color="blue">Then remove the AC cord from the customers old AC outlets.)

</font>

That will leave the unused male cord end laying on the floor?? That thing will be hot.
Everything you're wanting to do, would not be something I would want todo.
2 male cord ends are dangerous just to start with.
You've got a 33% chance of them being on the same phase in a 120/208 panel. On a 3 phase panel, the pahses aloternate ABCABC....etc on the right and ABCABC on the left.
Doesn't sound like a safe set-up at all
 
   / AC Electical Question
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Thanks Mike.
You are correct, we want to keep the telcomm equipment running.
You are correct, I'd end up smoking the telcomm equipment.
Some reason I got hung on finding out about a phase difference
and overlooked the total combined voltage. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Thank you! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I realize the point is moot because of the location of the breakers
but in theory, if both breakers where on the same leg, think it would have worked?
 
 
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