five_pin_xlr Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Hi, I have been asked by an old school which I used to attend, how they can change the sockets to 15amp. They want to use a local theatre tech to do it, who said he can do it , but surely theres loads of rules and regs? Can someone advise, best regards alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 It's the re-testing of the circuits that is the main issue, requiring equipment & competence; not to mention PLI etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 If they are leaving the patch at 5A and the dimmers have 5A fuses per socket, then there's not an issue in safety, though I would like to see a warning sign up notifying of a 5A max per line in case anyone used a 15-5 (with a hired or new rack) and then overheated the wiring. As above it is the retesting that is the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
five_pin_xlr Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 dimmers are 15amp, and strand act dimmer pack br alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 In that case you need to make sure the wiring is suitable for 15A. [edit] And in fact the current system is of questionable safety. What protection does the 5A socket have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
five_pin_xlr Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 just standard pre wired lx bar sockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 I have been asked by an old school which I used to attend, how they can change the sockets to 15amp. They want to use a local theatre tech to do it, who said he can do it , but surely theres loads of rules and regs?For a school situation there is only ONE course of action.They need to get a theatrical electrical company in to carry out the work, and that company will HAVE to satisfy the local county council's regs and be approved. And they'll probably need 2 or 3 quotes. The county will likely have d0m3st1c sparks on contract, but in most theatre applications these guys will NOT have the necessary experience to do the job as it should do. To quote an example I think I've mentioned here before: My wife teaches at a local primary school, and I get dragged along to supply and run the tech gear for their annual show. This year I said to the head that they really needed to get a new supply in for the lighting which would allow a safer feed and let me bring in a little more than before without risking over-loads. I specified a 32A minimum 3-ph setup on 3 x Ceeform sockets, even e-mailed a basic spec. I said that whilst not qualified to do the work in a school myself, I'd happily speak with their contracted sparky to settle any queries/details.As usual, the install didn't go ahead til the week before the show and after I'd chased it with them... No-one had checked the spec with me, so I'd assumed they understood my detailed statements - what did I get? 3 nice 32A Ceeforms? Nope - 3 twin 13A d0m3stic sockets on a single 32A rated ring main from their dis board!! I really should have known better !! :) Back at the plot - by all means have a good idea of what YOU think the school should want, and give any tendering supplier the specifics, but they should be able to quote for what's actually needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom R Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 Would it not be more sensible to put a set of new IWB's in with 15A plugs so that WHEN (and there will be a time) the dimmers need replacing, the wiring is already suitable for the 15A load? Changing the patch bay as well would be sensible and relatively inexpensive I would have thought... I do have to agree with everyone else though, the testing is the rules and regs. Often the charge for testing (by a trained and competant person) works out cheaper if that person was to do the whole job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 Would it not be more sensible to put a set of new IWB's in with 15A plugs No it wouldn't. PLEASE re read your post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_korman Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 You've said that the existing dimmers are already rated 15A The existing IWBs have 5 amp sockets? So they probably don't have wiring that can handle 15A. So, unless you have 5A fusing in the dimmers you have a potential problem if a fault develops inside the IWB, whatever the socket on the end is. In which case the suggestion to replace the bars is probably correct, unless you are prepared to strip out all the wiring and replace with the correct rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 You've said that the existing dimmers are already rated 15AI wonder what sort of weird dimmers have been installed (Ah, re-read and they are Acts, but which?)? Most UK supplied dimmers have 15A sockets fused at 10A. On this assumption, it is unlikely that wiring would need to be changed. At the basic level 1mm single and T&E is good for 14A (various factors need to be applied, grouping, containment etc) and it is unlikely that anything as small as 1mm has been installed. Someone competent needs to look at the system as a whole to decide what, if anything, needs upgrading along with a change to 15A plugs and sockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom R Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Appologies I missed the fact that the dimmers were rated at 15A. So let me get this straight...there are 15A dimmers with a 5A patch bay and 5A sockets? Sounds quite unsafe to me unless the dimmers are fused at 5A per channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
five_pin_xlr Posted October 12, 2006 Author Share Posted October 12, 2006 from what I can remember, the bars are all 5amp wired and the dimmers and patch are 15amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 For a school situation there is only ONE course of action.They need to get a theatrical electrical company in to carry out the work, and that company will HAVE to satisfy the local county council's regs and be approved. And they'll probably need 2 or 3 quotes. The county will likely have d0m3st1c sparks on contract, but in most theatre applications these guys will NOT have the necessary experience to do the job as it should do.If it is properly specified, the school's own/contract electrician should be fine, and probably somewhat cheaper. After all it seems like a case of changing plugs/sockets, possibly re-pulling cables, and retesting. As seen from other threads, employing 'threatrical electrical companies' doesn't obviate the need to specify the job properly, in writing, and get that to the right people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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