Generic lanterns outdoors

[DonkiDonki]

Have you tried shopping around for quotes for an ip rated solution? There are plenty of outdoor rated led fixtures about and I would expect a good discount off the book rate for those quantities.

[paulears]

I think the point here is low budget and big expectations. So with par cans running at half the cost of a lamp for them, expensive ones mean less of them!

[csg]

par cans will work just fine outdoors - make sure they are gelled up ( even if its only heatshield or a tint) and that they are supplied on 16A CEEforms. Been there, done it dozens of times over the years. JUST ENSURE THAT ANY OUTDOR CIRCUITS ARE SUPPLIED VIA TESTED 30mA 30mS RCD'S AS YOU WOULD NORMALLY DO. If the rain starts, keep things hot and they will sty dry - but make sure that rain can not directly hit the lamp, as that will destroy it quickly.

 

On the halogen flood front, I have found the best way to easily attach gels in such a way that they don't melt or become a fire hazard is to pop rivet a couple of steel bulldog clips each side, just drilling through the OUTER part of the front casework that holds the front glass. This works well, allowing you to attach a loop of gel 3-4" from the front glass. Sure, you will get a bit of light leakage from the top and bottom gaps, but you can counteract this by using larger cuts of gel, or by a bit of blackwrap.

 

Movers can also be fine outside - once on a show a few years ago, we had upwards of 40 vl5's hung down the PA scrims without any weather proofing. then along came a heavy rain storm - the VL tech instructions to the LD - keep the lamps up full....they all pulled through just fine.

 

So, common sense and proper use of RCD's will pull you through.

[Don Allen]

When I use par64 in outdoor venues and it is just starting to rain in the daytime, I bring them up to about 30 percent and they will keep their insides dry, unless it is a huge downpour. Then I take them up to full. I use par safes or have double fibreglass sleeving on the ceramics so there is very little access points for moisture. They are a very robust fixture. It may be easier to use par64's in place of your floods for the colour frame convenience.

[DonkiDonki]

Out of interest, when using non suitable ip rated fixtures outdoors (whilst some can be used with relatively low risk), do you mention this in your risk & method statement and if so has it ever been questioned?

[ramdram]

Interesting point about RA.

 

If install is covered by RCD, as mentioned above, and lanterns are out of reach of folk then if they fail in the rain (and they are not really intended for all weather outdoor use) it becomes a deep crimson blush moment. And, another £20+ moment.

 

Presume too that RCD covers entire dimmer pack...so not just the offending lantern affected.

 

It is your risk after all.

 

(Anecdote alert: electrical kit is far more resistant to liquid ingress than might be supposed.

 

Years ago I was in the habit of unintentionally ignoring my cat when working on the computer. On occasion he would interrupt proceedings by jumping onto the desk, walking across the keyboard and push his face into mine.

 

On one occasion he did the jump thing and contrived to empty an entire mug of coffee (no sugar) into said keyboard. After unplugging the keyboard it got washed under the cold tap. When the water ran clear and all evidence of coffee gone I left it on a cool radiator overnight.

 

(Cat could not have cared less btw, apart from getting paws drenched in warm coffee.)

 

Next morning plugged in keyboard and it just worked. Obviously there were no high voltages to cause arcing damage so I got away with it.)

[DonkiDonki]

An interesting topic as this kind of thing comes up fairly often.

 

I'd like to ask a similar question from another angle. Does anyone have any horror stories from using indoor equipment outdoors ?

[Andrew C]

I've done several shows at the Minack, in the worst an English summer can throw at you. The "standard" rig is a mixed bag of generic lanterns on 16A, and a cupboard full of generics on 15s for you to do with as you please. (Hmmm... thinking about it, last time might have been all 16, but it was 6 years ago). PARs fair quite well, it is the connectors that fill with water (yes, the 16s too).

 

Each 6 way pack is on an RCD, and during heavy rain there is a really good game to play trying to find which outgoing circuit killed the rack.

 

I've used chicken wire to form a 1/2 tunnel over a 500w flood, this works well. Better, would be the pressed metal gel frame stand-offs that someone on here had photos of a couple of years back. Made for the local market in India, but easy enough for sheet-metal basher.

[dbuckley]

When I visited the Minack there was more than just parcans about; there were profiles rigged, and I think they were SILs.

[GridGirl]

 

I've used chicken wire to form a 1/2 tunnel over a 500w flood, this works well. Better, would be the pressed metal gel frame stand-offs that someone on here had photos of a couple of years back. Made for the local market in India, but easy enough for sheet-metal basher.

 

Or old Patt 223 frames bent into a half-circle work well - I'd forgotten about that trick until just now! You do have to black-wrap the sides (or gel the sides at least) but it stops the gel turning into a molten mess.

[mrboo]

You can hire Outdoor versons of Par 64 cans. Halo in London does them for £12.50 day £25 Week

 

http://www.jthomaseng.com/pdffiles/P64%20Outdoor%20Lantern-01.pdf

[Andrew C]

When I visited the Minack there was more than just parcans about; there were profiles rigged, and I think they were SILs.

Oh yes, plenty of other stuff. Old Strand beamlights a bit like Pagents, ADB fresnels, all sorts. On my last visit I left 4 T84s with them. (I really didn't want to carry them back up the cliff!)

 

Outdoor PARs are quite good, but heavy and chuffing hot!