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NEMA locking (twist-lock) plugs L5-15 to L23-30: voltage, poles, wires and amp rating by family (L5-20, L6-20, L6-30, L14-30, L21-30)

What is the difference between NEMA L5-20, L6-20, L6-30, L14-30 and L21-30 locking plugs? · Standard part · basis: Elliott Electric's NEMA twist-lock chart, AutomationDirect's wiring-devices catalog and Wikipedia's NEMA connector article; configuration table only, no blade dimensions and no files

Also called: nema l5-20p vs l6-20p, what is a nema l6-30 plug, l14-30 vs l6-30, nema l21-30 voltage, nema locking plug chart, l5-20 amps volts, l6-20 locking plug 250v 20a, twist lock plug configurations, nema l14-30 4 wire, nema l5-30 vs l14-30, l15-30 three phase locking, nema l22-30 480v

Exact dimensions. True size, with no tolerance added.

sizes
19 in table

Notes

  • Reading a name: L = locking (twist-lock, curved blades), the number after it is the family (voltage, poles and wires), the number after the hyphen is the amp rating, and a trailing P / R / C is plug, receptacle or corded connector (flanged inlet FI and outlet FO also exist). So L5-20P is a 20 A, 125 V, 2-pole 3-wire grounded locking plug; L6-30R is a 30 A, 250 V receptacle; L14-30P is 30 A, 125/250 V, 3-pole 4-wire grounded; L21-30P is 30 A, three-phase wye 120/208 V, 4-pole 5-wire grounded.
  • Sources: Elliott's chart gives voltage, poles / wires and the amp ratings for each family; AutomationDirect's catalog tables list the individual configurations with amps, volts, poles and wires for L5 to L9, L14 to L17, L21 and L22; Wikipedia adds L10 to L13 and L19 to L21 wording. Where they differ both are shown: Elliott calls L10 '3-pole, 3-wire ungrounded' and Wikipedia '2-pole + neutral, non-grounding'; Elliott calls L19 and L20 '4-pole, 4-wire' and Wikipedia '3-pole, four-wire'. L17 appears only in AutomationDirect's tables.
  • Not given: blade and pin dimensions of the locking configurations. They are in ANSI/NEMA WD 6, which is sold, and Wikipedia states no locking dimensions. The blade numbers for L5-30 and L14-30 that public summaries print are on nema-plug-receptacle-configurations; this page adds the other families.
  • Elliott's page has visible linking slips (for example the L11 plug row links to an L10-20P page and L23 receptacles link to L22 pages); only the printed chart text is used. A 15 A rating is shown only where the chart lists it (L5, L6, L7; Wikipedia also names L11-15).
  • No file: a plug drawn from the voltage and amp rating would not be the part you can buy. Maker CAD: McMaster-Carr lists twist-lock devices with per-part STEP; not linked here.

NEMA locking (twist-lock) plugs L5-15 to L23-30: voltage, poles… size chart

familyvoltage as publishedpoles / wiresamp ratings (A)notes
L5125 V2-pole, 3-wire, grounded15, 20, 30AD lists L5-15, L5-20, L5-30
L6250 V2-pole, 3-wire, grounded15, 20, 30AD lists L6-15, L6-20, L6-30
L7277 V AC2-pole, 3-wire, grounded15, 20, 30AD lists L7-15, L7-20, L7-30
L8480 V AC2-pole, 3-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L8-20, L8-30
L9600 V AC2-pole, 3-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L9-20, L9-30
L10125/250 V3-pole, 3-wire, ungrounded20, 30Wikipedia words it '2-pole + neutral, non-grounding'
L113-phase 250 V3-pole, 3-wire, ungrounded20, 30Wikipedia also names L11-15
L123-phase 480 V3-pole, 3-wire, ungrounded20, 30
L133-phase 600 V3-pole, 3-wire, ungrounded30
L14125/250 V3-pole, 4-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L14-20, L14-30
L153-phase 250 V3-pole, 4-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L15-20, L15-30
L163-phase 480 V3-pole, 4-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L16-20, L16-30
L173-phase 600 V3-pole, 4-wire, grounded (AD)30AD lists L17-30; not on Elliott's chart
L183-phase wye 120/208 V4-pole, 4-wire, ungrounded20, 30Wikipedia: '4-pole, no ground'
L193-phase wye 277/480 V4-pole, 4-wire, ungrounded (Elliott)20, 30Wikipedia words it '3-pole, four-wire, non-grounding': poles disagree
L203-phase wye 347/600 V4-pole, 4-wire, ungrounded (Elliott)20, 30Wikipedia words it '3-pole, four-wire, non-grounding': poles disagree
L213-phase wye 120/208 V4-pole, 5-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L21-20, L21-30
L223-phase wye 277/480 V4-pole, 5-wire, grounded20, 30AD lists L22-20, L22-30
L233-phase wye 347/600 V4-pole, 5-wire, grounded20, 30AD shows L23-20R and L23-30R in its wiring diagrams only

Where the files are

Other publishers' files are linked, not hosted. "verify" = check the license at the link before commercial use.

Elliott ElectricNEMA twist lock plug, receptacle and connector configuration chart (L5 to L23; voltage, poles, wires, 15 / 20 / 30 A)webPublisher's page; dimensions are facts
AutomationDirectWiring devices: plugs, connectors and receptacles catalog (locking L5 to L22: amps, volts, poles, wires)webPublisher's page; dimensions are facts
WikipediaNEMA connector (locking L-series: voltage, poles, wiring; curved-blade twist-locking)webCC BY-SA 4.0 (text); ratings are facts

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Plain text: sheet.txt · JSON: /api/geometry?object=nema-locking-plugs-l5-l6-l14-l21

length
Schematic, not to scale.

Fits with

length
NEMA plug and receptacle configurations: 1-15, 5-15, 5-20, 6-15, 6-20, 14-30, 14-50, L5-30, L14-30 (blade numbers as published)11 sizes★ sheet
IEC 60320 appliance couplers: C13 / C14, C5 / C6, C7 / C8, C15 / C16, C17 / C18, C19 / C20, C21 to C24 (pin spacing, ratings, snap-in panel numbers)17 sizes★ sheet
length
US duplex receptacle wall plate: opening numbers3 sizes★ sheet
US PVC device boxes (Carlon, Allied Moulded): size, cubic inches, device screw spacing108.7×25.4×2.0 mm★ sheet
length
US metal handy box and 4 in square box: size, depth, cubic inches, cover ears10 sizes★ sheet
Screw terminal blocks: Phoenix MKDS 1,5 and MKDS 3 (5.0 / 5.08 mm), 2–6 positions, isometric render of a generated part
Screw terminal blocks: Phoenix MKDS 1,5 and MKDS 3 (5.0 / 5.08 mm), 2–6 positions15 sizes★ 15 files

Questions

What is a NEMA L5-20 plug?

A 20 A, 125 V, 2-pole 3-wire grounded locking (twist-lock) plug (Elliott chart, AutomationDirect).

What is the difference between L6-30 and L14-30?

L6-30 is 30 A, 250 V, 2-pole 3-wire grounded; L14-30 is 30 A, 125/250 V, 3-pole 4-wire grounded (two hots, neutral, ground).

What voltage is a NEMA L21-30?

Three-phase wye 120/208 V, 30 A, 4-pole 5-wire grounded (Elliott chart and AutomationDirect).