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Author Topic: Electrical Code Compliance  (Read 11569 times)

Samuel Rees

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2014, 02:55:49 AM »

We had a touring theatre show at one of my houses a few ago hang some chandeliers from our light electrics, we discovered later that their cases were hot and our LD got a shock. Essentially our fault, we could have (should have) figured that and not cleared them to be hung.
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2014, 01:21:16 PM »

We had a touring theatre show at one of my houses a few ago hang some chandeliers from our light electrics, we discovered later that their cases were hot and our LD got a shock. Essentially our fault, we could have (should have) figured that and not cleared them to be hung.

A secondary (and sometimes primary) danger of a lighting fixture or pipe being electrically charged is the "fall factor". I once had a beefy electrician (250 pounds / 18 stones for those in the UK) get shocked and fall from a tall ladder. I was standing directly below him and tried to put my shoulder into stopping his fall. But I was (and still am) a scrappy little guy, and ended up being splatted onto the concrete floor. He thanked me for breaking his fall, but I was really bruised up for a week.

Even a small shock can startle you enough to loose your balance which can become a deadly air ballet if you're up on a ladder or scaffolding when it happens. Testing all pipes and hardware around lighting fixtures for voltage seems like a really good idea. 

Tim McCulloch

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2014, 01:38:02 PM »

A secondary (and sometimes primary) danger of a lighting fixture or pipe being electrically charged is the "fall factor". I once had a beefy electrician (250 pounds / 18 stones for those in the UK) get shocked and fall from a tall ladder. I was standing directly below him and tried to put my shoulder into stopping his fall. But I was (and still am) a scrappy little guy, and ended up being splatted onto the concrete floor. He thanked me for breaking his fall, but I was really bruised up for a week.

Even a small shock can startle you enough to loose your balance which can become a deadly air ballet if you're up on a ladder or scaffolding when it happens. Testing all pipes and hardware around lighting fixtures for voltage seems like a really good idea.

Anyone working around power in entertainment should have an NCVT.  Clipped into a shirt pocket, like a chef has a thermometer.  Checking the pipe batten before touching it seems excessive... until you become a member of the 120v Club.
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2014, 01:46:00 PM »

Anyone working around power in entertainment should have an NCVT.  Clipped into a shirt pocket, like a chef has a thermometer.  Checking the pipe batten before touching it seems excessive... until you become a member of the 120v Club.

One of my electrical buddies who works for the Power Company says he keeps a Fluke NCVT turned on in his shirt pocket when walking though the woods looking for downed (and sometimes energized) power lines after a storm. He says that more than once it's started beeping in his pocket when was several feet away from a hot 11,000 volt line laying on the ground. Touching that would make you a member of the 11KV club, which I don't wanna be...

Tim McCulloch

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2014, 02:12:48 PM »

One of my electrical buddies who works for the Power Company says he keeps a Fluke NCVT turned on in his shirt pocket when walking though the woods looking for downed (and sometimes energized) power lines after a storm. He says that more than once it's started beeping in his pocket when was several feet away from a hot 11,000 volt line laying on the ground. Touching that would make you a member of the 11KV club, which I don't wanna be...

I think 11kV membership is awarded posthumously....
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"If you're passing on your way, from Palm Springs to L.A., Give a wave to good ol' Dave, Say hello to progress and goodbye to the Moonlight Motor Inn." - Steve Spurgin, Moonlight Motor Inn

Mike Sokol

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #15 on: January 27, 2014, 02:52:24 PM »

Anyone working around power in entertainment should have an NCVT.  Clipped into a shirt pocket, like a chef has a thermometer.  Checking the pipe batten before touching it seems excessive... until you become a member of the 120v Club.

Fluke makes an LVD1 Non Contact Voltage Tester with a belt clip and an LED light that looks promising for AVL crew. The reason it's only rated up to 300 volts is that the body of the tester is much shorter than Class IV gear rated to 1,000 volts. But I think that's perfectly safe for any US power you might encounter for live sound and lighting. I've already asked Fluke for some review samples, but so far nothing has turned up. I'll contact them again and see what happens.

« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 03:15:08 PM by Mike Sokol »
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Tom Bourke

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #16 on: January 27, 2014, 03:12:17 PM »

Fluke makes an LVD1 Non Contact Voltage Tester with a belt clip and an LED light that looks promising for AVL crew. The reason it's only rated up to 300 volts is that the body of the tester is much shorter than Class IV gear rated to 1,000 volts. But I think that's perfectly safe for any US power you might encounter for live sound and lighting. I've already asked Fluke for some review samples, but so far nothing has turned up. I'll yank their chain again and see what happens.
That is the unit I keep on my key-ring.  I think it was $25 at Fry's.  It has a soft transition from low to high voltage so you can kind of see how close you are.  You really have to know what your looking for and how it reacts before you trust it.  It also makes a nice little penlight.  Great to have with me at all times.  On a gig I may still use it but I tend to reach for the larger NCVT with the beep and probe end.
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Frank DeWitt

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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #17 on: January 29, 2014, 04:16:34 PM »

I picked up this surface mounted outlet on Ebay (I collect old electrical gear)

The cord you see is solid conductor 23 gauge copper.

Worlds smallest distro?
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Re: Electrical Code Compliance
« Reply #17 on: January 29, 2014, 04:16:34 PM »


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