LED Parcans + 16A Plugs?

[Sound In Gloucestershire]

Hello, I thought id put this here as its something ive never done before and I understand some of my questions may sound stupid

 

im about to purchase a whole load of LED Par64's for doing uplighting/mood lighting in hotels and marquees

 

Im trying to work out cables etc. Due to the use in marquees, im thinking of putting 16A big plastic plugs on the parcans, is this the correct thing to do?

 

Also I want everything to look as smart as possible, ive found some black ones which id be happy with (appearance wise) is there any reason why everyone doesnt use Black ones? Ive seen alot of blue ones and a few yellow, but ive never really paid much attention to them

 

the LED parcans will be linked by DMX cable, could moisture be an issue here if the cables are sat on the ground? (in a marquee) Im presuming the cable will be OK, but if I have to join up some cables, there may be a problem where the joins are?

 

Sorry if some of these questions seem rather easy, ive never paid much attention to these type of things before, so any help is appreciated

 

Thanks

[Aaron-Hill07]

There Isn't anything wrong with using 16a connectors, but on occasions when there is only standard 13a sockets available, you will have to make up 16a-13a adapters which can be slightly annoying having that much cable around.

 

The reason 16a is generally blue, is because it indicates that it is 230v and I believe the blue also shows that it is a 'single phase' plug. I may be slightly wrong, so don't hold me to that.

 

Running DMX along the floor will be fine, just make sure there's no breaks on the cables and also cover up the plugs if you have to connect two together. Use something waterproof (Plastic boxes may be the best way, also electrical tape is usually fine)

 

Hope that helps, Aaron.

[charl.ie]

Im trying to work out cables etc. Due to the use in marquees, im thinking of putting 16A big plastic plugs on the parcans, is this the correct thing to do?

 

Also I want everything to look as smart as possible, ive found some black ones which id be happy with (appearance wise) is there any reason why everyone doesnt use Black ones? Ive seen alot of blue ones and a few yellow, but ive never really paid much attention to them

The different colours reflect the rating of the plug. Blue = 240v, Yellow = 120v ect.

All ceeform plugs have an IP rating, which says how much water they can take on. More info here. You'd probably be safe with IP55.

the LED parcans will be linked by DMX cable, could moisture be an issue here if the cables are sat on the ground? (in a marquee) Im presuming the cable will be OK, but if I have to join up some cables, there may be a problem where the joins are?

Providing the connectors are kept dry, DMX has been know to run through lakes. It has also been known to run along wet string (although this isn't recommended practice). I would imagine the connectors will be fine in and out of the cans, but if you're leaving connectors on the floor it might be an issue.

 

There Isn't anything wrong with using 16a connectors, but on occasions when there is only standard 13a sockets available, you will have to make up 16a-13a adapters which can be slightly annoying having that much cable around.

However, in a professional context, I wouldn't recommend 13amp plugs for outside use, as they really aren't designed for that.

[jonaldridge166]

I personally use 16amp for the majority of my hirestock and supply 15a-16a jumpers as required, mainly because we have no idea what it is going to be used for by our customers, but yes also in my opinion in a marquee 16a is what I would use.

 

with your point on colours

 

yellow = 110v can also come with a black body and yellow caps.

 

blue = 240v again can come with black body but with blue caps.

 

hope this helps

[JDP]

You REALLY don't want to be putting anything on Yellow Plugs unless you want to be plugging them into 110V, which you certainly don't with LED Pars!!!

 

Its a bit ironic people saying about not using 13A plugs outside! I would think between a cheap LED Par and a 13A Plug, 13A is probably more waterproof! If you're running LED Pars outside, then you NEED them to be IP rated, and they will need to have 16A on them.

 

Peter will NOT need 16A - 13A adaptors, he will need 13A - 16A adaptors.

 

You really need to think about where you are going to use them. If its a lot of hotels, houses etc, then 13A may be the way to go. If your doing it 'industry standard' then 16A is the best way to go, and of course you can get 16A T-Lines and those kinds of things.

[Sound In Gloucestershire]

thanks for the swift and great answers everyone, just a few things then

 

I should be OK to get black bodied 16A Plugs providing they have blue caps? Sounds reasonable to me and stops any confusion any further down the road.

 

Any Views on IP Rating? I see most of them seem to be IP44. Is higher necessary?

I guess something to bear in mind for the future is that I may be asked to put lights up in Trees (or at the base of the tree etc) what rating would you recommend?

 

One more thing, im likely to be daisy chaining these to reduce on amounts of cable. Would you recommend Fixing a Splitter onto the end of each can instead of just a single 16a plug? Im trying to find a picture of what I mean, but having no joy. Basically 16A in and out with a gromit for the cable to the parcan, that way I can go in and out with ease, or would you guys do it different?

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

found a link to what I mean, although I hope I can find cheaper! (edit : already found them for £12, so getting cheaper already now I know the technical term is T-Line!)

http://www.jpleisure.co.uk/item82026.htm

 

would you guys use these, hard wired to each parcan or would you do it differently?

[niclights]

For outdoor use you would need IP65 rating. These will cost considerably more.

 

Nothing wrong with fitting T-line -just ensure total load on a single line does not exceed 16A (highly unlikely if all LED pars)

 

Black body are fine. You won't be able to purchase without colours ident ring. Incidentally, Ceeform colours refer to voltage/frequency only and were covered in Blue Room Wiki: http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Ceeform

[dunk_1984]

For trees you may wish to look at sodium floods or even just the 500w halogen security lights, these both have a higher IP rating and will produce a much more of a flood uplighting for trees and architectural. They are also Gel-able.

[charl.ie]

500w halogen security lights ... are also Gel-able.

For about five minutes, before it melts...

 

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but they do melt very quickly, if left on for long periods. We use them to light our "cyc" at school, and it's a nightmare!

[pete LD]

im about to purchase a whole load of LED Par64's for doing uplighting/mood lighting in hotels and marquees

For this use IP44 is fine, as your using them inside. In a marquee there is the a chance of some damp but your never going to have a flow of water over the conectors.

Just a note that may be an issue to you, for uplighting a lot of the cheep led pars cant point up when normal inline XLRs are used. The way round is to use right angle ones. I would check before buying lots of XLRs!

Hope that helps,

Pete

[JDP]

im about to purchase a whole load of LED Par64's for doing uplighting/mood lighting in hotels and marquees

 

For this use IP44 is fine, as your using them inside.

 

 

Eh? IP44 is over-doing it a bit. For use INSIDE (ie hotels, marquees etc) then the cheap tat you can buy for £1.75 is fine. IF you step outdoors then IP44/65 come into effect - but for indoor use, you don't need to have IP44 units.

[Sound In Gloucestershire]

thanks alot for the tips with the XLR, luckily im going to order the units first then work out the cables etc

[mutley]

500w halogen security lights ... are also Gel-able.

For about five minutes, before it melts...

 

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but they do melt very quickly, if left on for long periods. We use them to light our "cyc" at school, and it's a nightmare!

 

Easilly resolved - dont let the gel touch the glass!

I had the same problem when trying to gel security-type floods. Even high temperature melts after just a few minutes if it comes in contact with the glass. The way I resolved it was:

a) use high temp gel

b) make the gel a few inches bigger all round, sandwhich it between two strips of high temp tape at each end to reinforce it(scroller tape, or if desperate masking tape), use a hole punch to make two holes in each end (through the tape - stops the holes tearing) and then a piece of stiff thin wire (thin MIG welding wire works well) through the holes and round the frame or body of the light. Lasted a whole week of shows, being on for about half an hour at a time. If you make the gel tight enough to hold it in place, but loose enough that it has as much as air as possible round it (away from the glass), it will last longer. If they're being used INDOORS and aren't overhead, you could take the glass out, but ONLY if you are satisfied that there are no safety implications in doing so (eg; lamp explodes and hot glass falls out, landing on ????..)

[TonyMitchell]

All ceeform plugs have an IP rating, which says how much water they can take on. More info here. You'd probably be safe with IP55.

 

For outdoor use you would need IP65 rating. These will cost considerably more.

 

 

IP55 & IP65 Cees? Do such things exist?

 

I've only ever seen IP44 and IP67 stock.

 

Tony

[niclights]

Sorry, I was talking about the cans, not the connectors. In any case IP67 would always be more than acceptable as an alternative since it of a higher rating.