Robe 250 AT (Wash) Amperage

[Dodgecaliber]

Its 2am, My head is spinning with numbers and rigging calculations.

 

I've not used Robe's in a long time. Can anyone clarify the EXACT amperage these things draw then the lamp is striked? (Colour wash 250 AT)

 

I've got 4 250 Entours and 4 Robe 250 AT Wash's for a job soon and I need to run as many as possible off a single or multiple 13amp sockets. (Its a converted cathedral) and there are no other sources of power! I've also been told that trip one thing and it takes a lot of other stuff with it - A little worrying!

 

My math says 4x 250 Entours will draw 1k and 6.4Amps, however im going to asume that the Robe lamps are the same, however I need to know exactly how much these will draw on average.

 

I know its something simple and I only need to use I = PV however its late and I'd rather just clarify it!

 

Night night!

[Stee_cri1]

My math says 4x 250 Entours will draw 1k and 6.4Amps, however im going to asume that the Robe lamps are the same, however I need to know exactly how much these will draw on average.

 

When lamps strike they pull twice the ampage of when running so I would never run more than 4 lamps off 1 single 13amo socket and I would strike the lamps serperatly aswell just on the off chance one of them is faulty and draws to much,

 

I hope this helps

[adam2]

A discharge lamp will draw more current than simple calculation suggests, owing to the losses in the ballast, and sometimes poor power factor.

Rather then endless calculation and/or debate it is probably best to measure the running current under normal working conditions.

 

Maplin Electronics sell a power and energy monitor quite cheaply, by useing this you may readily determine watts, the amps, the VA, and the power factor of any appliance fitted with a 13 amp plug (or other plugs by means of an adaptor, provided the load is less than 13 amps)

 

The starting current is not so easily determined since the meter cant react quickly enough, and it varies, do you mean the current for a tenth of a second, or a hundreth? or some other interval.

 

WITHIN REASON the starting current is less of a concern, a great many d0m3stic appliances have a starting current of a lot more than 13 amps, and the fuse generly outlasts the appliance.

Provided that the lamps are struck one at a time and not all together, several on one 13 amp supply should be fine.

It would be sensible to conduct a test before the event, and to keep spare fuses instantly to hand.

 

Try to find out which sockets are on which circuits so as not to overload the fixed wireing.

 

Remember that in places of worship a single circuit rated 32 or 20 amps may cover a very large area indeed.

(the reason being that religous worship does not require portable appliances on the scale that a factory, home, or office does, therefore the entire area may be on a single circuit, which is ample for a vaccuum cleaner or power tools for repairs etc.)

 

A few larger places of worship have 32 amp or larger ceeform sockets, for extra lighting or equipment if services are to be broadcast, this not the norm though.

[Don Allen]

With the Entour:from the manual Mac 250 Krypton/Entour user manual

There are three options for automatic lamp control: On, Off, & DMX. When ALONis OFF, the lamp

remains off until a lamp-on command is received from the controller. When ALON is ON, the lamp strikes

automatically after the fixture is powered on. When ALON is set to DMX, the lamp strikes automatically

when the fixture receives DMX data, and it extinguishes automatically 15 minutes after DMX data is lost.

When ALON is either ON or DMX, lamp strike timing is determined by the fixture address to prevent all

lamps from striking at once.

So the Entours can be set to strike sequentially to stagger the peak strike current.

 

The Robe does not have this feature but does have Lamp On if DMX is present:

This function allows you to strike the lamp automatically after 26 seconds if DMX signal is present

on the data link.If the ignition is unsuccessfull (e.g.lamp is too hot),the fixture will try to ignite the

lamp after next 26 s.This process will repeat until the lamp lights.Use the [up] and [Down] buttons

to select "On" if you want to strike the lamp or "Off" if you don’t want to strike the lamp and press

[Enter] to confirm or [Mode] to cancel and return to the menu.

You could leave DMX off untill after the Entours have struck but it would not be an exact process.

Robe User manuals

[Dodgecaliber]

Ta for the help folks!

 

The venue's "technician" is on holiday now and during the event so theres no-one present to talk about circuits and alike. I've just been warned by a friend that blow one, it pulls others with it.

 

They have created a small stage area with some 13 amp's for backline ect, so I think I'll get my hands on a tester and hope for the best!

[RobOwen]

I know its something simple and I only need to use I = PV however its late and I'd rather just clarify it!

 

That will result in a very large number! (P=IV)

 

Don't strike them up all at once and you will be fine, don't worry too much about power factor etc. It's really not important for you. Your kettle will use twice the power!

 

I always PDI 250s in groups of at least 8 and never had a problem on a 32 amp ring main.