[Elecraft] KPA1500 AC Mains wire colours

[Bob McGraw K4TAX]

For years certain appliances, stoves, clothes dryers, water heaters used 
240 volts and the ground was used to supply the 120 volt items as 
required.    Current electrical code requires L1, L2, Neutral, and 
Ground thus 4 wires and not 3.

In some ham amplifiers the fan ran off of the split primary to supply 
120 volts when the amp was being operated from 240 volts. Thus the 
ground/neutral was not a current carrying conductor.

When I installed the 240 volt service to my operating position, I used 4 
conductors of #10, thus I have L1, L2, Neutral and Ground. Of course the 
neutral and ground are bonded at the breaker panel as required by code.  
The ground is a non current carrying conductor, unless an equipment 
fault occurs.

73

Bob, K4TAX


On 5/19/2019 8:04 AM, hawley, charles j jr wrote:
> I have in fact seen some home brew amplifiers wired with ground used as the neutral...and it was impossible to talk the owner out of it. It has also appeared in some of the schematics in the literature over the decades.
>
> BTW, I think if instead of saying "phases", it would be less confusing to say two "legs" plus neutral for the single phase 240 vac coming into the house.
>
> Chuck Hawley
>   c-hawley at illinois.edu
>
>   Amateur Radio, KE9UW
>   aka Jack, BMW Motorcycles
>
> ________________________________
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of K9MA <k9ma at sdellington.us>
> Sent: Saturday, May 18, 2019 9:28 PM
> To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KPA1500 AC Mains wire colours
>
> Some equipment in NA is wired with both phases plus neutral, so that 120
> V is available. Electric clothes driers and stoves, for example, which
> have light bulbs and sometimes 120 V outlets. (You can imagine what
> would have happened if 240 V bulbs had been required here.) However, at
> one time the code did not require separate neutral and ground wires, so
> the ground was used as the 120 V return. If the ground opens up, your
> whole stove is suddenly at 120 V. Unfortunately, some of those are still
> around, and seem to be sort of grandfathered, or just ignored.
>
> Hopefully, there's no ham equipment wired that way!
>
> 73,
> Scott K9MA
>
>
>
> On 5/18/2019 19:16, Jim Brown wrote:
>> On 5/18/2019 4:28 PM, Clay Autery wrote:
>>> 230VAC on 3 wires?  Never knew they did 3 wire 220V....  I always
>>> assumed it was still 2 hots and ground (plus an optional neutral).
>> Two hots (phases) and ground is three wires. Single-phase power
>> normally comes into a building in North America as two phases and a
>> neutral. We connect a 240V load between the two phases, and a 120V
>> load between one phase and a neutral. It's not unusual to feed a
>> sub-panel with both phases, neutral, and ground so that the panel can
>> feed both 120V and 240V loads. The key here is that loads must NEVER
>> be connected between a phase and ground, ALWAYS between phases or
>> between phase and neutral.
>>
>> You probably know that EU runs on 230/240V, wired phase, neutral, and
>> ground.
>>
>> 73, Jim K9YC
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
> --
> Scott  K9MA
>
> k9ma at sdellington.us
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>