welding extension cord plug

[TJButler]

My local Lowes and Home Depot seemed to have stop selling the 6-50P plug that I used to make my welding extension cords and adapters. I don't even see a slot on their shelves. I used to buy them there pretty regularly. They do have the 6-50P receptacle, but not the plug.

Anybody have a take in this? Are they phasing out that plug to be replaced by the 4 prong version?

Thanks

[Sberry]

No, they are not going to 4 prong, they are just out.

[Michael Albro]

They were probley all sent to Florida so people could back feed their service with generators. 4 hurcanes in 2 months have left many without power many times. It seems everytime you get your power back anouther storm comes through andknocks it out again.

[Sberry]

You wouldnt use that plug for backfeeds, it doesnt have a neutral prong on it. More likely the stock clerk messed up.

[Michael Albro]

I back feed my dryer recp. with 2 hots and a ground .
No neutral, as the neutral and ground are bonded together at the generator.
You can't find any type of plug down here thats rated for more than 30 amps. Be it 3 conductor or 4 even all the twist lock plugs are sold out.

[Sberry]

That will depend on the type of generator that is to be installed. If the generator is to be permanently installed then the answer is governed by the bonding of the neutral at the generator.

If the neutral is bonded at the generator then you transfer the neutral in the transfer switch. This is done to avoid having two connections to ground on the neutral at both the service equipment and the frame of the generator.

If the neutral is not bonded to the frame of the generator then you do not transfer the neutral so that the generator's neutral will be grounded by the main bonding jumper in the home's service disconnecting means.

A power inlet for a portable generator is done the same way in that a four wire with ground inlet, such as the L14-XX 120/240, is wired to a two pole transfer mechanism. A three wire without ground inlet, such as a L11-XX is wired to a three pole transfer device. In general three pole transfer devices are only available as switches.

[hankj]

It's referred to as "single-point" grounding, with the intent being to eliminate the possibility of a difference in potential in the grounding system. Our Floridian borthers need to be cautious that their generators are not new. New generators are a ll 4-wire - you need to run the neutral AND the ground, or, as Sberry said, bond them at the generator. A floating neutral will wreck havoc if you don't have a ground...

Hank

[Michael Albro]

what ever guys, I'm just telling you whats going on down here. I've seen it with my own two eyes. People mix matching anything and everything two get power into their house's.
People standing in line when a truck comes in to buy what ever is on it. be it generators , wire or plugs or even window unit AC's. I thought I was going to witness a fist fight over 3 wire nuts last week. People tearing into palletized stuff comming off the truck while its being pulled on a pallet jack. I asked a clerk there at Lowes where the trucks are comming from and she told me from other stores.

[Piper106]

Same problem at my end in Michigan, no 6-50 female plugs at Home Depot or Lowe's, no slot on the shelf either. Did get female plug at the Tractor Supply store, a Weldit brand plug. Not real happy with the Weldit plug, it does not have an clamp to tie the plug to the cord (other than the wire connections). Hubbell makes a good 6-50 female plug, but I'm sure they are BIG bucks at a real electric supply house.

Piper106

[hankj]

For true NEMA availability, you'll nearly always need to go to an electrical distributor, rather than a "home" type store. All of the wharehouse-type outfits stock what moves, not what we need. It's life!

Part 2: Even formerly trusted brands, like Leviton, Eagle, Harvey Hubbel (Hubbel), Square D, and the like, now have a logo on their products which says "made in China". I've replaced a stinkin' 3-way lamp socket three times in six weeks due to defective stuff from ACE hardware. At a 300% markup, they ought to do better! :(

Hank :D