From: DLU1@DecadentLinuxUser.org   
      
   On Thu, 23 May 2013 14:04:39 -0400, Mark F  wrote:   
      
   >On Wed, 22 May 2013 14:47:46 -0400, "J.B. Wood"   
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >> Hello, all.  Has anyone ever come across a twist-lock plug that just has   
   >> 3 current-carrying wires L1, L2 and neutral (N) such that L1-N is 120 V,   
   >> L2-N is 120 V and L1-N and L2-N are 120 electrical degrees apart?  IOW,   
   >> there is no L3 wire as you would normally(?) expect.  Thanks for your   
   >> time and comment.  Sincerely,   
   >I lived in a part of New York City that typically had 2 phases in   
   >each house. I don't know how much of NYC is wired that way, but   
   >in Queens the areas known as Floral Park (adjacent to, but not the   
   >same as Floral Park in Nassau County) and Glen Oaks we had a nominal   
   >208V AC.   
   >   
   >You had to be careful when buying air conditioners, electric   
   >stoves, electric driers, and some power tools in Nassau County because   
   >you had to make sure that you got stuff wired for 208V, not 240V.   
   >   
   >The stuff my family owned used plugs with two phases plus ground.   
   >We didn't have an electric stove or electric drier, but they would   
   >typically need 208V and 120V.  I don't know if they had a separate   
   >circuit for clocks and lights or if they used Ground as neutral   
   >or had a separate neutral line. Many houses didn't have grounded   
   >120V outlets and I'd bet that many houses didn't have Ground   
   >for 208V and 240V outlets, no matter what the code was when the   
   >house was built.   
      
     Clocks ran synchronous with power frequency, so that voltage difference   
   would not matter, save for the fact that 240 into a 208 synchronous   
   "motor' might fry it.  But it would still run at the same rpm.   
      
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