|
The 300 Volt cord is probably type "SJ". The 600 Volt cord is probably type "S". The 600 Volt cord will have thicker insulation on the individual conductors AND at thicker, tougher outer jacket, making it more resistant to a cut or nick that could cause disaster, if it touched by the operator while touching the steel bin, or contacts a metal part, energizing the auger. Of all the things on the farm that scared me as a hazard, the electrically operated augers and binsweeps were at the top of the list. Imagine if you're crawling into the bin, touching the auger AND the bin, and something is damaged and shorted, making the auger "HOT", while you're touching the grounded bin at the same time. NOT GOOD! I had this very thing happen some years ago. A hired man had been going around the bins the wrong way, driving over a cord. The cord failed, with the GROUND broken, and one of the HOT legs damaged, and making contact with the broken equipment ground. This energized equipment ground charged the whole grain auger with 120 Volts! The kid unloading trucks (after dark) came out to the field to tell me he thought the auger was sparking against the top of the grain bin, as it would flop from side-to-side. Of all things, he climbed up on the bin with an aluminum scoop shovel, and bridged the shovel between the auger and the bin, and found out that, indeed, that DID make a BIG spark! Luckily, he got down from the bin without touching the auger and the bin, and came for help. He could have been electrocuted ON the bin, or gotten shocked, and falled off. After that, I made up a length of ground wire for each auger, whether filling or emptying a bin, we would use the wire to BOND the bin and the auger, eliminating the possiblity of a potential difference between the two that could kill someone touching the steel bin and auger at the same time, should something go wrong.
| 
