If you look at the power brick, you will probably see a symbol of a square within a square, and an input rating like 80-240V. I wouldn’t have a problem connecting that between two live contacts for 240V.
Is the right wire always active, and left wire always neutral?
Color me crazy, but wouldnt it make just as much sense to “adapt” the clothes dryer to the 240 and then just use the conventional plug for the PC. I would imagine thats a fairly common adaptation with gas dryers.
I’d say no, if (as seems likely) the PC is already capable of operating on 240v.
That would depend on the orientation of the outlet.
No matter the case, assuming a polarized outlet (which they all are in the US), the hot (active) wire goes to the gold colored terminal and the neutral goes to the silver one. Looking at the outlet, the hot/active side has a smaller slot and the neutral is larger.
Like this.
There’s just one fuse. Although American plugs are polarized, it doesn’t matter at all. Aside from a few filtering components, the input to the PSU goes directly into the primary coil of a transformer. It’s fully isolated from everything else.
Older PSUs had a 120/240v switch that would change which tap on the transformer was fed. In 240v mode it stepped down twice as much. New PSUs just deal with the greater range and don’t bother with taps.
American plugs have two flat prongs (and one rounded pin for ground). The hot prong is narrower than the neutral one (so that even without the ground pin, there’s no way to plug it in upside down). Though miswiring isn’t uncommon, of course.
Give me an angle grinder or diagonal cutter and I’ll make that plug fit any which way you want it to.
Joking, of course, but I remember back in the 80’s when a lot of outlets were only two prongs, but 3 pronged plugs were getting more and more common. I don’t think I’ve ever, even once, seen a properly installed 3 prong to two prong adapter. And plenty of people just cut the ground prong off.
I’m quite certain that no one has ever connected that little ground lug to anything.
Not that it really makes a difference. It’s supposed to screw in to the center screw for an outlet, but the likelihood that that’s in any way connected to ground is approximately zero.
True, but keep in mind, the further back you go, the more often you’ll find EMT (steel conduit) or AC (Armor Clad/BX), which itself provides a ground.
Of course, you’ll also probably find less attention to grounding and bonding as well.
I once needed an outlet in my attic. I drilled a hole in the second floor ceiling (the attic floor), ran a length of wire through, then put male/female ends on where appropriate. The cord looked stupid, but worked.
I was renting and left my extension cord behind when I left.
Are we talking about those cheap little things that stick out of your outlet? You just connect that prong to the screw in the middle don’t you? Or is there something more to properly installing it? That’s how I’ve always used those.
That’s what I’m talking about and yes, that’s how to properly install them. But, I’ve never seen it used properly. People would stick them on the end of the cord so they could plug it in anywhere.
I’d be willing to bet the vast majority of people (and this would be in the 80’s when they were all over the place) didn’t even know what that little green tab was for.
Ah. When we left the USA in the late 60’s, they didn’t look like that. All of our old American equipment (sewing machine, drill, lamp etc) has two identical blades, only the drill (metal body) has an earth, and neither of our two old transformers provides earth on the 110 volt side.
So, returning to the original question, it is probable that any computer equipment he has is switched and fused only on the ‘hot’ side, and from a 240v supply with two active sides, switching off one of his printers would leave one side active, as would a fault in the power supply unit. It is even possible that the switch mode power supply is not isolated, and a fault could leave the unit turned on, even when it’s switch is turned off. This is not an optimal situation, and I would be leary about using the 240V supply for units that did not have the square inside a square symbol.
Not that it wouldn’t work: our forefathers did that and worse. But I get use to having everything set up properly, and all those excessive electrical standards are there for a reason.
That’s really not possible. Even the crappiest computer PSUs I’ve seen (and I’ve pulled a lot of them apart) all have proper isolation between high and low voltage sides. And they simply won’t function with only a single input conductor.
As long as there’s a proper ground available, there’s really no additional danger. All kinds of equipment uses two hot phases with no neutral. The motivation for polarized plugs was largely for devices with exposed conductors such as light sockets and toasters. Not so much for equipment with a fully grounded case and internal isolation.
Also, don’t they use the exact same models of computer power supplies with a switch and fuse on one side in say Germany, where there’s no polarization enforced even for grounded devices?
Dunno. I’m going to look at one when I get to work, to see if it’s got any European standards compliance.
Not sure if it wasn’t mentioned or if I scrolled past it, but the square in a square icon signifies the device is double insulated. Generally this is done by insulating the internal wiring and by having the thing’s case made of insulating material. It has nothing to do with what voltage it can run on. Also, a double insulated device cannot have an earth ground connection.
For everyone looking to have the media server’s PSU autosense the power and run happily on 240, you’re forgetting about other things like monitor, printer, any AV distribution stuff, network equipment, etc. Some of this may be able to run on 240, but some won’t, and where do you plan to find a 240 plug strip?
Hey, I mentioned it. Most of the accessories are low power, probably not grounded, and can run from the light socket adapter. Or one of the existing shared 120v plugs.
If the printer is a beefy laser, it might need a few more watts. It’s possible to find multi-output plugs, like this one. Single L6-30P input, two C13 outputs.
Hard to give good advice until the OP returns, though…
I don’t know about the power issue but if you have a written lease it will almost certainly say that all tenants need to be on the lease, and are severally responsible, so you will need your landlord’s permission to get a roommate.
N/A for the OP, seeing as though we’re talking about an 850w PS.
With apologies for possibly having missed something, you currently live alone in a two bedroom house. Why does taking in roommate mean you have to banish your workspace to the basement? Is there no available space in the main living area where you can work?
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