3 Phase Wiring

[LostScrewdriver]

What's a good book to learn about 3 phase wiring?
My work takes me to many foreign countries, and I need to plug in to 3 phase power. I see a variety of plugs and sockets, and different colours of wiring. I always seem to end up getting 240 Volts to the equipment, but I would feel a lot better if I knew what I was doing.
Thanks for your help

 

[ColJack]

those are 2 different things..
3 phase is easy.. red, yellow, blue or brown, black, grey as it is now..
however you're after international wiring codes..

try wikipedia.. they have some good articles on there about international wiring..

 

[ericmark]

In theory 5 pin sockets should have neutrals and 4 pin don't so you can only get 230v from 5 pin sockets. However often even with 5 pin there is no neutral. One method is the switched mode inverter but not a clue where they came from.

Untitled

• ericmark
• 3 Mar 2009
• 4

The diagram shows how three phases relate to each other and to get 230 volt the neutral is really important. If the neutral is allowed to float you can get a voltage variation of 0 to 400 volt and of course that's no good. You can get under and over voltage relays which will drop the supply if it goes too far under or over may be a good idea if uncertain of supply.

 

[LostScrewdriver]

Thanks guys. I think I've got what I need to know now. So many colour schemes out there, it seems I still need to get the multimeter out to be safe. The other thing that scares me is that we've got 20 groups of people (race teams), all hooking in to the power, and not one electrician. It's almost a certainty that one of them (perhaps me sometimes) is going to wire between a phase and ground to get their 240V. Perhaps this explains how one of our mini portacabins went live a little while back.
Cheers

 

[conny]

No electrician and messing with 415v?

Stick to racing, you'll be safer!
Get someone qualified to do the electrics on your team, for everyones sake!