Its quite simple to wire a 30 amp circuit. If you use the above pdus, they use a 3 plug/wire outlet. You use a black/red/white wire setup. You hook the black and red wires up to the 30 amp circuit break, each wire to its own screw. The white wire goes to the neutral bar which is where you'll see all of the other white wires hooked up. Turn off the main breaker, add each wire to its respective screw. Make sure everything is clear. Keeping one arm/hand at your side, turn on the breaker with your other hand. Never use two hands because it forms a path for current to pass through the heart . Using one hand is safer.
Yes I realize the process is very simple, and will probably end up doing it myself, I have a power line tester if it shows no power than what could possibly go wrong, I have no idea. One other question,
I have a 40amp breaker, the power strip supports 26amp so I need to have two outlets,
it plugs into " NEMA L6-30 plug" I assume like a dryer outlet.
I don't see why not but, can I hookup two outlets to that 40amp breaker which would allow me to use two of the distribution units, or maybe I should just look for one that supports 40amps and do one plug
BZZT. FAIL.
No seriously respect electricity. Wire according to the code.
1) NEVER wire a circuit for more than the outlet is rated for. NEMA L6-30R.
NEMA = Electrical Standard for US (and some other countries)
L = locking connector (smart when dealing w/ 30+ amps).
6 = category 6 which is 208V to 240V split phase, 3 wire
30 = 30 amps MAX LOAD
R = receptacle (outlet). The plug would be NEMA L6-30P
So this outlet has been tested to safely handle 30 amps. 31 amps? Unknown. The purpose of a circuit breaker is to prevent overcurrent. 30 amps = max safe current & 40 amps = breaker shutoff.
If you wire that and you have an overcurrent event which ignites wiring behind the wall and burns your house down there is a good chance your insurance company will nullify the claim on grounds the damages were caused by gross negligence.30 amp outlet = 30 amp circuit. Period. So you will need to remove the 40 amp breaker and install a new
2 pole 30 amp breakers. If you want two outlets you will need 2 identical breakers (and 4 "spots" in the panel).
Seems like too much work? Stop and get an electrician.2) Remove the front panel and take a look. At the top you will see the three main wires coming from the power company.
They are always hot even when main breaker is off. Touch them and hopefully your significant other has a good life insurance policy which pays double for accidental death. You won't be working anywhere near them but a healthy respect of life ending current is always a good thing. To install the breaker you will need to cut main power off but you can restore main power once the breaker is installed. Once breaker is installed you can just cut that breaker to work on wiring "downstream".
ALWAYS test circuits and double check breakers before working on wires. Easy to "think" a breaker is off and grab a live wire. Get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Klein-NCVT-1-Contact-Voltage-Tester/dp/B001UAHZAM/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1329231406&sr=1-4It lets you test circuits without having to touch potentially live wires. Always test the circuit tester on a live circuit. If it seems I am being anal about this it only take one wrong touch.
3) You will need 10 guage wire. It is called Romex 10-2. 2 conductors + ground. There will be a white wire, black wire, and naked ground wire. Wiring is pretty simple but you need to use electrical tape to make the white wire black wherever it is exposed. This is a safety thing so you don't confuse and thus KILL the next person doing work.
Remember the code doesn't just protect you, it protects any potential victims who may come across your work far into the future. White = neutral but we won't be using it as a neutral so we mark it black to make the intent clear.
4) In the US 240V is split phase. You get 240V from 2 120V legs that are out of phase. A 120V circuit taps 1 120V leg with neutral (white wire). To get 240V we tap both 120V legs. AC voltage is never "negative" but sometimes it helps to think of voltage as negative. We have a +120V AC leg and a - 120V AC leg thus across both legs we get (120V - -120V) = 240V. Technically as I said this is incorrect as AC voltage doesn't have a sign BUT it helps to visualize how we are getting 240V from two 120V legs. The wires at the top of circuit panel are 120V (leg1), neutral, 120V leg2. When you want 240V you tap across both legs. When you want 120V you tap between 1 leg (either one) and the neutral.
5) So you won't use a neutral connection, we will use two live wires and one ground. Take a look at the breaker before you put it into the circuit breaker panel. It has two connectors which tighten down w/ screws. 1 wire goes in each (120V leg1 , 120V leg2 = 240V across both legs). The third conductor in the wire is the ground. It is usually "naked". If you look inside the panel you will see a grounding bar with all the other ground wires. It should have an open spot with a screw. If it doesn't don't jury rig some shit. Get an electrician to install a larger grounding bar (or larger panel, or sub panel).
5)
SHUT OFF MAIN BREAKER. Everything in the house should shutoff. Install the breaker into the panel. It "should" snap solidly into place. Each panel is different so I can't help here. Make sure you get a breaker designed for YOUR panel. Just because it fits doesn't mean it should fit. Once solidly in place, grab a circuit tester or multi meter. Flip the main breaker on. Flip the 30A breaker on. When touching the two connection points on the 30A breaker it should read ~240V. SHUT 30A BREAKER OFF. Some people don't like to work w/ main panel breaker on (not to be confused w/ the individual circuit breaker) but honestly working in the dark is going to have more risk than having main panel on. Remember the wires at the top of the panel are always energized. When main panel is on and individual circuit is off anything "upstream" of the breaker is live.
6)
Verify the circuit is cold. Run the wire into the panel via a knockout. If you need to punch out a new knockout be sure to use either a rubber grommet or protect the edges with electrical tape. Strip about 3 feet of the outer jacket (all the wire outside the panel should be jacketed, all the jacket should be removed for wire inside the panel). Bend the wires to give them a nice clean run from a knockout in the panel box to their connecting points (two to breaker, ground to the grounding bar). Try to run them neatly, follow the "pattern" of the other wires. You may need to remove this or other circuits in the future and you don't want a rats nets of overlapping wires. Cut each wire to length (don't shove miles of extra wire in the box). Make sure to cover white wire in black electrical tape to designate it as a hot 120V wire. The two insulated wires go to the single breaker (has two screw down connection points). Connect the naked ground wire to the grounding bar. Once you have it screwed down tightly give it a slight tug. It shouldn't move at all.
7)
Verify the circuit is cold. Run the wire to where the box will be. If in wall tack it down every 3 feet with wire tacks (use one designed for proper cable size) Make sure you don't accidentally pierce the connector. If you don't remove it an start again. If you are running wire outside the walls you will need to use a conduit, raceway, or shielded cable. Code varies by area. Make sure the cable is properly supported. Where the outlet box will be installed cut the wire to length. Give yourself an extra 2 feet or so for final routing.
Verify the circuit is cold. Install electrical box, run wire into box, clamp down according to manufacturer requirements on the box. Double check breaker is off and cut the conductor down to about 4" beyond the box. Strip the jacket back to separate the 3 wires (all jacket inside box should be removed, all wire outside the box should remain jacketed). Strip the ends of the wires. Now safely separate the 3 wires, and position them so they won't touch. Turn breaker on. Using circuit tester or multimeter check white to ground (it should be 120V), black to ground (should be 120V), white to black (should be 240V). Starting to get the concept of 240V split phase.
Cutoff breaker. Retest circuit is dead.
9)
Verify the circuit is cold. Wrap white conductor in black tape (safety to designate it is a live conductor). Screw down the 3 conductors. Ground goes to the screw marked G. If there is no marking check instructions. The other two conductors go to the other 2 screws (order doesn't matter).
10) Turn breaker on. Test outlet using circuit tester or multimeter. The ground slot to either live slot should be ~120V. One live slot to the other live slot should be ~240V.
Everything in the post should be considered educational only. Do not rely on this post only. Always consult the National Electical Code ("the code") NFPA 70 (or other definitive source for non US wiring) before performing any electrical work. Electricity can kill or cause catastrophic property damages. Improper installation can open you liability losses and void your home owner's insurance. If you are unsure of your abilities hire a qualified electrician. The author is not responsible for any damages that may result from errors or omissions in this eductional post.
