Waterproof alternative to PAR-16 "birdies"

[Meduza]

Hi

 

My brother and I have got involved in lighting a outdoor night-track on the World Scout Jamboree 2011 in Sweden,

we are talking about 3 tracks that each will have about two thousand people each night in six nights time.

 

We would need at least 100 spotlights per track (3-500pcs in total), we are also going to have 500-1000pcs

of kerosene lanterns and something like 230V PAR-16 Birdies would be perfect, except for the small problem

that they are outdoor and summer in sweden often means rain... and no IP classification relevant for outdoor

use is aviable in PAR16-size what I have found...

 

Do any of you got any good idea on what to get?

 

Budget is of course a question, but we at least got so we could buy 500pcs of regular birdies new.

 

// Erik

[timsabre]

You could use 12V birdies with the transformers in a waterproof box (more expensive though).

 

We have often used 240V PAR-64 cans outside in the rain (with suitable RCD protection), apart from making them rusty if they are steel it doesn't seem to cause any problems, I guess 240V birdies would be similar. The main hazard is if you get a lot of water falling into one (eg if the wind lifts a tarp roof and empties out a pocket of water) it can cause the lamp to crack or explode, but the wire mesh in the can normally retains all the bits.

[Shez]

Weatherproof PAR64s are readily available...

[GreatBigHippy]

I would go with LED birdies as they are often IP rated for architectural use.

Anolis (sp?) do some lovely ones. Again, expensive though, especially for that amount! Power would be less of an issue though.

[adam2]

Do they have to be as small as PAR16s ?

Water resistant fittings for mains voltage PAR 38 lamps are widely sold for d0m3stic garden lighting, mains voltage PAR38 are sold everywhere. Waterproof CFL PAR 38s are available, these might be worth it for an extensice venue since the reduced power requirement allows for more lamps on a given size of cable.

 

If PAR16s must be used, I would look for garden type fittings that use 12 volt MR16 lamps, or even cheap non waterproof ones, provided of course that the transformer is either kept dry, or is an outdoor type.

[stevep]

it's possible to buy outdoor rated Par16 240v 50w lanterns here in the UK - in effect a birdie without a gel frame holder (they have glass over the front).

 

http://www.dundeecentral.co.uk/Images/Equipment/par16exterior.jpg

[Meduza]

No, it does not HAVE to be as small as a Par16, but it would make our life a lot easier due to placement and we do not need more light than a 50W Par16 :)

 

It have to be "safe" for people walking just a meter from the lights, so everything have to be connected trough RCD's to avodid any "chocking" experiences...

 

Power is not a large problem, I think we will have dual 64A 3-phase outlets at site, a larger problem will be all the cabling, so lower power is good.

 

STEVEP: Do you have a source for them?

 

// Erik

[Stuart91]

It's worth remembering that the cable you need will probably cost more than the fixtures themselves.

 

Being able to drop the cable size will give you significant savings, so anything you can do to reduce power consumption (like CFL lamps or LED) will help.

[themadhippy]

Whats the intended use of the lights? if its only to light up the track so people can see the path how about solar powered spike lights,about a £1 each from the local poundland,not sure if theres an equivalent in Sweden,used em a few times for path guide lights .

[Unfathomable]

previous scout events I have run, we used the LED solar based garden spikes. no cabling needed and we got about 6 hours with enough light to walk by in woods.

[Meduza]

It is more for lighting a lot of different scenerys built up along the paths,

to provide the light to walk in we will have a few hundred kerosene lanterns.

 

The solar garden spikes will not work, this is inside a forest where they will not be hit by

much daylight and they need to be lit at least between 21:30 and 04:30 for six nights in a row,

and each of the three tracks will have about two thousand visitors under these hours.

 

Also, they do not provide much light to light up scenery, just enough to walk by,

and for that we rather use this kind of lamps:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/materialicious2/images/feuerhand-storm-lantern-m.jpg?1240632620

 

Something like what Stevep showed would propably be the best.

[ddproduction]

Any idea what village you're going to be in on the site? I'm going as part of the Somerset Cheddar unit!! :) (And resisting the urge to take XLR gender-changers on the off chance the technicians need them...) ;)

[Unfathomable]

ahh yeah, solar wont do it then, thought you just needed the safety lighting.

[matt_h]

We use alot of the same fittings as stevep posted. Ours are supplied by our electrical wholesaler at about £11 per fitting not including the lamp.

 

They are good for the money, but try and fit LED lamps for colour rather than gelling. The downsides to them are that you need ALOT of them to be effective, and they are very susceptible to being kicked off their brackets (although the latest batch has a design that resolves this problem). You need to think about how you are going to wire them, forget trying to modify the cabling at the fitting end unless you have several years and the patience (sp?) of a saint, 16A connectors and splits get ugly and hard to hide very quickly.

 

Another option are Par 38 "Garden Spike lights". Cheap and with a little more punch.

[Meduza]

Okay, I start looking for sources for something like those garden lights here in sweden then.

 

If someone know about a good webshop where you can get these (like thomann, I know they do not have these but someone similar)

I am eager to hear about it, things in sweden tends to get expensive fast :)

 

ddproduction: I really dont know, myself I will be going as a Swedish IST and will therefore stay in the IST village,

and most propably work on "Dream", we have pre-meeting this weekend for the IST so I know better after that :)