Event Power, problems, observances, etc.

[Ian Coughlin]

As the size of my gigs grow so does the power demand. I find myself thinking about power distro more often with out a clear answer to my problem.

Currently I'm leaning towards an L21-30 solution because a few of my regular clients have or can install these receptacles and it is sufficient for my current and near future power needs.

On the flip side I've noticed a lot of large catering halls don't have anything more than a few 5-15's and can't tell me if they are dedicated or not. It amazes me how some of these "newer" catering halls spend thousands if not millions of dollars renovating or building the venue and fail to address the needs of one of the most important features of any party, THE LIGHTING AND SOUND! Do they really think that three duplex 5-15's are sufficient for the grand ball room with a 500 person capacity?!

I actually had a gig last night and had this problem. The gig was at Tosca's Marquee in Brooklyn, and is a relatively new building. It was partially my fault for not going to the venue personally to check it out but the manager assured me over the phone that "there is plenty of power, DJs play here all the time". When I arrive on location I ask them where I can pull power from and the guy points at a single 5-15 receptacle on the wall. Mind you I'm bringing in four 300w movers, two data flashes, four color blast 12s, and a DJ rig of QSC KW121's, and 181's. When I asked if there was more than one and if they were dedicated he didn't know. He then showed me the panel, which was very neatly labeled where I discovered a single 20A breaker for "Dinning Room" and two other 20's for the foyer. Luckily for me I had a full AC case and plenty of cord to make the 100'+ runs for the movers. The data flashes weren't so lucky and wouldn't charge up sharing the same circuit as the audio.

Why can't these venues install a small panel, weather it be a disconnect, sub panel, miniature company connect box, etc. in these bigger rooms? If they could what would be a good "standard", L21-30s? L14's? L5's?

Ian

 

[TJ Cornish]

Re: Event Power, problems, observances, etc.

The "standard" as much as there is one, is a NEMA 14-50. This is about the largest commonly available receptacle that can be plugged into by a non-electrician. Larger rooms should also have a company switch with lugs/cams.

 

[John Neil]

Re: Event Power, problems, observances, etc.

Ian,

I spent the winter as an AV tech on a automotive training seminar "tour" for a luxury brand. Being luxury, we spent our time in Westin, Hilton, Ritz Carlton, and Grand Hyatt properties. We had a 53' trailer full, mostly projection, plasmas, and scenics. Minimal audio and event lighting. Week to week I saw massive disparities regarding accessibility, security, hospitality, local crew ability to over-under, and even...most frustrating...thermostatic control of our event ballrooms. Seriously, 70 degrees F from start to finish. 78 is not acceptable when my guests are wearing suits.

You will find that aside from catering's need to plug in warming lights for lunch, there is no standard. Many of these facilities have seen multiple facelifts since construction and each time it seems that electrical infrastructure has not made the budget. I had #2 feeder and distro setups for each of our general sessions. My feeder and distro lived in the nose of the truck and never came off. In less than 10% of the ballrooms could they even accommodate a high-current 4 or 5 wire tie-in. In that 10% the cost was prohibitive for my needs. In less than half of the ballrooms did they have a "spider box" solution. In less than half of those cases did the spider box meter safe under load. Thus, one in four cities saw me (unexpectedly) searching the venue for extra circuits of wall outlets and then meeting with the venue manager to say "we will not be paying for the spider box that according to you, works fine for everyone else." In less than 10% of the facilities visited did I talk to an electrician who met the NEC definition of a qualified person. The worst was a facility that used spider box feeds from NEMA 18-60 (three hots, neutral, no ground) where I metered 28 volts neutral to ground. Sorry guys, we're running cables down the hall this week.

That's right, the upstream OCPD from that edison is a 50A three pole breaker...unless the warning label counts for something. Such a shame. Three 50A edison circuits would have been PLENTY for my needs.

I have photos where a venue electrician pulled 6/5 feeder (!!!bare ends, not even locked out at the disconnect!!!) out of a suspended ceiling and attached it to 4/4 into a distro with wire nuts. Perhaps they make wire nuts to join #4 wire, but these weren't them.

In the best of venues, I saw 100A 5 wire pin and sleeve solutions. I saw mini-cam feeder into local distros that used L21-20 breakout setups. Never a "cali" and only once did I see a 4 wire range plug.

Per my experience, hotel conference centers are divorced from hotel facility financials. The only facility upgrades that happen are those that make money for the property. I'm betting electrical never makes that list. The only times where I was able to get an accurate schematic of edison branch circuit layouts where ironically the times when I was speaking with an in-house PSAV manager who wasn't making a cent but appreciated the "week off" he was getting while I was in town.

Facility to facility, your mileage will vary. In-house A/V teams will likely be the only ones readily equipped to work with available resources. Be flexible and have your checkbook ready. Multiple elevators, doors not wide enough, pushes through kitchens, "you can't get there from here," docks too small for your semi, and electrical alphabet soup are the name of the game. Have fun.

 

[Mike Brown]

Re: Event Power, problems, observances, etc.

Ian,

I spent the winter as an AV tech on a automotive training seminar "tour" for a luxury brand. Being luxury, we spent our time in Westin, Hilton, Ritz Carlton, and Grand Hyatt properties. We had a 53' trailer full, mostly projection, plasmas, and scenics. Minimal audio and event lighting. Week to week I saw massive disparities regarding accessibility, security, hospitality, local crew ability to over-under, and even...most frustrating...thermostatic control of our event ballrooms. Seriously, 70 degrees F from start to finish. 78 is not acceptable when my guests are wearing suits.

You will find that aside from catering's need to plug in warming lights for lunch, there is no standard. Many of these facilities have seen multiple facelifts since construction and each time it seems that electrical infrastructure has not made the budget. I had #2 feeder and distro setups for each of our general sessions. My feeder and distro lived in the nose of the truck and never came off. In less than 10% of the ballrooms could they even accommodate a high-current 4 or 5 wire tie-in. In that 10% the cost was prohibitive for my needs. In less than half of the ballrooms did they have a "spider box" solution. In less than half of those cases did the spider box meter safe under load. Thus, one in four cities saw me (unexpectedly) searching the venue for extra circuits of wall outlets and then meeting with the venue manager to say "we will not be paying for the spider box that according to you, works fine for everyone else." In less than 10% of the facilities visited did I talk to an electrician who met the NEC definition of a qualified person. The worst was a facility that used spider box feeds from NEMA 18-60 (three hots, neutral, no ground) where I metered 28 volts neutral to ground. Sorry guys, we're running cables down the hall this week.

That's right, the upstream OCPD from that edison is a 50A three pole breaker...unless the warning label counts for something. Such a shame. Three 50A edison circuits would have been PLENTY for my needs.

I have photos where a venue electrician pulled 6/5 feeder (!!!bare ends, not even locked out at the disconnect!!!) out of a suspended ceiling and attached it to 4/4 into a distro with wire nuts. Perhaps they make wire nuts to join #4 wire, but these weren't them.

In the best of venues, I saw 100A 5 wire pin and sleeve solutions. I saw mini-cam feeder into local distros that used L21-20 breakout setups. Never a "cali" and only once did I see a 4 wire range plug.

Per my experience, hotel conference centers are divorced from hotel facility financials. The only facility upgrades that happen are those that make money for the property. I'm betting electrical never makes that list. The only times where I was able to get an accurate schematic of edison branch circuit layouts where ironically the times when I was speaking with an in-house PSAV manager who wasn't making a cent but appreciated the "week off" he was getting while I was in town.

Facility to facility, your mileage will vary. In-house A/V teams will likely be the only ones readily equipped to work with available resources. Be flexible and have your checkbook ready. Multiple elevators, doors not wide enough, pushes through kitchens, "you can't get there from here," docks too small for your semi, and electrical alphabet soup are the name of the game. Have fun.

I just feel the urge to buy you several beers after reading that.