Five facts in one word

The facts

[wires][amps][device][hour][ingress]

• Wires: 3, 4 or 5. 3 = 2P+E, 4 = 3P+E, 5 = 3P+N+E.
• Amps: the North American figure, 20 / 30 / 60 / 100; the IEC figure 16 / 32 / 63 / 125 names the same body.
• Device: P plug, C connector, R receptacle, B inlet — a plug goes on the cord's supply end, a connector on its load end, a receptacle on a wall or panel, an inlet on the equipment.
• Hour: the earth contact's position, 1 to 12. Fixes the voltage for that pole count.
• Ingress: S for IP44 splashproof, W for IP67 watertight.

Worked examples

• 320P6W: 3 wire, 20 A (16 A IEC), plug, 6h, IP67. Two poles and earth, 200–250 V, blue. The plug on a rack PDU feed cord.
• 460C9W: 4 wire, 60 A (63 A IEC), connector, 9h, IP67. Three poles and earth, 3Ø 250 V, blue. The load end of a 208 V delta extension.
• 5100R7W: 5 wire, 100 A (125 A IEC), receptacle, 7h, IP67. Three poles, neutral and earth, 3ØY 277/480 V, red. A panel receptacle for big wye distribution.
• 430B12W: 4 wire, 30 A, inlet, 12h, IP67. Orange, 125/250 V split phase, on the equipment.

The traps

• Some labels write the IEC and the North American code together: 316P6/320P6. Same body. The finder reads the pair and answers with the North American one.
• A leading maker prefix (two letters before the digits) is not part of the standard's code; ignore it.
• The hour is one or two digits: 6 or 12. 4100P12W is a 4 wire 100 A plug at 12h, not something at 1h.
• Not every hour exists for every pole count. There is no two-pole 12h body; the finder tells you when a code names a cell the standard never defined.