20amp v 15amp


I'm the furthest thing from an engineer so layman's terms would be appreciated.  A friend of a friend has an Audioquest Niagara 5000 he's looking to move quickly.  The 5000 requires a 20amp power cord, which is fine; I'm happy picking one up.  My outlet is only rated for 15amps.  My question is, will I only really benefit if I replace the 15amp wall outlet with a 20amp wall outlet?

cjlundberg

Showing 1 response by erik_squires

Not really, no. 

For many manufacturers the 15A and 20A outlets are identical except for the plastic face plate. They literally use the same brass behind the plastic, down to the T shaped connectors.

Fact is 15A outlets have to live with the possibility of being on a 20A circuit, so they are built with that in mind.

It's a weirdness of the NEC that they expect you to run 20A circuits to multiple 15A outlets.

Get a good 12 Gauge cable, no matter the connector on the end.