The ESTA Electrical Power Working Group just initiated a standards effort for pinouts of Socapex-type 19-pin multiconnectors. This effort will attempt to gather information on the various pinouts that are in use, especially for 208V and 240V applications in North America. The outcome will hopefully be some level of common standardization or a standardized method of reporting and marking the pinout in use.Personally I'm not a fan of strapping all the grounds together in the connectors -For 6 circuit cables, in my opinion, should ALWAYS be pins 1-18, 1 to 1, and 19 just a blank. In breakouts and ins, the grounds should ALWAYS be segregated by their circuits; pins 1-2-13, 3-4-14, 5-6-15, 7-8-16, 9-10-17, 11-12-18. If the grounds are all common, then it should happen at the power source.
I also work with 8 circuit soco's - They have all circuits share 17-18 as grounds and put circuits 7 & 8 on pins 13-14 and 15-17. The code only requires 2 paths to ground, as I understand.
I also bond grounds together as tails within the backshell so the pins can wiggle as needed.
I believe the 1.5kw cables came about because they are 18/13 cable from Europe (hence the 13 not 12 gauge, and the derating because it is multicable.
We have electric chain hoists on 7 pin Soca, with distribution on 19 pin Soca. We rented a hoist package to another local shop, who added their own 19 pin Soca to the package and had a Flash/Boom event. Their Soca had grounding rings installed.The ESTA Electrical Power Working Group just initiated a standards effort for pinouts of Socapex-type 19-pin multiconnectors. This effort will attempt to gather information on the various pinouts that are in use, especially for 208V and 240V applications in North America. The outcome will hopefully be some level of common standardization or a standardized method of reporting and marking the pinout in use.
Ultimate goal: avoid Flash/Boom events, which have become more common as different uses of this connector are created.
ST
AFAIK, there are no further changes to the NEC planned on this issue, but a Public Input for the 2026 edition could jump out of the bushes. 120V/6ckt pinout seems well known and consistent. But 240V and 208V pinouts are many--and there's no way to determine compatibility without:We have electric chain hoists on 7 pin Soca, with distribution on 19 pin Soca. We rented a hoist package to another local shop, who added their own 19 pin Soca to the package and had a Flash/Boom event. Their Soca had grounding rings installed.
I cannot say loudly enough that ground rings are straight from hell, and the mis-use of multipin connectors in the way Soca is being implemented, is a REALLY BAD IDEA.
I oppose any changes to NEC that would permit even more types of inconsistent service use of this connector.
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