What does a 208/480v 3ph power plug look like?

[JasonA]

On PlugShare at the top of there Grapevine, someone posted this for the FlyingW truck stop...

"Bonus: 32 amp 3 phase 480 volt outlets " Bonus for you special people with portable chademo: they also have 32 amp 480 volt outlets.

They took pics of the unit but not the plug.. are these special for big rig tractors and shorepower?

It has a 14-50 but I wonder about this 3ph connector??

 

[FalconFour]

I've got the same question and couldn't really track down a definitive answer about 480v three-phase power outlets... curious about the same thing. A far-off location I'd like to visit (with no charging stations along the route - this is life in the Valley!) only has a 480v plug available in the area I'd be stopping at, and it'd be nice to know if this can be used for charging somehow. 240v breaks down into two 120v phases, so what happens with 3 phases?

I have a feeling I won't like the answer though... as I understand it, 240v/120v is a step-down from 480v using a transformer on each block - so at the 480v level, it's not even the same line of power as what comes into a home, and has totally different behaviors. Question is, is it compatible enough to still work somehow?

 

[JasonA]

I was thinking more on the lines for the beast of a mega Brusa unit

 

[pchilds]

208v 3 phase is 120v to neutral.
480v 3 phase is 277v to neutral. 277v is generaly used for lighting. The Tesla charger works with 277v, don't know about the LEAF charger. It wouldn't be hard to drop the 277v to ~240v for charging a LEAF, you just need the right transformer.

 

[FalconFour]

Well, the right transformer to handle 17 amps might be a little hard to come by - not to mention expensive and bulky at 60Hz. Are there any conversion solutions (... preferably within the realm of one person's financial sanity) that could be used here?

 

[JeremyW]

Looks like this:

[from wikipedia]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60309

 

[jclemens]

In north america, we have what i called "Pin & Sleeve Connector" and I think it is covered under IEC 60309

The Orca commercial portable chademo charger uses one for it's input and I have seen them at carnivals for big power suckers like icecream/pizza rigs.

I think these may be a match, but it is hard to say for sure because the pin configuration may change depending on voltage and current availability on the connector. but I think there is a color code for that too...

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=40077" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[JasonA]

Ahhhh!! That port CHAdeMO unit has a NICE PS unit inside!! I think the guys should look into that!

Anyways, too bad this is not a standard here in the USA... I could see that killer Brusa 22kw unit running under the hood!

Us and our single phase here! :|

 

[JasonA]

P.S. One of my fav sites has info on this.. but I didn't know NEMA plugs had 3ph units..

http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-install-3-phase-timer.html#outlets

http://waterheatertimer.org/Color-codewire.html

 

[TEG]

In north america, we have what i called "Pin & Sleeve Connector" and I think it is covered under IEC 60309
...

Notice what Tesla did with their Superchargers at Refuel races:

 

[TonyWilliams]

208v 3 phase is 120v to neutral.
480v 3 phase is 277v to neutral. 277v is generaly used for lighting. The Tesla charger works with 277v, don't know about the LEAF charger. It wouldn't be hard to drop the 277v to ~240v for charging a LEAF, you just need the right transformer.

Has anybody ever seen the 139v to neutral, 240 volt 3 phase?

 

[tps]

Has anybody ever seen the 139v to neutral, 240 volt 3 phase?

Usually 208V 3 phase is "Wye" with 120 V from any phase to neutral; the transformer windings form a "Y" with the ends at the phases and the center at the neutral. 240V 3 phase is usually "Delta"; the windings form a triangle, each winding between a phase and its neighbor. One of the transformer windings is center tapped, and the center tap is the neutral. Therefore, 120 V to neutral is available from either of the legs to which the ends of that winding are connected (usually called A and C). Unlike the Wye, where the 3 120V circuits are each 120 degrees out of phase, the 2 120 V circuits of 3 phase delta are 180 degrees out of phase, just like single phase service. The third leg (usually called B), which is often called the "wild leg", turns out to be 208 V above the neutral in a 3 phase delta system.

I've never encountered 240V Wye.

 

[hpver]

There is a close-up picture of one of the480-volt outlet at the Flying J in Frazier Park posted to the Plugshare entry for that location. I know because I took it and posted it when charging my Leaf there using one of the 14-30 outlets. That should give you an idea of what might work on it.