i messed up

so 12 lekos on twofers all on one socapex cable, I figured let's plug it in see if they light up, I go to the pd, plug in the soca, flip all the breakers then the main breakers on the back and the lights turned on.. but turned off as quickly as it came. I plugged into 208 and all the bulbs are burnt, I felt like an idiot. how could I've prevented this?
 
By not plugging in to 208 ;)

Also, I would have done the breakers in reverse order: Make sure individuals are off; flip main ON, followed by individuals. At least then you would have seen the problem by the 3rd light or so :).

(correct me if I'm wrong -- like I'd have to ask. Haha)
 
Yeah, I've always been trained to start with all the breakers off, then flip them starting at the power source moving toward the lamp/fixture/device. Obviously it isn't practical to do this all the time, but at the very least, it's good practice when you're turning on a new system or new gear you just connected for the first time. In the same vein, it's good practice to meter your power as much as possible, especially whenever you're in a new facility or using newly received gear. While meters are expensive, they're an investment that will last a long time and it will most certainly save you on many occasions, such as this one. Shy of that, the PD should be clearly marked with exactly what's on the other end of the receptacle, although I'd still highly recommend double checking this with a meter whenever possible. It's not unheard of for a shop or a manufacturer to accidentally configure a rack or PD wrong, and instead of the 120V you were expecting, you have 3Ø 208V on your hands.

In the areas I work, it's an unofficial standard that 208V power always runs through L6-20 connectors, and 120V is always 2P&G (or L5-20 in rare circumstances/L5-15 for dimmer doubling). This does a pretty good job of eliminating problems at the connector, but since Socapex is used to carry both 120V and 208V power, this is the point where things can get messed up. A PE I worked for had us cover both connectors of any socapex cable that would be used with 208V power with orange e-tape - and on the female end, the orange e-tape would cover the connection between the soca and breakout, so it was impossible to remove the breakout without taking off the tape. I've since adopted this system myself, and it works pretty well as long as everyone knows the system. However, it's still always best to take the extra 30 seconds and meter your power if you have any doubts at all.

I hate to say it, but you really lucked out here - had you plugged certain moving lights or other devices into the 208V power, the damages could have been disastrous, dangerous, and extremely costly. Electricity is extremely dangerous, and you need to carefully think about what you're doing EVERY time you plug something in. More than just ruining a few hundred thousand dollars of gear, not paying attention when making connections can be very dangerous. Even something as simple as plugging a microwave into a spare outlet could theoretically bring down an entire system. Use this as a learning experience, and always be sure to double check your power source before you plug anything in.
 
ProgrammerInTraining, most of us have done it, hopefully only once. Usually, it is a result of mis-labeling, or not labeling at all.

... A PE I worked for had us cover both connectors of any socapex cable that would be used with 208V power with orange e-tape - and on the female end, the orange e-tape would cover the connection between the soca and breakout, so it was impossible to remove the breakout without taking off the tape. I've since adopted this system myself, and it works pretty well as long as everyone knows the system. ...
In Las Vegas, the undocumented RULE is 208V Soca's are marked with red or pink tape, and conv. mults are marked with Black sharpie on White tape, or white paint pen on Black tape.

Except for one very good master electrician who can't stand seeing red or pink tape in the truss on Ballroom gigs--she insists on Gray tape for 208V and White pen on Black tape for dimmer circuits. Also the yellow e-tape is only and always used for spare circuits in the breakouts or on the DMX lines.

Good standards, too bad no one can agree. And of course the PRG S400 system totally solves the problem of plugging a conv. mult into 208 and blowing all the lamps. If the power source does not match the breakout box, it won't pass power--what a novel idea!

Another "standard," usually used in conjunction with the colored gaff tape, is labeling conventional mults, that plug into a dimmer rack, with letters: A, B, C, R1D, R2E, ...; and 208V ML mults, which plug into an ML PD, with numbers: 1, 2, ML-3, ML4, ... . Thus you never plug a number into a dimmer, and never plug a letter into a PD.
 
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Agree with others. Mains first, individuals second. At least this wasn't with ML's or devices utilizing internal PSU's that can only handle 120V. While now much less common (even my cheapest AC to USB pwer adapter can do it), there are still a few devices floating around with internal power supplies that can only handle 120V power (Again, very few, I'm actually having trouble finding one that won't autoswitch, or manual switch, between 120/230).

I agree with others, yet again, proper labeling is important in environments multiple voltages are used. One theater I worked in used the L6-20 connector standard for 208V power (which they had little use of), the larger (don't know the technical name of ) than standard stage pin for higher wattage/amperage units (meaning 2k's and 5k's which they had a smaller sensor rack of requisite specifications dedicated to). As a dimmer doubled house, 115 V caps were labeled with green tape in addition to the stage pin versus L5-15 connectors. 77V caps were left as is. Circuits going into dimmers configured for line voltage were marked in green, as well.
 
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Thanks, Derek, for the link.

And extraneous fragmented thought that apparently came out from looking at something else, now removed.
 
so 12 lekos on twofers all on one socapex cable, I figured let's plug it in see if they light up, I go to the pd, plug in the soca, flip all the breakers then the main breakers on the back and the lights turned on.. but turned off as quickly as it came. I plugged into 208 and all the bulbs are burnt, I felt like an idiot. how could I've prevented this?

Frankly, there is a physical difference between a 110v breaker and a 208v breaker and it should have been apparent right from the start that the PD was 208v. Beyond labeling, that should have given you an indication right there. Not knowing what you are plugging into is a no-no. There is nothing wrong with asking.
 
Christie Lites has an interesting solutions to this problem... In their MLDs (Moving light Distros). They mix up the pin configuration of soca outs. The result is if you plug a 120 splay you get ground and 2 of the same hot leg. Your 120 volt lights don't go on or blow up because there is no voltage difference. If you plug in a 208 volt splay in it swaps the pins back to the normal output and you are ready to go. You can tell these splays by the hot pink shrink collar coming out of the male soca end.
 
Nobody hurt and you learned something. Wide scope of stuff to learn. Sometimes in screwing up or in figuring out what responsible for, the best way of really learning. Suspect this will never be a problem for you again and for those that study the problem will find that problem.


Cost in education, costs at times. Your value TBA in earning that value. Big problem, accept it and move on in never again or the next at becoming the best techie. Cannot believe mistakes any number of us have made and welcome to the club. Accepting responsibility also makes for a big way in getting it done with.
 
That's a very simple yet beautifully elegant idea. By "splay" I assume you're referring to the breakouts, right? Also, welcome to Control Booth!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but "Splay" seems to be a generally accepted term for Soca Breakin/outs here in the Greater Toronto Area... I assume it's likely localized?
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but "Splay" seems to be a generally accepted term for Soca Breakin/outs here in the Greater Toronto Area... I assume it's likely localized?

Might just be one of these Canadian things, cause I hear splay and breakout interchanged everyday.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but "Splay" seems to be a generally accepted term for Soca Breakin/outs here in the Greater Toronto Area... I assume it's likely localized?

splay.... that must be canadian....

When I was up there for my last tour I thought the local crew was messing me when they told me the thing you spin on the back of a par is called a banana...
 
splay.... that must be canadian....

When I was up there for my last tour I thought the local crew was messing me when they told me the thing you spin on the back of a par is called a banana...

Lol I will have to keep that in mind when I tell the riggers to spin the banana.
 
If your pd is setup to even allow for the slightest bit of confusion, you can color it something bright that will draw your eye and remind you, and even consider gaffe taping over the connections so you won't use them accidentally. The cool thing is that you'll probably never do it again.
 
Good Morning

Every North American 208 PD's I've worked with have dual breakers per output.
Either the breakers are double wide with 1 handle or 2 breakers ganged together.
This is to open both legs if there is a fault. If the PD was built with single breakers per output, it's not legal, not a UL listed PD.
 
I have some dimmers that have an extra 208v soca out on them, that we had switched out for a red anodized connector. Aside from it being labeled in every possible place, the colored connector helps people out who are unfamiliar with the rack. I highly recommend it if you're ever ordering a new rack. Doesn't help much on rented gear, though...
 

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