In hospitals and clinics, production floor areas, and standard brick-and-mortar offices, the spatial relationship of heavy machinery, diagnostic equipment, and peripheral devices and their AC power outlets can become a tricky geometric problem to solve—equipment placed tightly against walls where odd angles and tight corners loom. Even when designing and building your own facility, local building codes and other present mechanical infrastructure can pose challenges when it comes to positioning AC equipment in optimal areas.

Not only will cords squeezed into outlets at odd angles eventually lose electrical continuity from bent blades or acute bend radius at the strain relief—which can fray or crack wires—but also longer cords (over 50 feet) pose overheating concerns as they become derated. Is there an affordable solution?

Fortunately, there is a cost-efficient solution without shoehorning plugs into both wall and accessory power strip outlets (APS).

The Interpower angled NEMA 5-15 cord offers eight different cord angles for those “impossible” spaces. Angled NEMA 5-15s are especially handy when you have multiple electrical outlets in a centrally located area. In such a case, an easy solution would be using angled NEMA 5-15s with multiple choices of IEC 60320 connectors, say a C13. You could then add an APS between equipment or along a central wall and have 4 to 12 machines or devices running on AC power at once—while using only one wall plug.

While each angled NEMA 5-15 only uses one plug bridge and one mold, a section of the mold can be rotated to mold to eight different angles or directions for a better fit in tight spaces, including accessory power strip outlets—using conventional cords would likely not fit in all the strip’s outlets. For maintaining electrical continuity and adding longevity to your cords, keeping the bend radius at a minimum is key.

“It is important to avoid unnecessarily damaging the cable which can shorten its life, potentially leading to shock or fire,” said Technical Support Specialist Dan Ford. “The end use of the cable plays a big role in what the bend radius will be. If the cord is plugged into the wall and then jerked on from the side to get it out, that will violate the bend radius. If the cord is twisted severely, that also will affect it. Bend radius failures usually happen over time and eventually the cable will no longer transmit power.”

Angled NEMA cords are excellent solving a variety of problems:

• Commercial/industrial equipment with a poor path to the outlet bending strain reliefs to 90° or less.
• Equipment frequently moved from its location, causing it to be plugged in and out repeatedly.
• Equipment located at a severe angle from the electrical outlet.
• Multiple devices plugged into a power strip where strain reliefs and cable exits interfere with adjacent outlets, minimizing efficiency.

Testing

Just like the standard NEMA 5-15 cords, the angled NEMA 5-15 cords are subjected to the rigorous Abrupt Pull Test found in UL 817, section 12.5. Clause 12.5.3.1. The clause states: “Six representative assemblies consisting each of an attachment cord or current tap molded onto a flexible cord 0.3 m (12 in) in length are necessary for the test. Those having a ground pin in the up position, except for right-angle cords, which shall be tested only in the cord down position.”

“We test more than is required for our own benefit,” Interpower Product Development Manager Ron Barnett said. “We go beyond the standards because it lends better reliability to our design—products become more reliable in that regard.”