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jftuga
Asked: 2011-06-18 07:20:45 +0800 CST

Will a NEMA L5-20P plug work in a NEMA L5-30R receptacle?

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I need to purchase a UPS & PDU and want to know if they will be compatible. Will the plug of the PDU be able to plug into this UPS?

The UPS: APC Smart-UPS X 3000VA Rack/Tower LCD 100-127V with Network Card

The PDU: Rack PDU, Basic, Zero U, 20A, 120V, (14)5-15

Edit

I will be running two 2U servers as well as 5 disk arrays with a combined total of 63 15k SAS drives. Each unit has redundant power. I plan on having one power cable go to each UPS. Will a 15A PDU be enough to carry this load?

2nd Edit

Also, where can I buy power cables in a different color, other than black?

ups power-distribution-unit apc-smart-ups

3 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    You should not use a 20 amp plug on a circuit that is 30 amps. The connectors are designed to prevent you from mixing amperages this way. You should buy a 30 amp PDU if you are going to use a 30 amp UPS. Do not buy an adapter.

    Mixing the two can cause a fire and is likely a violation of local electrical code and fire law.

    Edit:

    daveM is correct. But remember that you should only load a circuit to 80% of its capacity, or you can cause it to blow when all of the servers reset at the same time after a power outage. Also watch out for exceeding the BTU/sq. ft requirements of the cooling in your area.

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  2. The sockets/connectors are different APC should have a variant of the PDU or the UPS that will be compatible. A call or E-mail to APC will get you the info you require quickly.

    As to the load, APC has excellent tools to calculate this. UPS Selector Using this tool you can usually determine if what you are planning will work.

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  3. You can step up or down... depending on how many sockets you need.

    Using the Nema 5-15: http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=AP9567

    Using the Nema 5-30: http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=AP7532

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