Hello group, I am in the process of specifying detachable AC cordsets for European distribution of my product. It uses an autoranging power supply (100-240VAC) and is rated for 12 A max with a C14 appliance coupler. I initially thought this would be a trivial task of matching plug and connector variations for each of the EU countries and specifying a 12 A cord. However, it looks like all the cordsets that are generally available with European connectors are rated for 10 A max. I am also lead to believe that the C14 coupler is rated for 15A in North America, but only 10 amps in Europe. Are electrons hotter on the east side of the pond??
Amongst my circle of compliance peers, there seems to be a difference of opinion as to what current rating the cordset should have. I would think that the current rating of any cordset I choose for Europe would need to be rated for 12A (Better safe than sorry, right?). But half of the people I've talked to say, "But why? The current will be about half of the 12A max, or 6 amps, due to the higher line voltage. And after all, the mains voltage should be within 10% of nominal!! Therefore a 10A cordset is plenty good!" If I had my way, I would special order a 12A cordset (And I guess this would change my appliance coupler?). But, it would be nice if I could buy an off-the-shelf 10A cordset because of pricing and availability issues. Any comments? Thanks in advance, Paul Hare ph...@pirus.com ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Michael Garretson: pstc_ad...@garretson.org Dave Heald davehe...@mediaone.net For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.rcic.com/ click on "Virtual Conference Hall,"
