Converting Euro power cable

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by saturdayboy, Sep 13, 2020.

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  1. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    Can any Euro spec power cable be converted for use in North America by just changing the male AC plug?
     
  2. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Yes. Get the ground wire and the polarity right.
     
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  3. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    Thanks
     
  4. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    Just to try to 'be sure' you know this ... European countries use different voltages and currents change with voltage etc. ... so you can't just take a piece of gear meant for other than 120V 60Hz and just change a plug ... right?
     
  5. Wrong in this case.
    The device will draw what it needs irrespective of voltage and frequency, so what's good in Europe is good for Japan (100vac @ 50 or 60 Hz dependent upon where you are on the islands) and continental North America.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
  6. anorak2

    anorak2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    Actually no. All European countries use 230V 50Hz, the only difference is the plug / socket.

    The europlug isn't really a standard, but a sort of compromise plug designed to fit into most (but not all, for example not UK) sockets in use.

    Europlug - Wikipedia

    It's a simple two prong design without ground, polarity is irrelevant. Which is why the first answer above baffles me :)
     
  7. jea48

    jea48 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest, USA
    I would add the OP should consider the wire gauge size if the EU power cord will be used to feed a power amp here in the US. At 120V current draw will be twice for the same power amp (reconfigured to be fed by 120V) than it is at 240V.
     
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  8. jea48

    jea48 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest, USA
    The correct AC mains polarity is important here in the US.
    1) The hot AC mains conductor should be connected to the safety fuse side of the connected equipment.
    2) In the case of a piece of audio equipment, that uses a power transformer, the proper AC polarity orientation of the AC mains power feeding the primary winding of the transformer will have a lower noise floor than it will reversed. Add to that audio equipment that is connected to one another by wire interconnects.

    .
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2020
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  9. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Of course there's the UK plug:

    Power Cable with UK Plug

    . . . which is what I assume the OP @saturdayboy might have been asking about. Then again, you could be bang-on and the OP was posting about the two-prong plug more common in mainland Europe. In the absence of anything more than a sentence or two in the first post - typical of far too many posts on SHF in which an OP expects other members to read his mind - we don't know what component he wants to connect, we don't know whether the component has a two- or three-prong cable, and we don't know anything about the application or his system. Plus, the OP hasn't bothered to return and clarify anything.

    Another dead-end thread. I hope the OP doesn't electrocute himself or fry a component or burn his house down.
     
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  10. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    That’s what I was trying to avoid.
     
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  11. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    That’s what I was trying to say.
     
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  12. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    I don’t think so. If it’s looking for 240 V it’s not gonna be happy in the US.
     
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  13. It's a mains cable for goodness sake!
    It's looking for nothing.
    The VAC and its frequency is of absolutely no consequence.
    The thing that does matter is the current carrying capacity of the cable, nothing more.
     
  14. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    I was talking about the equipment for goodness's sake !!!! Plus, if the cable is rated for only (whatever) a few amps and 220V, now it 'sees' 2x that at 120V then ... not good.

    It wasn't clear to me whether the OP was 'including' the equipment in his question ... apparently that was the case with others as well, from the responses. Ambiguity in voltage/current questions, I'd rather try to clarify on the side of safety than not.

    YOU even said "The device will draw what it needs" ... yeah, and I said if it's looking for 240V 50Hz it's not gonna be happy plugged into a US outlet that provides 120V 60Hz ... and THAT is what I was trying to avoid. The OP said "Euro spec power cable" which to you and me means a separate cable, but there are a LOT of folks posting here, and the terminology and language usage is not universal ... maybe they called a WIRED IN power cord a 'Euro spec power cable' ... which would invite disaster. Yeah, maybe SOME equipment can handle 100-240V and 50 or 60Hz ... but I can't assume that the OP's equipment is like that.
     
  15. Have you read the OP?
    A Euro lead is otherwise known as an IEC lead.

    The answer is yes, and as @Agitater mentioned, get the wires the right way round.

    Make sure the equipment can handle the voltage - if it's older US gear it will be set to 120vac if it's a linear PSU.
    More likely today is SMPS, and it doesn't care.
     
  16. Rick58

    Rick58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, ID, USA
    Yes.
    If anyone posted about either of these things I wouldn't know what the heck they were talking about.

    I'm dropping it, suggest you do the same, and we'll let the OP figure things out. Good day.
     
  17. A standard IEC handles 10 amps, which is the maximum that can be delivered on single phase 120 vac, at 1200 watts.
    Single phase 240 vac gives 5 amps and 2400 watts.
    The cable is rated 10 amps at 250 vac, which is four times the power handling of the same cable at 120 vac.

    Do you get where I'm coming from now?
     
  18. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    I though the post was clear. I want to buy an IEC power cord from some one in Europe, change the male plug to a USA one and use it to power my American amp.

    Can I safely do this? Or will it damage my amp?
     
  19. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    Or put another way, is there a difference between a Cardas power cord sold for use in the US versus the same one sold for use in Europe besides the male plug?
     
  20. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    The cables are fine whatever the voltage. US designed power cords sell in the UK and visa versa. It's just the plugs and polarity that is important. Most Euro plugs are actually 3 pin (Shuko). I'm sure you can buy convertors but if the cable is removable (IEC) wouldn't it be easier to just buy a US cable with correct plug?
     
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  21. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Cardas Cables is based in Bandon, Oregon. Why would anybody in the U.S. want to buy a Cardas AC cord from someone in Europe when all the best prices can be found at U.S. dealers like The Cable Company and other audio accessory discounters?

    I mean why buy a perfectly good cable only to chop it up when you can the correct, factory made cable without the fuss?
     
  22. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    i just used Cardas as an example
     
  23. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    You are being confusing. Look for cable discounts domestically. Avoid chopping an end off to do your own plugs.
     
  24. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago
    of course it would, but i'm trying to get a phenomenal deal on a used cable being sold by someone in europe
     
  25. Ask the maker.
     
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