How it connects
Straight-blade male prongs push directly into matching receptacle slots, establishing electrical contact via friction and spring tension without a mechanical locking mechanism.
Male and female halves
Male plug half with solid brass straight blades. It mates with either a female NEMA 10-30R or NEMA 10-50R flush or surface receptacle.
Usually connects to
- NEMA 10-30R female receptacle
- NEMA 10-50R female receptacle
Common sizes
- Rated for 125/250 V AC at 30 A (with L-shaped neutral prong installed) or 50 A (with straight vertical neutral prong installed). Accepts 10 AWG to 6 AWG wiring.
Where it is used
residential appliances (legacy clothes dryers and electric cooking ranges/ovens)appliance replacement power cordsworkshops and light industrial equipment
Variations
- NEMA 10-30P (dedicated 30 A 125/250 V plug with L-shaped neutral)
- NEMA 10-50P (dedicated 50 A 125/250 V plug with straight vertical neutral)
- angled vs straight cord body designs
How to recognise it
Recognizable by two angled flat line blades (X and Y hot legs forming an inverted V layout) and a swappable center top blade: an L-shaped blade for 10-30P (30 A) or a straight flat vertical blade for 10-50P (50 A). Usually packaged as an angled heavy-duty thermoplastic body containing both neutral prongs.
Often confused with
| Confused with | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| NEMA 14-30P / 14-50P | NEMA 14 series plugs have 4 prongs (two hots, a neutral, and a dedicated ground prong), whereas NEMA 10 series plugs have only 3 prongs with no dedicated ground pin. |
| NEMA 6-30P / 6-50P | NEMA 6 series plugs are 250V 2-pole, 3-wire grounding connectors with two horizontal/vertical line blades and a round/U-shaped ground pin, lacking the angled hot blades of NEMA 10. |
Also called
30/50 Amp 3-pole angle plugNEMA 10-30P/10-50P plugdual-amperage 3-prong dryer/range pluginterchangeable 30A/50A 3-wire plug
Good to know
NEMA 10 configurations were banned by the National Electrical Code (NEC) for new installations starting in 1996 in favor of grounded 4-wire NEMA 14 configurations, but dual-rated replacement plugs remain common for maintaining legacy 3-wire dryer and range installations.
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