Away from the
plug used on 208v/240v on this reply. Hope it answers some questions about
plug history in being long but I think important so as to
clear the air or frame the discussion some.
On
Edison, the same thing
plug wise between the 15Amp and 20Amp version. Industrial or Commercial grade are required. At one
point I did
wire up a bunch of adaptors with 5-20
Edison plugs for a show. This confused the people on site with years of experience in doing shows. Instead of reading the
plug’s
rating or even trying to see if the 20A.
plug would fit into the outlets... they just went to the local Ace Hardware and spent a few hours in re-wiring the adaptors I made. Unless you have a closed faculty where you can insure the training, 5-20 plugs are a bad idea unless for something really special like the shop air
compressor when not 208/240v. And even than with supervision.
Given it’s the same
plug and under specific industrial/commercial
plug type guidelines, I read once perhaps as a proposed code change that for
stage/production use it was to be possible to use the 5-15
Edison for 20 Amp usage which would be smart. Still as pointed out in past debates, there is currently no rule or waver for such usage. The
receptacle should still be 20A and commercial grade no matter the case. While it is still perfectly permissible to use an
Edison plug for theater/production usage, they because of the pointed out problems are not preferred for other than say small time use.
I want my Aluminum V.1
Pin Splitter back! Loaned it out once and never got it back in someone thinking this thing I bought like 20 years ago now, in when I bought it - making like eight bucks an hour and providing my own tools was their’s by way of it should be provided to them for free by way of me it would seem. Concept of professionalism and or buy your own personal tools... apparently never came to mind for who took mine. Seriously missing my stolen one. The V.1 was stronger in just last week having to replace a broken V.2, and it also gapped 60A plugs. (Cannot imagine breaking the plastic V.2 version but I have a broken one some gorilla somehow broke.) Plus the brushes on the V.2 unless you spend a lot of time with 1/4" steel pencil
stock on a drill in wearing down the brush will scratch the heck out of your
plug in shining it up but it in being scratched provide no more
continuity. The added brush to the V.2 is way too aggressive - some time with
Crocus cloth on the pin would be much better for
continuity. Better with a stronger pinsplitter that didn’t attempt to shine the pin up by way of scratching the heck out of it with deep scratching. Much less the V.1 did gapping on 60A plugs that would be useful to me. Told a tail about the discontinuation of the V.1 about given it was aluminum someone got electrocuted from it. Hard to believe in why they are now plastic but possible in having heard it from a few sources. Urr.. Gee male end of the
plug worked on in getting electrocuted... other problems besides the material of the tool in working on a live male
plug? None the less V.1 gone to the market now unless someone wants to introduce a better V.3 some day. Despise my
current V.2 pinsplitter. While it is somewhat rare a pin needs spreading... it does happen and don’t ask about the grounded Union threefers that I once modified with new
ground hole slightly off center in bending pins so as to fit somewhat. Tolerances mostly these days are I believe
USITT standard and should no longer be a problem.
See
page 48 of the Wikki Chicago
Stage Lighting 1916 Catalogue and you will see that
stage pin/slip has been around since before 1916 as with a bunch of other interesting or dangerous types. I have in fact used a 30A
Stage plug before from the same
page... very easy to
electrocute yourself yet commonly used. Kind of a shame that I didn’t get a sample of the angled other version of
Edison I
call Crows
Foot but not sure if accurate in term. 1926 there was another version also in use backstage. Beyond the interesting style of it, both
socket and
plug used
porcelain bodies. Imagine a
porcelain plug - was in use. (Love this catalogue, hope more people post old catalogues on-line to learn from.)
Back to why
twist lock verses
stage pin and history. Back in the day - probably 70's and others would know better than I,
stage pins got grounded. But there was still the problem of before pinsplitters... still had problems with
stage pin plugs coming loose. Plus there was for the while improved
stage pin plug the better design of the flag
ring terminal, but there wasn’t really any tool on the market designed to
crimp such a thing. Sure I have my Vatco #1900 which does it by way of wrong
gauge, and or if you grind off the cutting jaws of the Klien #1005 or #1006 as with most “Stakon” type
crimp tools they will also work. Tool modification is not easy or normal. Never been a proper
crimp tool invented for the flag
ring terminal. Given that... many used Vise Grips and other crushing instead of displacement means for
crimping their terminals. That or heated solder pot made stranded
wire now tinned and solid until heated up by way of short. This in wrapping the
wire around the
terminal. Also, there was a sort of
wire encapsulating
ferrule/washer that’s long gone from the market.
In other words.. The industry standard Union
stage pin plug was having problems with ability to make a proper wiring connection - plus they were also dangerous by way of
jack knife as best solution for spreading the pins when noticed at all in being problematic or resistive to load. As an alternate method the
twist lock plug came out. About 1975 where I work went into business and it was the 15A L5-15 mini-twist lock as popular alternative to the problematic
stage pin back than. Worked well for them given the Hubbel
plug that is round and takes to marking it easily and fairly in-expensive. 15A was limited though thus the L5-20 I think during that like ten year period. Concept being it was locking thus wouldn’t come un-plugged but still wasn’t
Edison that with use becomes loose in holding onto the
plug in
receptacle amongst other problems. That said, and given the same technology, only twisted... the
twist lock especially 15A version also with use in
receptacle also loosens up. No better than the
stage pin in the end except that it’s easier to fix or change a
plug than the
panel mount receptacle.
In the mean time,
Union Connector came out with the locking
stage pin plug so as to save market share. Forget if it was on the
ground or
neutral - believe it
ground but there was a hook to the
stage pin that hooked into the
outlet. This did the thing of the
twist lock plug in concept in that it wouldn’t come loose. Great save except that mis-spread pins were still mis-spread pins in not conducting well and while they wouldn’t fall out, they were still not conducting well. Also that the lock hook more often than not bent or otherwise didn’t work well - lived
thru some of them. Such a concept also relied on the theory that such a lock would be plugged into a
receptacle that was also using that
system. Given most didn’t... they would not lock with them. Unless your entire
system was designed about the locking, it wouldn’t work and would be a pain in the rear to use. Gotta see such a locking
plug to understand what a bad idea it was.
Split pins as opposed to solid pins.... Gotta understand that concept about here to understand
twist lock also verses slip/
stage pin. Slotted pins so when under load and by way of expansion and contraction - if under a high load you can remove the
plug if solid. Were under high load and the metal expands, you would not be able to remove the
plug. Want to easily remove the
plug from it’s
socket if under danger conditions. Twist locks - assuming the more robust 20A versions which take up more space - still have that problem of in panic you have to pre-think the twist as opposed to just yank it out. The 15A versions in
receptacle and with time with the 20A as with
Edison while they loosen up not a factor for
twist lock in easily removed during danger. That in addition to larger size and larger surface area of the
stage/slip pin.
Stage pins are much like
CeeForm type pin and sleeve by way of surface area if properly used for contact. Much more robust in not bending when dropped and smaller in size. Really once Advanced Devices /
Bates came out with their
plug in the 90's that solved the problems with
stage pin and made the temporary fix of
twist lock obsolete. Ever try to remove a vapor locked weather tight boot from a
twist lock? I did on a few instances and shorted between poles in breaking the connection and lock. This beyond the panic and not thinking of twisting to remove.
Back to
stage pin.. Been many concepts in improved
stage pin - many new sources for it,
Bates/Marinco still mostly in advancement given you don’t have to
friction tape the heck out of a
cord leads the way with clones to them. (Such knockoffs don’t often have the same parts for tolerance and quality or
play nice with the
Bates part.) Still though advancement that works.
Leviton vendor had to admit his version was not as good as an example during a meeting.
Back to
stage pin/slip as the more mostly used 120v
plug after a time in the past of turbulence that many places bought into a
system. L5-20 isn’t bad, just not the standard. There is also the Non-Nema version out there which was for a time popular and now problematic.
“I have also had a problem of the SO cable slowly working its way out over time, due to the screws coming loose.” Curious in concept. More so than SJ cable in doing the same due to expansion/contraction of the conductors under the
load in now seeming like someone didn’t tighten down the
terminal enough, but instead the
wire just settled? Often after a first use at times high amperage types of cable needs another look at or they will show the same symptoms. Outer
jacket of the cable is not a factor in
insulation - same
gauge of
wire.
Forget about America going Euro plugs I hope in it seemingly doing so anyway. Fricken French Vacations for both
Socapex and
Neutrik. That said, the
Neutrik Powercon is very popular and while hard to get in bulk on time for a need, is hard to say it’s a bad
plug. Won’t say bad or good about it in on the fence - just hate it’s constant need for ever more fixtures requiring it. A verses B
etc problems in not simple.
CeeForm also popular and a thing I often have to import at the last minute in paying a lot more.
Snap locking covers to them often are in the way of the fixtures designed about them. Problem for me in necessity to replace the “missing covers” that were removed so as to fit into the
fixture = this each time the
plug is used. Never ending process a
CeeForm missing it’s female
cover has to have it’s
cover replaced... yet in the next usage such a
cover is removed or cut off in being in the way of mating to the
fixture. Stuff like won’t physically fit or in the way of the
DMX plugs plugging in. Won’t physically
bend to where it needs to..
Having to
express ship in more Powercons in finding not just one but two sources so as to ensure I get them on time. Domestic
CeeForm brands while more reliable in shipping are too expensive. French vacations and or shipping too un-reliable. Such plugs are not a good answer to powering up fixtures.
This much less the screws used on Powercon and most
CeeForm are Pozi type which is an insane screw drive
system to use. Stripps easier, requires a special tool to properly drive and really bad design for a
driver.
), meaning that the pricing and availability of these connectors could fluctuate. 
