(page 4)

Design and Construction (continued)

Once the two outlets are joined with the serial wiring, flip them over and connect the red power cord wire to the remaining live outlet end, and the black power cord wire to the remaining neutral end. Connect the white power cord wire to one of the outlet ground ends, the ground will be common to both the outlets via the ground inlay of the outlet box so which outlet gets the white connector ground is irrelevant. Push the Hubbell AC outlets into the box ensuring the wiring is well spread at the bottom of the box and tighten all the screws securing the outlets and securing the cover plate.

Last step, make sure all wiring has been properly done. Use a connection tester or a multimeter to perform the test. There should be a connection between the ground and only the four grounds of the outlet center, between the live and only the four live ends of the outlet center, and between the neutral and only the four neutral ends of the outlet center. You may want to test incrementally as you progress with the assembly. This will help you avoid surprises during the final test and prevent laborious disassembly.

Performance

Right off the bat, this DIY AC Outlet Center made minced meat out of the standard extension strip. Quite apparent was the increase in dynamics, slam and detail. Music now played with greater sense of ease and openness. It was as if it was freed from a noisy cage. The highs were sweater and better defined, the mid had better articulation while the bass had more weight and grunt to it. The overall sound had more spring, it was simply more alive and easier to listen to.

I am very pleased with how this project turned out. Though I'm happy with its performance I'm itching to take it to the next stage: Improve the wiring in terms of cable quality and cable wiring configuration. For now it will stay the way it is, I would first like to hear about your opinions on this or similar project you built.

Conclusion

This DIY AC Outlet Center performs very well indeed. Even though it utilizes minimal shielding and inexpensive and simple wiring, it still manages to outperform standard power extension strips by leaps and bounds. The build is better, the cabling has ample enough gauge and the contact are better thanks to the Hubbell plug and the Hubbell outlets. At about $60 for parts and materials and for about an hour of labor, it definitely makes a lot of sense.

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Comments (add)


Craig	Just a question regarding the AC Outlet Center. Where do you get the plastic strain relief?

Boris	The plastic strain relief is an integral part of the cable. It's one of the reasons why I chose to use it. If you buy this cable (Power Supply Cord for Ranges, Noma 40A, 5.5ft: Cat.No.44095), or similar used to power cooking ranges, they you should be set.

Rob	I thoroughly enjoyed this project. I followed your instructions and created a similar outlet box, but with a few changes. I didn't use oven/range cable, I used dryer cable (2x10 & 2x12 awg) because I am running a dedicated line from my fuse box panel to 1 wall receptacle with 12 awg romex. I used Leviton special grade receptacles, and a Leviton shop grade plug. Both are heavy duty and well made. This reduced costs significantly. I did not wire the receptacles in the box in series. I ran the dryer cable into the box and used crimp connectors to run separate short pig-tails to each receptacle for hot, neutral and ground. Other than this, the project was nearly the same. Great power outlet! Thanks

Jason	Hi I've been thinking about trying this project lately but I do have one quation. I was looking at your parts list, and you list the hubbell 8200 AC outlet, the numbering seems a little different but these look remarkably like the IG8200/8300. I have a bunch of what I believe are Hubbell IG8300 plugs that were left over from a construction site, I got them cheaply but I haven't seen them online for less than $32,00, even the 8200 ran at least $28.00, I was wondering if these are the same units you used? I saw your cost was substantially less at $15.00 per unit. Mine are orange, have a black triange in the corner and have the little "T" built in the socket for those odd plugs. From what I've read they fit the description of the IG8300 perfectly and the only real difference between the IG8200 and the IG8300 was one was rated at 15amps and the other 20. Are these the same plugs you used, if so where can I get them so cheaply? I figured they'd make at least a suitable replacement for the project. My original idea though was to do the same project using one of several suitable power strips I've seen. Most are unsuitable because they use brass tracks completely through, and the plugs are molded into the case, but I have come across several that use actual AC outlets and wires as the connectors. I figure with an upgrade to the sockets I should get a significant inprovement, since most use a pretty descent shielded power cable. If I'm not happy with that result I could cut off the AC plug and replace that with a hospital grade plug. Any hints, pointers you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Boris	Jason, I bought my AC outlets from a local Audio store, chances are yours may have them too. Just in case you can not find any locally you could check out this source: http://www.takefiveaudio.com/hubbell_hospital_grade_outlets.htm The outlets you have are a bit different but could still be used. I believe the orange designates industrial type and the black triangle: isolated ground application. If you want more specialized stuff, try the following: http://www.psaudio.com/products/powerport.asp

Bren	The triangle Jason refers to on his plug is indeed a marking for isolated grounds... there are a few different markings in case an industrial application has multiple runs requiring iso'ed grounds, like a Community College, the IT department might run orange on black triangles, while the video production department may run black on orange triangles - just a notation that the grounds are isolated from the building ground but not common between the areas.

Mauricio	Very nice project. I think someone would like to try adding a pair of large Bybee purifiers (US$150) on hot and neutral (+ and - in my country). This will make the project rather expensive but I can guess it will be rewarding enough and ideal for digital front end. Thanks for a wonderful site.