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Leviton Hospital Grade AC Outlet - Which One?

I've decided to go ahead and buy a Powervar ABC1200-11 power conditioner. It's my understanding that even though these units were made for medical usage, they have two versions of this model - one with regular receptacles, and one with hospital grade receptacles indicated by a small green led on each receptacle).

I'm thinking about going to DIY route and upgrading the AC receptacles to medical grade ones (and possible putting in an IEC adapter to roll my own power cable). Ebay seems to be the cheapest place to get the AC receptacles, but there are two different hospital grade Leviton outlets that suit the bill. I'm hoping to get folks' opinions as to which one I should go with.

1. self-grounded outlet

2. isolated ground outlet

The only difference is that the more expensive one has an "Isolated ground devices have a grounding terminal that is electronically isolated from the strap to eliminate electrical interference (noise) in grounding networks that can cause problems in modern electronics", while the cheaper one is "self-grounded".

What are people's thoughts on this? Thanks!
maha0098
12 responses Add your response
cpk
190 posts
 
neither, both sound like crap. Try a pass & seymour 8200 MRI or 5242 (if you can find one) if you don't want to spend too much.

these guys have both it seems...
http://www.electricsupplyonline.com/prod/pass_and_seymour-outlets.php
metralla
945 posts
 
The first outlet I tried was a Leviton from Home Depot, replacing the original outlet in my apartment (circa 1970). It was a step forward over what was there (as you may expect); but I changed it for a Pass and Seymour 5242-I a couple of months later. Once that had some weeks on it, the overall sound was much improved. The P&S do take some time to come on song.

Regards,
Post removed 
tobias
1,534 posts
 
One more voice says avoid the Leviton, the P&S and Hubble outlets sound much better.
maha0098 OP
2 posts
 
It certainly looks like the consensus is clear - stay clear of the Levitons! This helps out a lot. Thanks for the opinions, folks!
jea48
4,425 posts
 
Hubbell HBL 8200H and HBL8300H non plated.
(See page 10)

8200H 15 amp
8300H 20 amp

Guts are the same, 20 amp rated. Only the faceplate is different.
.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
A good "rule of thumb" is that not all Hospital-grade outlets are necessarily audio grade. The Hubble 8300H/I is definitely audio-grade. You won't find these in your Home Depots or Lowe's. Albert Porter has these as his Porter Ports. Only difference is he has them cryo'd. Replacing the stainless steel neutral screws with brass puts the final touch to them.
humanmedia
17 posts
 
Go for Albert Porters "Porter Ports" which are a custom run of Hubbell 8300H without the nickel contact plating.

The step after that is the Furutech unplated copper outlets.
mracoustat
74 posts
 
Yes i agree with the rest AVOID leviton close to the same price as the hubbell BUT far from the same quality and yes i had both there is better but at around $ 100.00 each no thanks i,ll stick with the Hubbells 8200H or 8300H best bang for the buck.
tonywinsc
583 posts
 
What about going through a power conditioner? Does the wall plug still matter?
hifisoundguy
630 posts
 
The Syergistic Research's Teslaplex ac outlet is the best on the market right now! I use to use Porter Ports and the teslaplex is a much smoother sounding ac outlet!
usblues
1,217 posts
 
I had a Powervar a few years ago and it didnt do a thing.Now a toaster sits on it and I use it in the kitchen as 6 outlets are nice to have.YMMV,good luck,Bob
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