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Author Topic: Power from 2 buildings  (Read 8606 times)

Mike Sokol

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #10 on: September 01, 2014, 09:44:00 AM »

That's just stupid.  I've never seen anyone get their feet tangled in a generator...

At some point you have to take the bull(shit) by the horns and not let the idiots tell you how to do your job when the issue involves safety.  I've gone to using my Honda EU3000i for any jobs where I would have to use long cable runs across public space to get to building power.

+1

If you can, suggest that the guys/gals making the decision attend a brief generator demonstration. Then beg, borrow or rent an EU3000 for the day, set it up near the proposed location with traffic cones and safety tape around it, and start it up in eco-throttle mode. They've probably had bad experiences with contractor generators in the past, so here's your chance to educate them about the latest technology. You can do a really nice small to medium outdoor show with a single EU3000, and you can link a pair of them get 6,000 watts in case you want to run LED stage lighting at the same time.

Power from two different buildings is always iffy. It can be done successfully if all the wiring is 100% correct and both buildings are on the same street transformer. But when's the last time you saw old buildings with 100% correctly wired power and perfect extension cords? Plus the trip hazards are indeed a serious consideration.

One other thing you could consider is locating a nearby building with a kitchen that has a 50-amp/240-volt "range" outlet (NEMA 14-50) you can borrow for the day. You should be able to find a local sound company that can rent you some 50-amp distro with a NEMA 14-50 to Hubble or camlock adapter which then feeds properly breakered stage and amp-rack outlets. That's still a lot of heavy cable on the ground which "should" have cable ramps. But certainly having 100 amps of 120-volt power would allow you to do a pretty big gig.

Frank DeWitt

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #11 on: September 01, 2014, 01:01:56 PM »

+1

If you can, suggest that the guys/gals making the decision attend a brief generator demonstration. Then beg, borrow or rent an EU3000 for the day, set it up near the proposed location with traffic cones and safety tape around it, and start it up in eco-throttle mode. They've probably had bad experiences with contractor generators in the past, so here's your chance to educate them about the latest technology. You can do a really nice small to medium outdoor show with a single EU3000, and you can link a pair of them get 6,000 watts in case you want to run LED stage lighting at the same time.


A smart Honda dealer would jump at a chance to supply a generator for that demo.  Make sure to start the generator BEFORE you enter the building to invite them outside.  That way you get the fun of telling them it is already running.
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g'bye, Dick Rees

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #12 on: September 01, 2014, 01:08:22 PM »

And get/rent an EU6000.  They're even quieter than the 3000.
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Mike Sokol

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #13 on: September 01, 2014, 04:08:30 PM »

I told them I would barricade it off and post an armed guard...they still said no.

How come you get to use an "armed guard" when all I get to use is a sweaty roadie wearing a Metalica t-shirt?  :o

Jamin Lynch

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #14 on: September 01, 2014, 05:30:53 PM »

How come you get to use an "armed guard" when all I get to use is a sweaty roadie wearing a Metalica t-shirt?  :o

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Ray Aberle

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #15 on: September 01, 2014, 06:11:43 PM »



Yes..... but will Deputy Fife have more then one bullet?
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Jeff Bankston

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #16 on: September 01, 2014, 07:20:21 PM »

Yes..... but will Deputy Fife have more then one bullet?
The Three Stoogies
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Ray Aberle

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #17 on: September 01, 2014, 08:16:37 PM »

The Three Stoogies

*sigh* never make sense will you.....  :-\    "relevance" is such a big word.
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Seth Albaum

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #18 on: September 01, 2014, 08:36:04 PM »

Did it twice. The buildings were near enough to each other they were likely fed by the same transformer, but we divided up the duties. One building was for the powered PA and monitors and the other fed FOH/various. The city I'm in doesn't have adequate power for large outdoor festivals, but our festivals are getting larger and larger.. some day, I hope...
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Stephen Swaffer

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #19 on: September 01, 2014, 10:43:47 PM »

Seth, in theory it should work, but the bottom line is some point in your gear will be the weak link connecting the grounding systems of 2 services-each with its own ground/neutral bond.  As long as all the connections are good, no problems.

Six weeks ago, I went to look at a service for a customer that was not experiencing any problems-we were actually looking to upgrade from a single phase to a 3 phase service for increased capacity.  I noticed one of the covers for the compression connector for the connection from the POCO to customers conductors was lying on the ground-it had melted off.  There were no other symptoms-had this been a neutral connection there would have been no noticeable symptoms and tied to another building that neutral current would look for another easier path.  Do you really want your gear to be that path?  This connection had been in service for some time, we had yet to add any load to it-but we had a problem.  I really don't think you want your gear or cables melting down to be the red flag indicating a problem!
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Steve Swaffer

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Re: Power from 2 buildings
« Reply #19 on: September 01, 2014, 10:43:47 PM »


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