On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 12:24:38PM -0400, William Herrin wrote:
On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 11:22 AM, Lamar Owen <lowen@pari.edu> wrote:
Just replacing an L6-20P with an L6-30P on a 20A-listed PDU would be unsafe and (IMO) unwise, since the breaker in the input of the PDU does not protect the flexible cord's conductors from internal overcurrent faults.
Yet an 18 awg PC power cable is perfectly safe when plugged in to a 5-20R on a circuit with a 20 amp breaker. Get real man.
Not really, that is just a compromise in safety standards for convenience. It was deemed to be safe enough given the comparatively low current 20A circuit and the open-to-air power cord. For higher current circuits 30A and up, the safety standards are more stringent.
The NEC (and related fire codes) don't apply to supply cords of appliances in circumstances such as OP's PDU.
The modification cancels the UL certification. If you have an external requirement to use only UL certified components then you can't make any modifications no matter how obviously safe they are.
By the way, you either don't have that requirement or you're breaking it. Your custom network cables are not UL certified.
There is more to safety than just being "certified". Acting in ways that /actually/ improves safety (if you are allowed to) is important. This isn't just black and white. Safety, like security, isn't absolute. Both benefit from defense-in-depth, and both require compromise to balance safety vs. convenience.