Where to find 220v PSU cables in the U.S.?

[Mister305]

Ultimately if your house can only handle let's say 200 amp , you can only setup miners to use that 200 amps not to mention the rest of the house ? Is there a way to squeeze more power? is that what the 220v and pdu for?

[topgeek]

thank you everyone for all of the information in this thread - i've been considering this for a while.

my garage has a 220 plug like this one already mentioned:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pass-Seymour-locking-receptacle-L6-30R-MADE-IN-U-S-A-30-amp-250V-twist-lock-/390917364485?

i've been considering one of the apc pdu's as mentioned.

Could someone please clarify that I understand the following correctly:

1) -the plug itself runs on 220 volts from the plug to the panel through its 30amp rated wiring (using both sides in the power panel)  - meaning it pulls half the amps for the given load

2) -the pdu plugs into the 220 and then the pdu changes the power to 120 for the plugs in the pdu itself that the computers/devices plug into

3) -the computers are actually running just like normal on 120 - and the pdu changes it to 220 before sending it to the wall and the panel.

is this correct?  if not, please correct what I am misunderstanding.

cheers and thanks!

[iamnoobplzhelp]

No, the PDU does not convert 220v to 110v.

The PDU should receive 220v and it sends 220v. There is no conversion.

Your PC should be able to receive 208-240v no problem, but check your power supply. There may be a little switch on the back to change from 110v to 220v.

I don't plug my PCs in directly to the PDU. I use a PDU extension and then plug my PCs into that. You have to have specific PC power cables, as the normal ones you use in U.S. will not work. They are linked above.

[iamnoobplzhelp]

Ultimately if your house can only handle let's say 200 amp , you can only setup miners to use that 200 amps not to mention the rest of the house ? Is there a way to squeeze more power? is that what the 220v and pdu for?

Short answer is, if you add up all the circuits in your house, you will most certainly exceed 200amp. I think the rules vary by state, but there is generally a maximum amount that you can go over the 200amps.

In terms of pulling more than 200amps? I don't think that's possible. If your circuit is rated at 200 amps, that's what it can provide.

Using the 220v just means you have less cables to supply power to your rigs. If you wanted to do it with 110v, you would need twice as many. Plus 110v circuits usually max out at 20amp. After that you need special plugs.

Also, 220v is more efficient. This means your PSUs will use less power than if it were on 110v. I think the savings is around 2%.
If your PSU is pulling 1200W on 110v, it would be pulling ~1176w on 220v.

[QuintLeo]

There are 2 reasons to use 220V on some power supplies.

 1) It is a little more efficient, typically 2% at high load factors on most gold-rated power supplies.

 2) It can handle more load.
     Most 110 outlets are 15 amp (20 can be found but outside of outlets intended for use on AC units are very uncommon in residential usage and somewhat uncommon in commercial usage).
     A 220v 15 amp outlet can handle TWICE the load, while 20 amp outlets are fairly common at 220V and 30 amp are somewhat common (higher-power window A/C units usually use a 15 amp 220v plug, rarely a 20 amp 220 plug for the highest-power ones, most electric driers and some electric ranges are designed to connect to a 30 amp 220V outlet).
     You can even find a 50 amp 220v outlet in some cases in a home (those ranges NOT designed to plug into a 30 amp outlet commonly plug into a 50 amp outlet, though sometimes that outlet is on a 30 amp circuit).

  Many server-type high end power supplies are specifically rated to handle more load on 220v in than 110v in - the Bitmain APW5 for example is rated to handle 2600 watts on a 220v circuit but only 1300 watts on a 110 circuit.

 Most areas in most states incorporate the NEC as part of their building code - which leads to very little variation when it comes to legal requirements for wiring on a nationwide basis.
 Building code regulations are NOT generally done at a state level, with a few specific exceptions like California requiring a certain level of earthquake resistance in "new construction" in one of their laws some years back.
 They are more commonly done at a county or a city/town level.

 It is common for the total of the breakers on all of your branch circuits combined to exceed the maximum current your main breaker can supply - most folks don't push that limit, but folks like us that mine have to watch the TOTAL, not just how much goes on each circuit, as a result of that - and no, you can't SAFELY pull more than the rating of that main breaker as total, as the wiring that supplies the panel is BASED on that max total draw.
 While the NEC does not consider such a setup to be a "best practice" it is not specifically outlawed (unless it finally got changed in the most recent version of the NEC and I missed it), though they DO spell out that you are not allowed to put a total load on a panel that exceeds the DESIGN specification for the main breaker and the feed wiring TO that panel, and that for 24/7 operation you need to derate those ratings by 20%.

 Using 220v circuits instead of 110 does NOT allow you to somehow magically exceed the rating of the main breaker and it's feed wiring in a safe way.

[nerdralph]

I use standard Nema 5-15r outlets wired for 240V.   Then I just use standard 3-prong cables that come with PSUs.  I have yet to find one without insulation rated for 300V.

[QuintLeo]

I use standard Nema 5-15r outlets wired for 240V.   Then I just use standard 3-prong cables that come with PSUs.  I have yet to find one without insulation rated for 300V.

 The issue isn't that the cords can't handle it.
 The ISSUE is the probability of accidentially plugging a 110V item into a socket that is wired for 220V but using a 110V socket.

 I have yet to see a NEMA 5 socket or plug that can't handle 220, *BUT* there are a lot of items designed to run from 110V that go *poof* or *boom* or start burning if you accidentally plug them into 220V.

 Yes, it CAN work - but do it at your own risk, and KNOW that it is a code violation because of that risk.