Terminology?

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rattus

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Is it proper to refer to the three phases of a delta system as legs, or is that term only used with wye or split-phase systems?
 
rattus said:
Is it proper to refer to the three phases of a delta system as legs, or is that term only used with wye or split-phase systems?
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Never heard legs used to desribe phases, dont know if it is "proper" but it sure is not "common".

What really gets confusing is what letters to use. ABC for 600V and less and XYZ for >600V I think is the standard in the USA but I know it is different in other countries.
 
zog said:
Never heard legs used to desribe phases, dont know if it is "proper" but it sure is not "common".
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using "Leg" for "Phase" is very common in the midwest. such as "wild leg" "high leg" "grounded leg" etc....
 
As opposed to a 'switch leg' or 'switched leg' portion of a circuit.... that part of a circuit that is downstream from a switch, such as the 'switch leg' feeding a light fixture.

Luminaire.... sorry.
 
ultramegabob said:
using "Leg" for "Phase" is very common in the midwest. such as "wild leg" "high leg" "grounded leg" etc....
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That is why "common" slang is not a good idea. If an electrician moves from one area of the country to another and used his local slang, the new crew that he is working with believes him to be unknowledgeable or backward. If you learn and use the proper Code terminology, it will translate well in whatever area of the country you are in.

Yes, those terms are very common here and we also refer to "transformer legs". :)
 
well, complain about slang if you want, but its a fact that the English language constantly evolves, you would be better to learn the slang, than to try to stop people from comming up with it....
 
ultramegabob said:
well, complain about slang if you want, but its a fact that the English language constantly evolves, you would be better to learn the slang, than to try to stop people from comming up with it....
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That may be true for the general population, but I do not agree it serves the same purpose for our industry where detail is so important to the proper installation.
 
Pierre C Belarge said:
That may be true for the general population, but I do not agree it serves the same purpose for our industry where detail is so important to the proper installation.
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I totally agree it would be better if everyone used the same terminology, but its a fact, people like slang, and contrary to popular belief, electricians are people too...
 
ultramegabob said:
well, complain about slang if you want, but its a fact that the English language constantly evolves, you would be better to learn the slang, than to try to stop people from comming up with it....
Click to expand...

If you complained about slang around here, well, you just wouldn't have a phase to stand on. :D
 
To describe a single ungrounded conductor, I use leg, hot, and line. My preference is line.

Anything except "phase" only. "Phase conductor" is okay, but that is a mouthful.
 
080426-1106 EST

I would suggest that the word "leg" is a better description of a single wire than is "phase". First, leg is singular, which a single wire is, and second, it has no implied association with an angle.

From www.dictionary.com leg includes
15. Electricity. a component or branch of a circuit, network, antenna, etc.

On the other hand "phase" implies an angular component. I do not know how to define the phase of a single wire. I can take a pair of wires and associate a phase angle of the voltage between them, and then compare this with some other pair of wires, of which a wire could be common to the two pairs. It is true that I could compare a current in a single wire with a current in a different single wire and have a phase relationship, but this is not the usual frame of reference. In a power distribution system voltage is the source controlling element and not current. In this case current is determined by the load and not the source.

It makes good logical sense to refer to X-Y or X-N as a phase. I can determine a phase angle between these two phases. From a voltage point of view I can not define a phase angle between the leg Z and the phase X-N. What does it mean? In a voltage source system vs current source the voltage is a relatively stable component while current varies all over the map depending upon the load.

Again from www.dictionary.com phase has these definitions
4. a state of synchronous operation: to put two mechanisms in phase.
8. Physics. a particular stage or point of advancement in a cycle; the fractional part of the period through which the time has advanced, measured from some arbitrary origin often expressed as an angle (phase angle), the entire period being taken as 360?.

.
 
these are legs:
raquel.jpg


these are phases:

111new-3.gif


(we call em legs too )
 
Some terminology/slang is wrong and needs to be corrected other is annoying (to me)

When the lights dim, We had a voltage surge!
No you had a sag.

or
Genny
Sparky
Pringle (when they mean main disconnect, could be a Pringle, BoltSwitch, Bolt Loc or large frame CB), might just be a local thing.
 
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brian john said:
Some terminology/slang is wrong and needs to be corrected other is annoying (to me)

When the lights dim, We had a voltage surge!
No you had a sag.

or
Genny
Sparky
Pringle (when they mean main disconnect, could be a Pringle, BoltSwitch, Bolt Loc or large frame CB), might just be a local thing.
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we call dimming lights a "Brown out" around here...
 
While I do not have my Dictionary before me. A sag is a (from memory which is limited) a short duration drop in voltage generally a few seconds in duration a brown out is an extended low voltage event.
 
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