Electrical Outlet Adapter Quick Question

[Richard Crowley]

Short answer: No.

The neutral blade is no different except that it is horizontal vs. vertical (as in a 15A plug). The reason for this is to prevent a 20A load from being plugged into a 15A outlet.

Remember, however, that in most places (North America) that use those kind of "Edison" connectors, there are typically more than one outlet per circuit. So the presence of a 20A outlet does NOT guarantee that 20A is actually available because there may be other (unknown) loads on that circuit already.

[JustAnotherUser]

I'm asking because I have a PDU with an L5-30P on it that will never draw more than 17 amps. I want to be able to plug it in to a normal 20 amp outlet, but the only UL listed adapters I can find go from 5-15 to L5-30. I haven't been able to find a 20 amp "T" to 5-30, but I was under the impression that it didn't matter. Is this correct?

[Richard Crowley]

From your description, it shouldn't be an issue.

I would just remove the L5-30P and replace it with a 5-20P. Adapters are just extra trouble.

[JustAnotherUser]

Thank you!