NEMA 6-50 Or NEMA 10-50 Plug?

[AlanBown]

If your appliance has a neutral then you need the 4 wire plug and cord. If neutral is required, then you may need to upgrade the cable feeding the appliance.

[zxcvbob]

That's not a 6-50P. NEMA 6-50 has parallel blades, similar to an overgrown 15A 120V device. I think the one you referenced is a 10-50P cord.

If "Aeneas1" has a Mill's Fleet Farm nearby, look in both the electrical supplies and by the welding supplies. I don't remember which, but one of them has both NEMA 6 and 10 plugs and recepticals for less than $10. (They are available in both areas of the store, but one is packaged different and a lot cheaper -- so check both places.)

Electric kiln, welder, large electric cooktop, or 7.5 HP electric motor?

Best regards, Bob

[zxcvbob]

He never said it was a dryer. At 50A, it would not be a dryer, but might be a range. My guess is an electric kiln. If he hadn't called it an "appliance" I would have guessed a welder.

Bob

[aeneas1]

i purchased an electrical appliance that has electrical specs as follows:

single phase

240 volt 11,500 watts (47.9amps)

it requires that the user install the power cord, i.e., it did not come with a power cord. i will be purchasing #6 AWG for the supply connection but am not sure which plug to buy - a NEMA 6-50 (250v 2 pole 3 wire) or a NEMA 10-50 (125v/250v 3 pole 3 wire). both are rated for for 250 volts and 50 amps.

the big difference is price. the 6-50 plug costs (on average) about $50 with the receptacle costing close to the same. the 10-50 plug can be purchased for about $15 with the receptacle costing even less.

can i use the 10-50 plug and receptacle?

[Doug Miller]

Wow. What is it?

The 6-50 is a grounding receptacle, and the 10-50 is not. So I suspect the

6-50 is the better choice. What does the manufacturer recommend?

If you can't find 6-50 equipment for a lot less than that, you haven't been looking very hard. You can buy a 6-foot cord with a 6-50 plug already molded on it for less than nine bucks at Home Depot:

then search for item number 301471

Why would you, when the 6-50 is so much cheaper?

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[Doug Miller]

The 6-50 and the 10-50 are both three-conductor devices...

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[HorneTD]

The NEMA pattern that you want is numbered 14-50. That is a three pole four wire pattern specifically meant for 120/240 volt grounded appliances. These are used on four conductor circuits. For a new dryer circuit it is the only code compliant pattern to use.

-- Tom H

[toller]

What is it for? That kinda affect the answer...

[Doug Miller]

Well, that's what comes up when you search Home Depot's site for 6-50. It's kinda hard to tell from the photo which it is, though.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[zxcvbob]

Do you really need a cord-and-plug, or can you hardwire it?

There should be no problem unless the electrical inspector hates it. ("what if someone removes the deep fryer and replaces it with a 3-wire clothes dryer?") The outlet is rated for 50A, and it's a dedicated circuit.

I might not leave a 30A appliance running unattended for hours on a 50A circuit (if the appliance malfunctions and overheats I want the breaker to trip, or I want to be there watching it to turn it off) but other than that it will not hurt the grill to plug it into a 50A circuit.

Those big recepticles might not be made to plug and unplug them all the time; the springy terminals might weaken and then overheat when you use the higher wattage oven. This sounds like expensive equipment, and you are trying to hard to save $10 by cutting corners on the installation.

My code book is out in the truck so I can't look up the special rules for 50A and 60A circuits, but how about running a 60A branch circuit to both appliances, and install a 30A fused switch for the grill?

Bob

[aeneas1]

"If you can't find 6-50 equipment for a lot less than that, you haven't been looking very hard. You can buy a

6-foot cord with a 6-50 plug already molded on it for less than nine bucks at Home Depot"

"range replacement cords" or "appliance replacement cords" are [b:d0c61c15f8]much[/b:d0c61c15f8] cheaper than purchasing a separate plug, cord, etc... i had no idea that such "replacement cords" existed and therefore assumed that i would have to purchase the plug, cord, etc. separately - that is why i posted that they were so expensive.

[b:d0c61c15f8][i:d0c61c15f8]"The 6-50 and the 10-50 are both three-conductor devices..."[/b:d0c61c15f8][/i:d0c61c15f8]

and, given this, can they i use either one assuming that the manufacturer of my equipment recommends a 6-50? in other words, can i use the third blade (pole) on the 10-50 as the ground? i ask because the the 10-50 replacement cord is cheaper than the 6-50 and the 10-50 receptacle is considerably cheaper than 6-50 receptacle.

[b:d0c61c15f8][i:d0c61c15f8]"Electric kiln, welder, large electric cooktop, or 7.5 HP electric motor?"[/b:d0c61c15f8][/i:d0c61c15f8]

commercial deep fryer...

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along the same lines, i have one more question that i would appreciate your comments on:

along with installing the deep fryer (which will run 10 hours per day), i will also be installing two other electrical appliances:

a flashbake oven rated as single phase, 240v, 42amp which came with a

6-50 plug and a panini grill rated as single phase, 230v 30amp which came with a 6-30 plug.

since i will never use these two appliances at the same time, i was hoping to install just one outlet which they would share. my plan was to install a dedicated line with a 6-50 receptacle (50 amp circuit) and change the 6-30 plug on the panini grill to a 6-50 plug. is it safe to run a 30amp appliance off of a 50 amp dedicated circuit? my electrician seems to think that i could easily damage my 30 amp appliance if i do this.

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thanks very much for your great responses,

robert