NEMA configuration

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Dweeber

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All, a co-worker brought this Hubbell adapter into work and asked me if I knew it's original purpose.

I don't know, and I looked at the plug configurations in the Grainger catalog and didn't see it there either. Thanks in advance for assisting identifying this.

D.

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another possibility is an old 240/120 style plug we used to call "crows foot" to a NEMA 15 120v 3 wire.
If it is this or the one RichB references you would be using a conductor as both neutral and equipment ground, so, obviously a bad plan.
 
Looks like some 277v straight blade cord caps I ran into on some low-bay fixtures a couple years back. They were plugged into recepts mounded in handy boxes that were nippled into old flourescent fixtures for power.
 
That's the old crow's foot NEMA 10-20 configuration, which provides both 120 and 240 Volts, without a ground.

5710.jpg


It's also the standard configuration for power points used in Australia, for 240 Volt 50 Hz use.

Australian_dual_switched_power_point.jpg
 
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I don't have this adapter readily handy, but I'll check what is stamped for amperage on the face.

I was unable to follow directions to see the website, I tried though.

Thanks to all for the insight, but just for reference, the co-worker's father was an electrician in Minnesota. I just didn't know what to make of the "adapter". I will probably throw it away seeing as it is potentially dangerous sharing a ground/neutral.

Perhaps I should take a diagonal cutter to the male ends......adapter that is.

Again, thanks.

D.
 
Back when I was in elementary school, the building was wired with crow's foot for 110V AC and 5-15 (or 1-15) for DC (or was it the other way around?). This was about 1970 in New York City.
/mike
 
I did not dig through and look up a reference but if you travel in Europe you will want one of those adapter plugs for plugging in your hair dryers, laptops and ect...
 
cschmid said:
I did not dig through and look up a reference but if you travel in Europe you will want one of those adapter plugs for plugging in your hair dryers, laptops and ect...
Click to expand...

Europe does not use that configuration, OZ & New Zealand do.
 
Scale is important here.

There's a non-NEMA plug that looks like that, but is slightly larger than the old 'dryer' plug. It is still very much in use, today, for RV hook-ups. The RV plug has a 120v, 30-A rating.

I suspect this adapter is intended to let you use a normal plug in an RV receptacle.

Remember: NEMA came late to the plug-pattern party, and there are still plenty of Non-NEMA patterns in use. Also note that there is nothing in any code that requires you to follow NEMA plug patterns.
 
I looked at it again, and on one side it has writing " 15A." and "125v", and "hubbell" of course.

The other side has no writing, but I attached a photo with a dangerously conductive dime for a size reference.

Thanks,

D.
 

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