50amp 120/240v Dryer Outlet

[animentis]

I am wondering - is there a PDU or something that we could hook up to a 50amp 120/240v Dryer Outlet to power some rigs or is that simply not possible?

[nahtnam]

Just looked it up. As far as I know it should be as long as you get the correct PDU.

[animentis]

Really?  That's would be great if so.  Do you happen to know where I could find some information?  I have looked around a bit and haven't found anything that seems to confirm it. 

I assumed that it would be as simple as buying the right PDU and plugging it in - but I haven't found anyone who has actually done it.  I assume if its possible someone would have done it here though. 

There seems to be a lot of topics where people are saying you can't use a 250v outlet for anything else but a dryer or an electric stove... but it seems like they are talking about plugging in something like a light or something. 

[nahtnam]

Really?  That's would be great if so.  Do you happen to know where I could find some information?  I have looked around a bit and haven't found anything that seems to confirm it. 

I assumed that it would be as simple as buying the right PDU and plugging it in - but I haven't found anyone who has actually done it.  I assume if its possible someone would have done it here though. 

There seems to be a lot of topics where people are saying you can't use a 250v outlet for anything else but a dryer or an electric stove... but it seems like they are talking about plugging in something like a light or something. 

Well, dont get too happy. I spent around 10 minutes looking it up. What you are looking to do is convert 240 V power socket into 120 so that you can use normal "stuff" right?

[animentis]

yah I guess "normal" being mining rigs.

I was thinking of putting a rack with a PDU and some rigs on it.  I am looking at the box for one PSU and it says 115vac - 240vac so I assumed it would work.   But then again this is outside my field of understanding. 

[nahtnam]

yah I guess "normal" being mining rigs.

I was thinking of putting a rack with a PDU and some rigs on it.  I am looking at the box for one PSU and it says 115vac - 240vac so I assumed it would work.   But then again this is outside my field of understanding. 

This is wayyyyy past my field of understanding. Im just a minor trying to help. Maybe this will work? http://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Converter-From-220-240/dp/B001ES8YY6 Then get a hub.

[DeathAndTaxes]

You could rewire it to be 30A 240V only.  The receptacle is NEMA L6-30R.  The reason for using this receptacle is that there are lots of cheap PDU on ebay which have the matching plug.  You simply will not use the neutral line (which is what make the existing outlet capable of both 240V and 120V.  If your are competent it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes and a screw driver.

To be completely code compliant you should drop the breaker to 30A as well.  The nice thing is if you save the plug and 50A breaker you could switch back easily in the future.

You might ask why not a 50A outlet and PDU?  The reality is most datacenter racks don't use more than 30A circuits so 50A outlets, and pdu are both rare and expensive.

[animentis]

Unfortunately I am renting at the moment - so its probably safe to assume that rewiring the dryer outlet is not an option.  But if I understand correctly there are PDU's available that would fit my needs - but they are just hard to find and expensive? 

If a PSU is rated for 240VAC than is it correct to assume that it should be fine?

[DeathAndTaxes]

Unfortunately I am renting at the moment - so its probably safe to assume that rewiring the dryer outlet is not an option.  But if I understand correctly there are PDU's available that would fit my needs - but they are just hard to find and expensive?  

If a PSU is rated for 240VAC than is it correct to assume that it should be fine?

Yes but it isn't going to use the type of plug which fits that outlet.  That outlet is designed for appliances which need both 120V and 240V.  You only need 240V, any 240V PDU is going to use a NEMA 6 type plug or outlet.  The outlet from what you describe is NEMA 14 series.   Rewiring an outlet really isn't that complex but I guess another option would be to try and either build or buy an adapter cord.

[animentis]

Yes it appears to be a NEMA 14-50. 

So in short if we can't rewire it -  A 240v 50Amp PDU would work - but we would need a converter because the plugs won't fit.  But assuming we had the converter - we should be able to plug them in and be good to go? 

Not sure if thats the route we will take but its good to know that its possible.

Thanks for your help everyone.

[DeathAndTaxes]

Yes.  That is correct.  The advantage of running at 240V is you get double the wattage for the same circuit.