Cut-out notch power socket in Quanta switch (C15 cable?)

[TheBloke]

Hi guys

I just bought a used Quanta LB4M and Quanta LB6M switch. The LB6M works no problem, but I can't even plug in the LB4M which is a rather more basic problem than I ever imagined I would have.

The issue is that it has a power socket I've never seen before, which has a plastic nodule/strip at the bottom that prevents the insertion of any of my standard "kettle leads".

Below is one of the removable dual PSUs removed to show what the socket looks like, with the plastic nodule/strip at the bottom of the socket visible. Both PSUs are the same, sadly.



Googling has told me that this is probably an IEC C15 cable, as described in this link. My googling for it though mostly shows it the context of things like steamers - and indeed that link says it's for "high temperature" devices like steamers, kettles, and Power over Ethernet devices.

Why a 48-port switch would require such a cable is currently beyond me? Unless it's because it came from a particular high-temperature environment, and was thus specified by the previous customer rather than being common in this Quanta LB4M switch?

I'd be grateful if anyone could comment to confirm that I'm correct, and let me know if this is common? My knowledge of enterprise-level gear is hit and miss, but I'm still surprised to find I can't even plug in a switch. Especially as there's no problem with the 24 x 10GBe LB6M switch.

I guess right now I have no choice but to order a couple of these C15 leads (I'm going to trawl through my stash of cables but I'm not hopeful.) But it'd still be good to understand a bit more about the background.

Thanks

 

[Blinky 42]

You are correct those outlets are C16 and need a C15 plug.
The C14/C15 cables and NEMA/C15 cables are somewhat common, I have seen them on various equipment over the years. Since Quanta equipment is commonly custom tailored to the client that bulk orders it I wouldn't be shocked if they ordered it with the C16 inlets for some reason.

 

[TheBloke]

OK lovely thanks a lot - I shall order a couple now.

 

[Terry Kennedy]

Below is one of the removable dual PSUs removed to show what the socket looks like, with the plastic nodule/strip at the bottom of the socket visible. Both PSUs are the same, sadly.


Googling has told me that this is probably an IEC C15 cable, as described in this link. My googling for it though mostly shows it the context of things like steamers - and indeed that link says it's for "high temperature" devices like steamers, kettles, and Power over Ethernet devices.

On computer equipment, the notched power cable is used to indicate "needs a real power cord, not something with the cheapest tinsel wire the manufacturer could find*". It is an intermediate step between the regular IEC (International Electrical Conspiracy**) connector and the C20.

With a max 5A draw, you could just find some regular IEC cords (even #18 should be OK for this) and carefully cut a notch in the device end of the power cord to match the one in the socket. It is a bit ghetto, but you'll be able to play with the switch until the better cords come. Obviously, do this with the cord unplugged at both ends and if you expose anything other than plastic, discard that cord and try again with another one.

* SCSI cable vendors used to play the same game - after everybody got wise to the super-skinny SCSI cables being junk (and not working for differential SCSI), some manufacturers just used the same wires but over-molded a much thicker jacket on the cable. I used to keep some samples with part of the jacket removed to show people the games the vendors were playing.

** I referred to them that way when explaining to someone that he'd miswired the power connections. In IEC, ground is green-yellow, neutral is blue, and hot is brown. They said "But brown is the color of the ground and blue is high in the sky! It's backwards!".

 

[TheBloke]

On computer equipment, the notched power cable is used to indicate "needs a real power cord, not something with the cheapest tinsel wire the manufacturer could find*". It is an intermediate step between the regular IEC (International Electrical Conspiracy**) connector and the C20.

With a max 5A draw, you could just find some regular IEC cords (even #18 should be OK for this) and carefully cut a notch in the device end of the power cord to match the one in the socket. It is a bit ghetto, but you'll be able to play with the switch until the better cords come. Obviously, do this with the cord unplugged at both ends and if you expose anything other than plastic, discard that cord and try again with another one.

Makes sense! Thanks.

Yeah I did wonder about the hand-made route. Had I found this on my new LB6M, the star of the show, I would be slicing and dicing as we speak But the LB4M isn't going to be important until I finally finish upgrading my server and move it and the LB6M into the garage.

Getting the LB4 as well was a bit of a luxury. The LB6M has 4 x 1GBe ports and I could have carried on using the various cheap, un-managed Netgear 1GB switches I have around the house, feeding into those 4 ports. But the LB4M was cheaper than I expected and I thought that as I'd got this far down the upgrading rabbit-hole, I may as well do everything properly. When I finally get done with all my server upgrades I hope to get some proper CAT 5E or 6 wiring done around the house, connecting my cable modem, HTPCs, Raspberry Pis and various TVs/Apple TV/set-top boxes into the LB4 before uplinking over 2 x fibre to the LB6 that will live with the server + JBOD in my garage. Then I'll be able to manage and view those 100M/1G devices on the switch discretely, FWTW

(Not to mention that I'm all ghetto'd out, and thoroughly sick of the sight of my Dremel, since I last week spent an arm-numbing 2+ days grinding down the walls of my old 4U, 16-bay chassis, having found that the SAS/SATA ports on the new (used) Chenbro backplanes I had bought were 1 mm closer together than on the ancient TWin SATA backplanes I was replacing. Fun times )

** I referred to them that way when explaining to someone that he'd miswired the power connections. In IEC, ground is green-yellow, neutral is blue, and hot is brown. They said "But brown is the color of the ground and blue is high in the sky! It's backwards!".

Hah!

I recently heard a definition I thought quite memorable:
"The live is brown because it's the colour your trousers will go if you touch it.."

 

[ttabbal]

And then there's the convention that DC red=+, black=-.

Then AC comes along and makes black hot, white neutral. And ground is bare or green...

And then there's 3-phase......

pffttttt

 

[Terry Kennedy]

And then there's the convention that DC red=+, black=-.

Except in telco systems, where the voltage is negatively referenced to ground. This has caused a lot of ruckus when people new to telecom try hooking up DC-powered equipment that is labeled "hot and ground". Red is still +, but is now at ground reference. Black is at -48V (normally more like -56V). Current is essentially unlimited except for whatever fusing is provided. For example, this is a small battery plant of "only" 1200A per leg (those are 2-foot-square floor tiles):

Every once in a while, a tech will drop a wrench across the distribution bus bars when running a new tap. A tap in that case might be 600A on a 4000A or higher-current bus. This leads to the "chrome plated bus bar" as the wrench pretty much vaporizes on contact.

 

[whitey]

You need one of these:

NEMA 5-15 to IEC 320 C15 Power Cords

6ft 3-Conductor 14AWG 14/3 NEMA 5-15P to IEC320 C15 PC Power Cord Cable SJT | eBay

 

[sth]

sod the cable...I wanna see a video of this!

.... This leads to the "chrome plated bus bar" as the wrench pretty much vaporizes on contact.

 

[T_Minus]

[...]Every once in a while, a tech will drop a wrench across the distribution bus bars when running a new tap. A tap in that case might be 600A on a 4000A or higher-current bus. This leads to the "chrome plated bus bar" as the wrench pretty much vaporizes on contact.

Surprised they're not using insulated tools when doing such operations?

 

[T_Minus]

You need one of these:

NEMA 5-15 to IEC 320 C15 Power Cords

6ft 3-Conductor 14AWG 14/3 NEMA 5-15P to IEC320 C15 PC Power Cord Cable SJT | eBay

Cheapest you've found? $10 a cable is insane.. I mean, I'm used to having 50+ and chucking ones that won't fit in the container stupid notch.

 

[Evan]

Surprised they're not using insulated tools when doing such operations?

It will arch ! Seen it happen (not literally witnessed but saw the results and the reports) at a DC we use. Guy was very lucky to be alive after his little misadventure that day. Whole DC down though...