240v plug mismatch

[kohalajohn]

Hello all

I have searched for this, but still have questions

My Brewzilla gen 4 220V arrived. Hooray.

My plan was to install it where I had my downstairs electric 240v stove

But I see that the plugs to not align. I attach photos.

Comments appreciated (also I'd like a solution that allows me to put the stove back in, in the future)

 

[day_trippr]

The good news is converting a 4-wire receptacle for a 3-wire plug is a lot easier than converting a 3-wire receptacle for a 4-wire plug

Presumably that plug wants 240vac on two legs and ground on the third, you just need to change out your receptacle and faceplate and cap the neutral lead to it. Keep the 4-wire receptacle and faceplate in case you want to go back...

Cheers!

 

[kohalajohn]

Excellent. Thanks

 

[kohalajohn]

Oh. One point. I plan to change the cord end and not the outlet on the wall. So I can return the stove if I want.

That should be ok?

 

[Broken Crow]

I'm pretty sure the stove is a 14-50p and the brewzilla plug a 6-15r so this should work: [edit: oops!]
https://www.amazon.com/Welding-Charger-Adapter-Connector-Connecter/dp/B07HX9JCC4?th=1
I do the same for brewing and slide out my stove. I went to an appliance shop and bought a used stove cord from their recycle bin and mounted it in a junction box with the appropriate receptacle for my own kettle.

EDIT: My own receptacle is an L14-30R in that picture,
here's what you want:
https://www.homedepot.com/s/6-15p?NCNI-5 [edit: oops!, sorry, not '15']

 

[kohalajohn]

You're right. I just ordered an adaptor

 

[day_trippr]

Even easier!

 

[kohalajohn]

Although there's a small caveat.

Ontario Beer Kegs where I bought the system, says that the use of the adaptor will void the warranty.

I'm sure this particular adaptor is correct and safe. An electrician friend recommended it and amazon sells them. It is the

NEMA 14-50P to 6-30R Adapter Cord,4 Prong 50 Amp RV/Generator Plug to 3 Prong 30 Amp 240V Outlet for Electric Heater,Digiboil,Commercial Air Conditioner,Kitchen Equipment（CSA Standard,1.67FT）

But in talking with Ontario Beer Kegs they have had so much trouble with people using the wrong adaptors and creating issues, that now they just say a blanket no, that they won't support the use of adaptors at all period.

The guy told me that most of the problems come from people using a 10amp cord on a 110v system. I guess some customers underestimate the power draw of this appliance and use an extension cord that is completely wrong.

And they say it in their product advertisement regarding warranty. So beware of that.

 

[IslandLizard]

Ontario Beer Kegs where I bought the system, says that the use of the adaptor will void the warranty.

Well, in the very remote chance the system fails, don't tell them...

Maybe people were plugging 110V units into 240V adapters... it's understandable they won't cover that, yeah.

 

[Broken Crow]

Although there's a small caveat.

Ontario Beer Kegs where I bought the system, says that the use of the adaptor will void the warranty.

I'm sure this particular adaptor is correct and safe. An electrician friend recommended it and amazon sells them. It is the

NEMA 14-50P to 6-30R Adapter Cord,4 Prong 50 Amp RV/Generator Plug to 3 Prong 30 Amp 240V Outlet for Electric Heater,Digiboil,Commercial Air Conditioner,Kitchen Equipment（CSA Standard,1.67FT）

But in talking with Ontario Beer Kegs they have had so much trouble with people using the wrong adaptors and creating issues, that now they just say a blanket no, that they won't support the use of adaptors at all period.

The guy told me that most of the problems come from people using a 10amp cord on a 110v system. I guess some customers underestimate the power draw of this appliance and use an extension cord that is completely wrong.

And they say it in their product advertisement regarding warranty. So beware of that.

Heck! Are you a fellow Canuck? I've been long tempted by the great Brewzilla deals OBK keeps offering, but I'm adamant about my 'next-gen' rig being able to do 12G batches.
Had I known you were in Canada I'd have recommended this site; https://acworks.ca/ for cords or adapters.
Thanks for catching my error on the plug size too! (I made an assumption based on th pic instead of reading the specs...my bad)

 

[kohalajohn]

ok further update. I see that my supplier, OntarioBeerKegs, has already thought of this and solved it. they sell exactly the same adaptor I just bought on amazon:

 

[mac_1103]

Wait a second... So they will sell you an adapter but void your warranty if you use it?

 

[IslandLizard]

ok further update. I see that my supplier, OntarioBeerKegs, has already thought of this and solved it. they sell exactly the same adaptor I just bought on amazon:

And you paid less than half on Amazon for that same adapter (in a different color).

 

[kohalajohn]

Mac, yes contrary to what I thought, that is correct. They will sell you the adaptor but then will void the warranty

I made the point that having a licensed electrician here to change my wall outlet will cost $500. That's the same cost as the Brewkettle device. Which means that warranty becomes irrelevant. I"m using the adaptor.

 

[kohalajohn]

And frankly,these Brewzillas are well made and don't break down. Who cares about a warranty.

 

[triker]

Except when they do occasionally have problems, and the warranty is worthless to begin with. I had an early 110V Gen4 model with defective firmware that caused it to dry fire after a power interruption, resulting in some melted components. OBK latched on to the fact that the power interruption to my house was due to a thunderstorm, refused to honour their warranty, and told me to claim it under my house insurance. I had to repair it myself.

As an aside - due to limited outlets in my basement for my 110V Brewzilla, I use a dryer plug adapter that splits off each side of the 240V at 120V, 20A.

 

[Bobby_M]

I do understand their concern because even though there is no problem adapting 14-50P to 10-30R, there is always a possibility that it was manufactured by a Chinese company that doesn't know what prong is supposed to connect to which wire. However, if you look at the reviews, people would figure that out and rate it 1 star all over the place. If the reviews are good, there is no problem at all. There is no reason to tell OBK that you plan to use an adapter and it's none of their business. If the adapter is wired correctly, it will not damage the system.

Even if you want to proceed with an abundance of caution, you can get a continuity tester and check the adapter yourself but I think checking the reviews is good enough.

You are not one of the customers OBK is frustrated with. You checked with a bunch of very knowledgeable people on homebrewtalk as well as your electrician friend.

 

[M54B25]

The (orange) amazon adapter is probably fine for pale ales, some IPAs and probably great for pumpkin ales, but you might need the yellow brewzilla one for lighter styles like cream ales, helles and lagers ;-)

P.S. I second the idea to double check the adapter you receive with a continuity tester.

 

[kevin58]

That's why I like my Anvil Foundry. Blichmann makes a variety of power cord adapters.

https://www.blichmannengineering.com/power-adapter-14-50p.html

 

[Deadalus]

I do understand their concern because even though there is no problem adapting 14-50P to 10-30R, there is always a possibility that it was manufactured by a Chinese company that doesn't know what prong is supposed to connect to which wire. However, if you look at the reviews, people would figure that out and rate it 1 star all over the place. If the reviews are good, there is no problem at all. There is no reason to tell OBK that you plan to use an adapter and it's none of their business. If the adapter is wired correctly, it will not damage the system.

Even if you want to proceed with an abundance of caution, you can get a continuity tester and check the adapter yourself but I think checking the reviews is good enough.

You are not one of the customers OBK is frustrated with. You checked with a bunch of very knowledgeable people on homebrewtalk as well as your electrician friend.

It's reasonable advice to check the ratings and reviews on Amazon as a guide but I will add a caveat that the particular adapter mentioned only had 44 reviews. A general rule I use is to not consider products with fewer than 100 reviews if possible as many of the initial reviews can be fake. If the product is specialized, like maybe this adapter, and you can't find any sellers with over 100 reviews, then carefully read the comments.

 

[Whisky River]

I do understand their concern because even though there is no problem adapting 14-50P to 10-30R, there is always a possibility that it was manufactured by a Chinese company that doesn't know what prong is supposed to connect to which wire. However, if you look at the reviews, people would figure that out and rate it 1 star all over the place. If the reviews are good, there is no problem at all.

Even if you want to proceed with an abundance of caution, you can get a continuity tester and check the adapter yourself but I think checking the reviews is good enough.

This is such good advice. (My emphasis added to Bobby’s post).
I have bought 240v-120v power adapters off of amazon that connect the neutral to the ground, which to my layman’s understanding is a big no-no in this country.

 

[doug293cz]

This is such good advice. (My emphasis added to Bobby’s post).
I have bought 240v-120v power adapters off of amazon that connect the neutral to the ground, which to my layman’s understanding is a big no-no in this country.

Yes, if you want to get 120V out of a 240V circuit, you really should have a four wire (hot-hot-neutral-ground) 240V circuit. The adapter should connect the 120V hot to either of the 240V hots, the two neutrals should be connected, and the two grounds connected to each other. You should not use a three wire 240V circuit to derive a 120V circuit.

Brew on

 

[Bobby_M]

This is such good advice. (My emphasis added to Bobby’s post).
I have bought 240v-120v power adapters off of amazon that connect the neutral to the ground, which to my layman’s understanding is a big no-no in this country.

Well, it would certainly be a problem if there is a GFCI breaker feeding that 14-50R receptacle. The practical solution is to cut the neutral pin off the plug of the adapter. In fact, doing it would be a good preventative because it shouldn't actually be connected to ANYTHING.

 

[doug293cz]

Well, it would certainly be a problem if there is a GFCI breaker feeding that 14-50R receptacle. The practical solution is to cut the neutral pin off the plug of the adapter. In fact, doing it would be a good preventative because it shouldn't actually be connected to ANYTHING.

This doesn't make any sense to me. To do things correctly the neutrals on the 240V side and 120V side need to be connected. Without a proper neutral connection a 120V connection would trip a GFCI 100% of the time.

Brew on

 

[Bobby_M]

Yeah but the brewzilla doesn't use a neutral. It's pure 240v with equipment ground. No reason for the adapters plug to touch a neutral.

 

[doug293cz]

Yeah but the brewzilla doesn't use a neutral. It's pure 240v with equipment ground. No reason for the adapters plug to touch a neutral.

The recent discussion was about adapters that used one of the hot legs from 240V to create a 120V circuit. This requires the use of neutral.

If you are only creating a pigtail cord to translate from one style 240V receptacle to a different style 240V receptacle, and there is no need for 120V, then you don't have to connect neutral.

Brew on

 

[Bobby_M]

Ah, that's just because the discussion veered off via post #21 and 22. The whole thread was about whether it was safe to use a 14-50P to 6-30R adapter to go from a four wire 240/120 receptacle to a 3-wire 240v-only appliance (brewzilla).

The answer is YES, it's perfectly safe as long as the manufacturer of the adapter doesn't connect the neutral pin of the plug to the equipment ground conductor. Maybe it's more precise to say that as long as the adapter only connect L1 hot to L1 hot and L2 hot to L2 hot, and equipment ground to equipment ground, then it's safe.

I'm also saying that this adapter doesn't even need to have the neutral pin on the plug and I'd be more confident that it's not connected to anything if it were missing entirely. The only reason it would be included is that the average non-electrically savvy person would think it wasn't compatible with their 14-50 receptacle because it doesn't fill all the holes.