110 Outlet with Green Circle & Red Triangle on The Bottom

Hello lockitup

You forgot to place a picture of the receptacle.

Reply here, with the picture, and

Kind Regards....

Well, um, err, this is perhaps the strangest post I ever saw. The girl is a he, with colored circles and triangles, and luncheon meat thrown in to boot.

A picture would really clear things up. So would a volt meter.

It is a hospital grade and filtered outlet--We sometimes use them on "clean power" for automation and the color discourages angle grinders from being plugged into them. I think audiophiles use them for stereo equipment, but the voltage shouldn't be out of the ordinary.

Perhaps you could educate me here. Are not 110 volt and 220 volt plug configurations different?

If wired right, absolutely. You should never have to make that decision. Markings or color on them may suggest usage, but the voltage shouldn't be in question. Different voltage and amperage rating usually won't interchange. This can be referenced at a suppliers site--try Leviton or Tripp lite and it will show a variety or plug bodies and cord caps and outlets and ratings for phase, voltage and amperage.

Here's one:

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/xxlcfbuibeCSrdSrchResults.jsp?cg=&kw=cord+cap+ratings&bo=and&nkw=&st=kw&dr=20&cpg=0&upc=&ccnum=&allats=&oneats=&exphr=&isAdvSrch=false&tbon=T

did you forget this one?

What would happen if I connected my 110v dishwasher to 220v by accident?

From what I have seen in the last 30 years, NEMA has designed plugs and receptacles so that if it fits, it is correct. I have 120 volt items in 15 amp and 20 amp. You can plug the 15 into the 20 receptacle, but not the 20 into the 15.

Someone on this site sent me a list of outlet configurations around the world. Perhaps they would post it again.

I have seen and used the green dot hospital grade. They are overpriced. The same quality can be had in an industrial grade. Does anyone know what the difference between hospital grade and industrial grade?

I have also seen orange isolated ground receptacles listed, but never used.

<...Someone on this site sent me a list of outlet configurations around the world....>

There is also an illustrated article on this subject in Wikipedia.

I'm not sure what the difference between hospital grade and industrial grade are but when I was an electrician in the Navy in the early 80's hospital grade was used exclusively. I have used the orange isolated ground outlets but not since 1987 in the very early PC days.

As far as the plug and receptical configurations being correct if they fit, never assume that. You are counting on the person that wired the receptical to have used the right part. If in doubt, measure the voltage first. Plugging a 220 V device into 110 V probably won't damage the device immediately, but the reverse is rarely true.

"...the difference between hospital grade and industrial grade..."

I think the other respondents have answered most everything else, including the fact that whoever wired in the pictured circuit learned electricity from the Rube Goldberg school (although in the lower left corner of the upper pic you'll see a pretty substantial ground connection - presuming it actually goes to Earth somewhere...).

Therefore, I will wax erudite on the quoted phrase (above) only - "hospital grade" electrical (switches as well as) outlets have gold-plated contacts to avoid a spark across the gap when contact is made/interrupted due to the usually oxygen-rich atmosphere. Also occasionally flammable vapors...

The blades inside the female receptacle are springy and have a dimple. This helps to hold the plug fast, requiring a small effort to unplug.

Thnak You

Not so fast with the thanks there! How can a dimple hold a hole?

It would be the male side of a dimple, or, perhaps, better called a nipple.

No, no, no, in this case it's the female receptacle that has the nipples, (pregnant with the male dimples).

HHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I thought they(the holes) were solderies so that if the plug transformer in picture wouldn't fit into a 120V socket that was wired for polyphase 480V---just goop enough solder on them and size your wire to carry "DUH" load.

Nipples!

Oh...like a baby in bottle... a Grabber Baby'n Bottle?

Kind Regards....

So the patients with pacemakers can go with a song in their heart?

Oh wow. Thanks everybody. I do have a pic.When i pluged the cord

in, the whole side of the recipitical pushed in sideways, then no power. only then i tryed the volt meter. Maintance couldn"t find the breaker. Gee, and its not even Friday yet.

Hello lockitup

That wiring looks as if it was done by Heath Robinson.

The screws on that front plate are very rusty, too.

Probably the box interior is damaged.

Kind Regards....

I hate to agree with anyone, but this time, Spark I will with you--The plastic enclosure with the plastic screws and the splash guarded outlet cover may be suited for the location----But the wire nuts????? No way. What and where is this contraption and what is supposed to do?? Help can be found right here--These guys jump at the chance, just ask!!

Thank you Sparky.

My guess is that this is a power supply for a remote radio site or radio repeater. I think the wires on the wall are antenna wires.

The double duplex receptacle(s) are for powering the low voltage equipment in the enclosure. Low voltage installers are notorious for butcher work like this. The markings on the receptacles indicate that they are isolated ground, data-grade receptacles. However, used in this application, it looks like the installer just used these because they were just laying around and handy to be installed. As far as the equipment, the devices at top left are for analog video transmission and PTZ data transmission for a CCTV camera (75 ohm coax) over twisted pair cable (passive baluns). It looks like a small step down transformer for camera power in the lower right side of the picture using pigtail connections. This is the reason for the wire nuts.

I have installed low voltage for 20 years. Unfortunately this type of shotty work is the norm. Hope this helps.

PLease educate yourself on electricity. You may not have to worry about plugging things back in based on your question. Electricity kills be it 24V or 120V. Be Careful you only have one life to live.

It sounds to me like it is an isolated grounded outlet. I think that is a spec or code for hospital locations.

Indydog

Usually the outlets in a double gang box are all wired the same. The duplex outlets are usually tied together top and bottom. That said, the outlets may be untied by breaking out the connecting piece, thus allowing each outlet to be wired seperately. The red triangle would suggest to me to be the "hot" side of the outlet while the green circle should be ground or neutral. There again, there are no guarantees. It does indeed look as though there is an isolated ground. I doubt very seriously that there is any 220 Volt power available here. However, as I have stated, there is no guarantee. The receptacles certainly are capable of accepting 220 volt plugs. Usually though, the neutral side of the receptacle is not tied to ground except in the distribution panel in normal house wiring which this obviously isn't and certainly wouldn't be tied to ground in the USA if it were 220 volt. The know it all may know something we don't. The only safe course of action is to get the power restored and check the voltage with a volt meter. Please, for safety sake, check and make sure your ground is actually grounded.

Regards,

Keywalker

If wired properly, one should not be able to confuse voltage/amperage ratings when using plugs and receptacles. If you can, it must be very old or wired improperly.

www.systemconnection.com/downloads/PDFs/NEMAPlugReceptacleConfigurations.pdf

Hospital grade receptacles are red and because of cost are only used in rooms where oxygen or flammable gases may be in use as stated above.

Guest has correctly identified the other equipment around the receptacles. There could be as many as four separate 20 amp circuits at 120 volts A.C. in that box or four, because of the possible use of "T" polarized plugs, 240 volt circuits considering each half of those duplex receptacles can be separated and wired individually.

When I lived in England folks used to regularly go nuts because of the radically different load distinctions and plugs. Take a device from one place and try to plug it in somewhere else and it would not fit. Of course that is more necessary because starting at 220 volts you are potentially playing around with considerable more energy. Nonetheless, I and all my friends always thought it was a pain in the ass although I was even then many years ago a competent electrician who recognized why it was that way .

The use of those receptacles with the "T" polarization as one of two possibilities is just plain stupid because it introduces an unknown where there should not be one. The parallel Edison plug should always be an indicator of 120 volts.

When I mess around with that sort of stuff I find it easiest to carry in my pocket a test plug that indicates polarity and neutral or ground if not yet up to the new standards. They even make a plug that has a grounding button on it to check GFCI protected circuits.

j.

I have been using HBL5266C from Hubbell. I get good usage out of them, but wanted to the to improve on them. I bought the same thing from Hubbell, but hospital grade, and they were $ 4.00 more. They got crushed just as bad as the 5266Cs did. Other than the green dots, I could see no difference between them. .

Install anything but hospital grade in a hospital where specs and code indicate and see how fast the inspector will jump all over you.

The four dollars extra covers the gold plating which prevents arcing, hence prevents fires and explosions in potentially dangerous atmospheres.

j.

I do face a bit of arking and erosion of the plugs because the loads on them are not turned off when plugging in or removing the plug. But I don't feel that I would be violating any code by going from non hospital to hospital grades as long as the wiring is up to codes. It does not compromise quality, only adds to it.

You don't say just what you are working on but that aside if you install anything but hospital grade in a hospital environment where hospital grade is specified it would not be polite to tell you here what ought to be done to you.

j.

I'll grant you no special privileges now. Wait in line like the rest of the people that hate me.

The trucks I deal with have

1) Onboard air compressors to maintain sufficient air pressure to allow the trucks to release the parking brake immediately.

2) Onboard battery chargers to assure the truck will start as quick as possible.

3) Onboard engine heaters to assure the trucks have full power right away, and will not damage heads from wide open throttle operation when cold.

The power consumption for these combined devices is very close to the 20 amp rating of the connection. The trucks have an automatic plug ejector that breaks the electrical connection before pushing the plug out. But I still get some arking marks on the flat pins of the plug after time.

I have gone to 12 gauge overhead reels combined with short 10 gauge jumper links in case the auto eject fails (again).

Check with my wife about scheduling a time for my --- kicking. She thinks there may be an opening in November due to a cancellation.

Well Bob it was very murky just what you were talking about.

Now you are talking about trucks, obviously with air brakes that set when air pressure gets low.

You are talking about electric start vehicles.

You seem to be talking about diesels.

You could be talking about ambulances but that business about overhead reels is murky. Are the trucks plugged up to an external A.C. supply to keep batteries under charge when the engines are off?

Do the automatic plug ejectors disconnect the truck when brakes come off ready to run. Do the jumper links pull the plug when the truck moves away if the automatic fails?

What is this about receptacles getting crushed?

Sorry to upset you. My intention was to warn anybody who might substitute for hospital grade in a hospital environment as to how serious such could be.

j.

Sorry for the delayed response. I had a previously scheduled appointment to get my --- kicked.

The trucks are large airport fire trucks. We keep the on board battery charger, air compressor and engine heater connected when ever the trucks are parked in the station. There is an overhead reel to keep wires off the ground. (trip hazard) At the end of the cord from the reel is a female connector that had a tiny circuit board built into it that verifies correct wiring all the way back to the breaker. When all is correct the internal LED glows blue. If anything is incorrect, the LED turns red. I can't remember the name of the manufacturer right now, (I'm home now) but will post the name when I return to work tomorrow. The light also assures the driver of the truck that the cord is live.

Plugged into the illuminated cord connector is a Hubble 20 amp 120 volt plug, with 10 gauge wire and a matching 20 amp 120 volt Hubble connector that plugs into the truck. This wire is too short to reach the ground if left plugged into the truck alone. this is the jumper link I was referring to.

The truck is equipped with an automatic disconnect 120 volt 20 amp plug recessed into the side of the truck right next to the driver's door. This device is manufactured by a company called Auto Eject. Very common in the emergency vehicle field. The Auto Eject has a strong spring pushing against a plastic pin that hits the female connector when connecting the cord. As you push in the cord end into the truck's Auto Eject plug the plastic pin is pushed into the back of the Auto Eject until it latches. At that point the spring pressure is stored and the 120 volt cord is electrically connected to the truck.

When the truck's starter is energized, the same signal is sent to the solenoid mounted inside the Auto Eject. The solenoid pulls back the latch holding the compressed spring, allowing the spring pressure to push out the 120 volt cord, and connector.

If everything went correct, the truck drives away with the overhead cord line hanging next to the truck.

But if the cord is too long, and lays on the ground, the back tires on this 45,000, 69,000 or 90,000 pound truck drives over the cord connector.

Or if the Auto Eject fails to push out the connector, the truck will pull the short cord away from the long cord attached overhead reel, and hang harmlessly from the side of the truck as it drives away. The Hubble connectors that I have been using will deform if driven over a few times. There are armored connectors sold. I tried them once. when driven over, the metal edge crushed into the live wire and blew the circuit breaker. That was the end of the trial.

Hope I have made the mud a little clearer. Fear not about upsetting me . I have a great respect for the advances that have been made in the electrical codes, and NEMA. As for the Hospital grade, I was just trying to find a better plug than the current Hubble ones.

Thanks. That's interesting. Never knew there were plug ejecting male sockets. Why don't you shorten that cord even more so it can't get run over?

I never dreamed a fire truck had more than a big pump, tank, and a bunch of hose.

j.

Why don't you shorten that cord even more so it can't get run over?

Because the parking spot of the trucks may move, the cord is on a reel. Because some people think they are doing good They leave 2-3 feet of slack in the cord. That allows it to get run over.

The illuminated safety connectors are made by Ericson part # 1612-CMGL 20 A. Pass and Seymour also makes a similar one #1PGK-4. Never tried it yet, but it looks good.

Slight correction. Plugs that are backed up by the emergency generator are red.

Hospital grade plugs and receptacles are white or clear (for easy inspection), and marked with a green dot.

Hospital grade or not, the workmanship of the original installers apparently is not.

Mia Culpa CJ.

You are right. The green dot is hospital grade.

j.

Did you live in England a long time ago? the system you describe is long obsolete. All domestic and light commercial installations now use the same socket size for all loads up to 13A. The actual supply may be rated up to 32A feeding many sockets in parallel. A fuse is fitted in each plug to protect the appliance and its cable. Different fuse ratings are used for different loads.

Thank you Chankley.

Yes, it was long ago.

Now, I will bet, instead of carrying around in one's pocket a handfull of plugs, folks carry around a handful of fuses.

j.

All new equipment has to be supplied with a plug fitted (usually moulded) which should already have the correct fuse. Unfortunately the average user just sticks in a 13A fuse for everything. I used to have boxes full of 13A fuses that had been removed in order to fit the correct value.

Probably want you to eat some baloney.

I don't know but my sense would be that it's green-go and yellow-caution, as relates to the two sides of each receptable. Perhaps pertaining to plug polarization; and/or to wiring color coding inside? The key would be to understand the circle and triangle significance, if any. It definitely looks like a 110, though.

1) The green dot is hospital grade

2) The orange triangle is isolated ground. I think that is the extra ground that comes out of the box and is connected to the bare ground wire at the corner of the room.

With the set up you have there is NO WAY you should have anything other than 120 (nominal) Volts AC. Tell that idiot who told you there are different voltages to get a brain before he kills someone. A 240 VAC plug will not fit into the receptacle shown in the picture.

We have 220 receptacles at Chick-Fil-A that are configured like the one in the picture. Don't tell anyone that it is not possible for the plug to be 220 volt. Are you trying to kill them? The only safe route is to check with a meter!

It is an isolated ground 20 amp receptacle, that is hospital grade.

As andrew ward said, the vertical and horizontal pins are reversed between 20amp 120 and 20 amp 240. It looks confusing, but NEMA has it worked out well and is fairly safe. Any one could use any outlet, and wire it to any voltage he wanted, that is why we always check.

Try this. If the power is off, (check to be sure) use an ohm meter to test between the ground pin receptacle and each of the other flat pin receptacles.If one of the readings is 0, or very close to 0, It must be 120 volts. Correct?

Let me restate my words "There is no way a NEMA compliant, correctly terminated, and properly applied 240VAC plug will fit into the receptacle shown in the picture." The receptacle shown is a duplex straight blade 125V, 20 Amp NEMA #5-20R that is both Hospital Grade and has provisions for an isolated ground. Unless modifications are performed, which will void the UL listing, the NEMA # 6-15P, 6-20P, or for that matter any of the NEMA #6 (250V or as some people call them 220V) plug designs will not fit into that receptacle. The ungrounded conductor blade for 120 V plugs would have to be rotated 90 degrees in order to fit. In response to a comment earlier, there are no correctly configured 240V receptacles like this. Not at chick-fil-a or anyplace else. This is like an ad for the NEC, and why I am happy to be a licensed electrician. I was a journeyman for many years then I took my Master's test and passed the first time. That is why the code is national, so I can go to florida, california, vermont, etc. and the rules stay pretty much the same. Each municipality can accept or amend the code when the new revision is issued.

My best advice is learn the electrical code. If you do not have a working knowledge of that book you might think you are an electrician, but you are not. You are just out there biting wire.

Goodho,

I have no doubt you cite the good book correctly. Nonetheless there is still plenty of stuff circulating that does not heed the book.

I have seen, without a grounding pin, plugs that would fit the "T" formation of those outlets.

Are they legal? Probably not, but caution is good advice although in this particular instance I saw no need to think, and therefore would not have checked, that there was 220 present.

Perhaps I would have done otherwise if someone had told me it might be present.

j.

Things that are out of code are the exception, not the rule. Caution is a constant of course, whether driving on the freeway or manipulating conductors. Apply the code and change it where it isn't. Simple.

Simple only seems so.

I have had occasion to look in the attics of multi-family dwellings here in Atlanta that were built under license and allegedly inspected for adherence to code.

In those attics I often saw sheaves, ten or fifteen runs, of Romex running rafter to rafter just drooping between. They each are supposed to be supported and stapled in place at intervals.

Periodically, especially in summer where those attics must get very hot, 150 f. would not surprise me, there are fires in those buildings that start in the attics.

The code is a wonderful thing for safety.

Want to bet economics triumphs?

j.

I have seen thousands of bad examples--But we trudge on and diligently apply the code if we believe in what we do. Over time I think it will make a difference.

There was a thread about safety precautions and equipment that get bypassed while working on energized 480V systems. OLE, I started to answer like it was something to talk about--It's not. It got me thinking. Have a license, follow the code and practice it, period. I don't revere the bad examples as bullets we are skilled enough to dodge without getting bit. They are just bad.

Set good examples and don't qualify junk as electrical work. If I crawled into an attic that was going to possibly burst into flames do to high temperatures and wiring practices that are substandard--What should I do? I would buy a smoke detector for them at the very least(I know I just blew this way out of proportion, but it is just making a point).

I stand corrected. I took another look at the plug at Chick-Fil-A I made referrence to. It is indeed configured with the "T" on the right side not the left as pictured above. Even though it is less likely to be "@240 volt" in the picture now than before in my mind, I stand by my position that it is better to test than assume. You know what "assume" sometimes does don't you?

Just use a multimeter and test it. 110v should be 120v.