l6-30 to l14-30 question

[jekeane]

I picked up a used diy herms panel setup today I need to swap out the housings on the elements for Triclamp ones while I was at it I figured I would start fresh with new elements and sell the old housing and elements with the pots that came with the panel.

I got to looking at bobby's site and found an all stainless ripple with integrated triclamp and l6-30 This seems simpler than doing a hotpod hookup and a little cheaper.

My problem / question is the current elements have l14-30 hookups with only 3 wires run into the hookups. Am I right to assume I could simply swap out the l14-30 female for a l6-30 female if there are only 3 wires being run?If I can does it matter if the plug going into my panel stays l14-30 or do i need to swap that too?

PS i know very little beyond simple wiring and am just reading my plugs and going off of the products on bobbys site

 

[jekeane]

0 views jeez!

 

[doug293cz]

Yes, you can just replace the L14-30 receptacle on the BK end with a L6-30 receptacle. You don't connect the neutral in the L6-30.

Any idea why connectors that allow for a neutral wire were used for the element connections in the original design? There is no reason to run a neutral to the element for a 240V system.

Brew on

 

[Toejam792]

You can put a l14-30 male on one end of a 10/3 soow cable and l6-30 female on the other and make your own adapter. If your using 220v you don't hook up the neutral on the l14-30 side. If your using 120v you don't hook up one of the two hot sides.

 

[jekeane]

Not sure why it was set up that way. I picked up the panel second hand well really third hand. Everything is wired very neatly in the panel and he labeled everything that I can see. The two receptacles in the panel for the elements are l14-30 and have 3 wires running to them from somewhere. The power cord coming into the panel has 4 wires two (red and black) going to a block labeled "power in" the ground going to some other grounds and the white which i assume is neutral going to a short flat bar thing, a bus? labeled "Ncut" that has a bunch of other whites going to it.

 

[doug293cz]

Not sure why it was set up that way. I picked up the panel second hand well really third hand. Everything is wired very neatly in the panel and he labeled everything that I can see. The two receptacles in the panel for the elements are l14-30 and have 3 wires running to them from somewhere. The power cord coming into the panel has 4 wires two (red and black) going to a block labeled "power in" the ground going to some other grounds and the white which i assume is neutral going to a short flat bar thing, a bus? labeled "Ncut" that has a bunch of other whites going to it.

Yes the white is neutral. Red and black are both 120V AC that are 180˚ out of phase with each other, so the voltage between red and black is 240V. The voltage between red and white is 120V, as is the voltage between black and white. You need the neutral to make 120V AC available for use in the panel, and for things like pump outlets. The heating element runs on 240V, so it doesn't need a neutral, but having ground is critical for safety.

When you put on the L6-30 receptacle, the green ground wire connects to the "L" shaped slot. Red and black connect to the other two slots, but doesn't matter which is which.

Brew on

 

[jekeane]

I found this adapter on amazon it looks like it would connect to bobby's l6-30 element and then into my l14-30 plug. http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-PL1430L630-Generator-Adapter-250-volt/dp/B00DVE93PU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1461544211&sr=8-9&keywords=l6-30r

Would i be able to call it a day if I added that adapter to this element from Bobby https://www.brewhardware.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Element5500_RIPPLE_TC&CartID=4

 

[doug293cz]

I found this adapter on amazon it looks like it would connect to bobby's l6-30 element and then into my l14-30 plug. http://www.amazon.com/Conntek-PL1430L630-Generator-Adapter-250-volt/dp/B00DVE93PU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1461544211&sr=8-9&keywords=l6-30r

Would i be able to call it a day if I added that adapter to this element from Bobby https://www.brewhardware.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Element5500_RIPPLE_TC&CartID=4

That adapter will do the trick. Sounds like you are not comfortable with the idea of doing any of your own wiring work. If that's true, then this is the best solution for you.

Brew on

 

[jekeane]

That adapter will do the trick. Sounds like you are not comfortable with the idea of doing any of your own wiring work. If that's true, then this is the best solution for you.

Brew on

well wiring up the plugs im not all that concerned about. I just figured that because I need to get the new element and the triclamp enclosure anyway I may as well get the all in one element for about the same price. As for the adapter on amazon they happen to have 2 repackaged ones for $36 each and the plugs alone look to be about $25-$30.

 

[jekeane]

I went ahead and ordered them. As well as the stuff from Bobby will let you know how it works out.

 

[rafoster1987]

Nm