“Note I WILL NOT BE DOING THIS UNSUPERVISED, This is just for my own knowledge and curiosity.
How would you go about adding a
circuit. Lets take a Regular
Distro Box with a few empty spaces. If i wanted to
wire in a
Dimmer rack. How would i do this? I know i need
feeder cable with Cam-Loks to go into the
dimmer...but how do you
wire it into the distro-box to draw
power
again i will not be doign this it is only out of curiosity” - JP12687
Given his notes and that he is curious, I will answer as best I understand to this
point and expect more refinement in further help. If Ron and others with experience, much less that licence are still active perhaps they will also chime in in a general educational way once the subject is further refined.
Just out of curiosity, and as someone that does this type of thing for a living in responding, again, if you have not been trained in such things, don’t attempt it. Large difference between someone on
line you don’t know saying how he would and how you should do things. Much less the company I work for in ensuring my work has a million dollars in general liability in addition to no doubt more for stuff we create. Hack work can and is often very dangerous even for the experts. At the moment a major company for this type of thing is two at a time taking back all over 16 of our $1.6K AC Distros due to electrical engineer specification mistakes I have helped to refine given problems with 400A three
phase AC-Distros have been blowing up in recent years on some very major high
profile rock tours. Sometimes even a electrical engineer in designing a
system can forget something as simple as a lock washer or ferrules in preventing screws from coming loose, but such things can cause a rack to go up in a puff of
smoke. My warranty refinements are based on what’s seeming to go wrong but I am not a electrical engineer in designing and certifying such things for use. Just adding a three
phase 30 amp
circuit to above racks involved asking the engineers what’s best - a tap off the lug or off the main given a already balanced load? It’s not just a electrician, it’s a electrical engineer with even larger liability than my company has that is doing the design concept work on such things.
(By the way, watching Blue
Screen TV with Richard Simmons at the moment, most of you won’t remember his TV show many years ago, but this guy has the timing that could
throw off any show.) Ok, scene over. Wait a minute, not over yet.... Ok, Richard Simmons has officially stolen the show.
I think you are confused in terms and concept at the moment. This could be a problem requiring more refinement by you. First you mention a AC
distro box but refer it more in a way of distribution panel somewhere in the theater in adding more circuits to it after the
dimmer. Or is it a AC
Distro unit with empty space you also want to add a set of dimmers to? Very different things as those above in responding have noted sort of. Above this is the other, third option of a sub or main panel for
power coming into your theater with empty slots potentially used to powering up more dimmers. A third question thus in different subjects. Speaking as one that has melted down a dual
phase 100 amp
breaker, empty slots don’t mean you have more
power, much less you still have to balance the load.
It most seems like a question of powering up more dimmers from a
house service panel with empty
breaker slots than a remote service panel (AD-Distro) or adding dimmers to a empty slot in a AC-Distro. Given this service panel with empty slots - others will possibly tap into, in powering up more dimmers, it’s mostly a question of the panel in it’s supply amperage and phasing available and load than empty
breaker panel slots. Just because you have an
outlet not plugged into does not mean you have more
power available. Ignore the CamLoc for the moment. It’s a name brand like
Leko is to
Strand as a brand in describing a trade name for a specific piece of equipment but in general not useful at the moment. Describe what it is that you would intend to
power up from, it’s potential and load. A licenced electrician can determine this but in general any stage
hand in describing his
system should know the basics of. Perhaps a 200A three
phase panel? Empty slots, what do you have already powered up by it? Say a 96way 20 amp
dimmer system? This given three phases would already equal 640 amps per
leg of
power that’s dependant upon not all of the circuits being on at the same time or you would blow the main
breaker easily. In fact, no more than 1/3 could be on for more than moments in supply
power. Adding to such a
system that no doubt is not a fact of where you are would be out of the question. But given even a 600A
system, it’s a question for a licenced electrician and his liability coverage that he pays for given the licence and training to determine available or safe
power for. Certainly there is lots of systems where you can’t go above 50% on all circuits available and they are as in use and control somewhat safe, but still what happens if the errant director wanders up to the booth and decides they need more light? What happens if the breakers get old and don’t trip, just melt down in a spectacular way? Adding more dimmers is not always an option even if there is more
breaker slots to
plug in another
dimmer to. This is something again for a electrician to determine according to the National Electrical code - they
base their licence upon understanding, and something in advising it’s possible, they stake their liability insurance upon saying you can do it.
So how do you do it? You add a
breaker sufficient to
cover the load, punch a knockout and add either a sub panel or
switch panel for the
dimmer or if the case of a temporary loading on the tap - 60 days maximum,
wire your CamLocs directly to the panel breakers. Must have either an
outlet panel for
disconnect or
tails no more than arms reach from the loading. Lots of ways to
wire up a
dimmer pack. Some are done temporarily, others are permanent install. Don’t confuse the necessities of either. In the case of
tails’, as mentioned for anything over a 60 amp loading, you are allowed and wise to do separate connectors for each
phase of
power. CamLoc style is entertainment and even in some cases welding standard way of doing this. There is also multi-pole large plugs on the market for over 60 amp loads which can also be done. In addition to this, since it’s no doubt a permanent install,
conduit of some type in covering the wires directly wired to the
breaker panel can also be considered a means of
power and
disconnect if within arms or 10' reach. In other words, CamLoc while necessary for a temporary access to
power on loads above 60A, is normal above very expensive pin and sleeve alternatives, it might not be necessary for a permanent install. It also might not be necessary for temporary loading where a cut-off
switch/sub panel is available to kill
power to that individual
circuit as long as the temporary loading is of listed type of cabling equipment for a temporary loading. In other words, there is lots of ways to skin a cat. Still it’s a question of what you have and intend.
In the end, that’s about some of the factors in doing so. How do you do so is not something I can state here or off
line in ensuring you don’t kill yourself in installing such a thing as you ensure you would not attempt anyway. Sort of like doing the mythical hot
tie in. Yes it’s done, but of those qualified to do so of which I count myself, you won’t find anyone available to other than instruct you in person.