20amp IEC connector with a 15amp plug PC? ??

You guys are making a mountain out of a molehill. The reason some 15A audio equipment is using the C19 connector is exactly as I said previously - because it's a more solid connection.

First I would bet the cord is not listed by UL or any other recognized testing agency.

Jea48, how much do you want to bet? :-)

I am looking at a box full of about twenty NEMA 5-15p to IEC C19 cords that are UL and CSA listed. The computer industry has been using them for decades.

Rex, I concede to your challenge. Obviously I was wrong..... After doing some research I have found the IEC connectors are in a category all their own. The oddest thing I noticed the same connectors can be used for either 125Vac as well as 250Vac. To my knowledge I cannot think of any other plug and receptacle device that allows that here in the US.

The problem I have understanding the UL/CSA listing is where is the protection for the non savvy consumer that buys a piece of equipment that has a 20 amp IEC connector, that has a FLA rating of 16 amps, and did not come with the manufacturer supplied cord with a 20 amp plug. The guy that sold him the equipment lost the the factory cord and plug but threw in one that fit the IEC connector and had only a 15 amp plug.

The buyer knows beans about what we have been discussing here. He plugs the unit in, powers it up and everything seems to work fine. The branch he plugged into is only a 15 amp circuit and the wire is being overloaded. Hopefully the breaker will trip open. You would be surprised how many 15 amp breakers won't trip at 15 amps. Where is the protection.....
The cord and plug is not idiot proof, jmho.

Now here is an example that to me mirrors the same thing that is allowed with the IEC 20 / 5-15P power cord . As per NEC I cannot make a power cord with a NEMA 5-20R receptacle on one end and a NEMA 5-15P plug on the other end...... Can you see the difference?

Where is the protection.....
The cord and plug is not idiot proof, jmho.

I agree that it's not idiot-proof, but I'm not sure that it matters. How many threads have you seen here and on other forums where chooses (or advises someone else) to do something blatantly foolish with electricity or electrical connections in the name of audiophilia? How many times have you heard some audiophile say that the NEC is too cautious or just plain wrong? Way too many times, I reckon. Make something idiot-proof, and a more resourceful idiot will come along.

Anyway, the saving grace (pun intended) is that there are almost no consumer audio products that actually need more than the rated power of a 15A convenience outlet. The few that do that I'm aware of have hard-wired power cords. You'd have to saw off the factory plug and put a NEMA 5-15P on there in order to plug it into a 15A outlet.

I wonder why some of us install 20amp dedicated circuit when I dont think at any 1 time our equipment needs to draw more than 15amp ( read some where the most is around 12amp). Am I right or I got it wrong? tq

Audioblazer, Are you saying one piece of equipment draws less than 15 amps or the combined draw of everything in the system is less than 15 amps? Not all systems are created equal.

Rember that start up surges on some amplifiers can trip a 15amp breaker. I have known some that can trip a 20amp breaker depending on what else was running simultaneously.