Power - Cabling and Connectors

[MagicMusic]

O.k, basically I want to pre wire my lighting stands so that I can minimise set - up time and keep everything neat and tidy but I am a bit lost regarding the technical side of things.

I want to make custom cables and following on from advice I got in my college days it seems to make sense to take that advice onboard and use H07RNF rubber cable and CEE connectors.

I know that this should make my rig suitable (safe) for outdoor use and (I think) bring it into line with best working practice under European guidelines. I'm also certain that it will seem like overkill but once I get an idea into my head.....

Now, I am entirely confused by the different ratings on cable and connectors and even more confused as to how I would power CEE plugs off of domestic sockets. At college I'm sure we used custom built adapters, not 100% though.

Anyways any help / advice would be greatly appreciated before I swan off and spend / waste £££'s on the wrong stuff.

Thanks,

Charlie.

[Danno13]

It would be pointless using outdoor (IP) rated cables, if the fixtures themselves aren't also IP rated.

Although, if you do have a venue with 16A feeds, then you can potentially draw more current, provided correctly rated cables and distro is used throughout. Cee connectors are also far harder for people to accidentally disconnect, which is a major advantage for uplighting use.

For normal disco lightng I use 4-way IEC blocks or little 2-way splitters, 1 IEC-13amp to power it and then IEC-IEC connections from the block(s) to each light.

[MagicMusic]

Thanks for that Danno, I'm half asleep right now so I wasn't sure if I was putting my point across properly!

To add - The advice I received was from people working for a large P.A company up here. I assume they have a "one size fits all" approach to their cabling as all the stuff we used indoor and out appeared to be the same.

[Danno13]

Generally PA companies will have everything as 16A, because thats what distro boards and dimmer packs will have as outputs - it's very much the norm for big productions. It also means you just need one load of cables for whether your using gear indoor, or outdoor so it saves money.

However, we're talking about a mobile disco... :D

[A1DL]

I
Now, I am entirely confused by the different ratings on cable and connectors and even more confused as to how I would power CEE plugs off of domestic sockets. At college I'm sure we used custom built adapters, not 100% though.

Hi Charlie

Firstly, to endorse Danno's comment regarding the luminaires being the weakest link in the ingress protection chain. The link below details the different IP ratings and is a useful reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code


As far as IEC309 (ceeform) connectors go, keeping it simple:

- at venues you will typically find heavy mains in 32a and 63a outlets in both 230/240v single phase (blue sockets) and 400/415v three phase (red sockets). Some larger venues have 125a variants.

- to utilise the heavy mains supply, you will need a distribution board ("distro") to which you connect your dimmer/switching packs, amp racks, LX, etc.

- there are two IP ratings of ceeform connector - IP44 (splashproof) and IP67 (dust tight and immersible)

- you can "jump up" without protection but you mustn't "jump down". So, you can make a 13a plugtop to 16a or 32a socket to feed an amprack off a 13a supply. The fuse in the 13a plugtop will limit you to 13a current draw (2,990w power at 230v). In this example, in a small venue without "proper" power (i.e. just 13s) your amp rack probably won't need a lot of power anyway so the 13a supply will be adequate. LX takes a bit more careful planning as conventional luminaires and cans are power hungry.

More detailed reading on ceeform here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60309


As far as HO7RNF goes:

- use 1.5mm for 13a and short runs of 16a/jumpers
- use 2.5mm for longer 16a runs
- use 6.0mm for 32a
- use 16mm for 63a


Hope this helps for starters, any other questions just ask away :)

Tony

[MagicMusic]

Well, some good reading material there.

I just like the idea of 'proper' power connections, I like how secure they are and that they are safe outdoors.

I have good reason for wanting to understand this stuff properly but probably for the best that I don't go shouting about it on a public forum.

In a typical (large) nightclub with huge speaker stacks is it correct to assume that the power would be distributed on the 'heavy mains'.

I really should go on a course and learn properly instead of skimming over it.

In the short term I'll stick to what I know but I really need to learn about this.

Thanks for your answers guys.

[A1DL]

In a typical (large) nightclub with huge speaker stacks is it correct to assume that the power would be distributed on the 'heavy mains'.


Yes - there will normally be 32s and 16s in the amp room, installed for the purpose.

The LX will be loaded across a 3 phase supply. In a club, LX will use LOADS more power than sound.