Recently at work there was a management debate about sticking with Powercon, using both or going Powercon True1 for the gear.
Reasons present against changing over or at least staying with two systems:
1) Already have a huge amount of Powercon gear and cable using that
connector type.
2) The True1 female
panel mount is larger in now needing to cut new holes to
switch to the new
system - this assuming the new
panel mount hole would even fit even if a new
fixture plate were made for a
fixture in moving the hole as needed.
3) Given 2 above, were the Powercon panel mounts soldered directly to a
circuit board which would make modification of fixtures to True 1 in moving outlets on a panel impossible or at least very hard?
4) Voiding UL listing of the
fixture.
5)
Martin I hear has no plans of going to True 1 at this
point which makes all new gear from them and others necessary to modify.
6) Cost not just in True 1 panel mounts and parts plus labor, but I will have had to hire a small crew of qualified wiring/CNC machine able tech people just for this project and find working space for this crew to convert all Powercon gear and cable those months it would take. This crew in the hopes of at least getting stuff not out on a long tour done before such people got absorbed into other departments once the easy stuff is done. Than once other gear came back, it’s now my problem to re-wire the other gear on tour when it returns. Touring season doesn’t end any more, I have three people under me and year long have enough projects to get done in never getting caught up.
Keeping both systems as per any amount of other cable/
plug types in use:
1) Don’t have much at this
point that is Powercon True1, but enough that it will be a pain in the rear to convert. Word last I heard was that it’s company policy that we will be buying no more gear that is using the Powercon True1
connector - which will last about as long as the time it takes the next designer to specify a light and have the budget to buy it in bulk.
2) While one can
point out any number of separate
plug systems in use for gear - and adapters, shop management does not want yet another one - this especially where it possible someone pulls Powercon for a show in jumpers where the
fixture it Powercon True1. That would be a bad thing and experience has shown it will happen by mistake. This as opposed to the constant question of is it five pin
CeeForm blue or red I have to ask every time I do a
transformer amongst other problems. Frequently get say L6-15 to
stage pin or
Edison adapters back from shows amongst other
adapter types. Problem is such adapters are like 50 to 100' long when my
adapter standard is 18" long and I don’t directly convert from 208v to 120v for any
adapter or its reverse. In other words - people on site in doing the show at times do not plan well at times or request sufficient or proper gear. Still though I see it as another
plug type and as per which
CeeForm in use, it’s a different animal one just needs to ensure is correct before sending on a show.
3) As per above, I’m busy... Leave it as per two different plugs. Doesn’t help other than in making Powercon to Powercon True1 adapters in feeding a wall on the same
circuit as a problem. Management dislikes the concept of making an
adapter from old style to new style
plug... Did see as at least entertaining my reverse of that option in
adapter, but still didn’t like the concept of having to run two types of
plug for low wattage
fixture types, or circuiting differently.
Advantages of Powercon True1 over Powercon:
1) As might be an advantage to many that don’t want end-users taking apart a
plug as I would love and see with molded plugs I’m going towards, the True 1 has a lock mechanism which takes a
bit of work to defeat. Problem is those on site won’t spend time in defeating the lock - they will just cut the cable and install what ever they need. And each time it happens the cable gets shorter and shorter. (This as opposed to them that are careful enough on-site to preserve ferrules from a
stage pin on a cable. That put ferrules into a say commercial grade
Edison plug which are not easily removed, don’t follow proper strip length for the
plug and clamp
cord grip onto conductors
etc. “But you can just turn it back to what it should be much easier that way”... in it now taking more time if even saved due to
cord grip damage to
conductor insulation.) Non-winning process and normally I let my guys remove that lock pin from the
plug.
2) It’s a male/female type of
plug this True1 that allows for if you need 18" longer, you don’t need a new cable, you can connect in another
jumper. Less custom
jumper lengths once a bulk of
stock especially on the short size is built up. There are adapters on the market, but unless one has enough with the show at the time you need them...
3) Re-usable. The Powercon True1 not only fits a 12
AWG stranded
wire easier than a
terminal for a old style Powercon, but also in re-using the
plug you don’t have to do work to the easily deformed clamping plate in using it again. Frequently the old style Powercon is one time use.
4) Still while recognized by various electrical authorities... I still feel this type of
plug is very fragile to dropping/run over damage and perhaps shorting - the True1 I think even if live interconnect rated is even more fragile, but at least it has that going for it.
Conclusion:
I’m hoping this great discussion just goes away in not having to devote space, labor and materials into fixing anything. Leave the two systems separate with careful management for the next five years and hopefully the problem will go away when the next new thing comes out. All of my cable jumpers are 12AWG and I’m even starting to replace any of the thermoset or thermoplastic factory cable for good old 12/3 SJOOW cable jumpers. Seemingly the plastic cable as it was with type “W”
feeder jumpers don’t want to twist to lock or stay locked as easily especially when cold. Means a lot of plastic cable recycled per year but necessary.
Final problems:
I’m working on the final stages of the best ever
Kabuki drop system that Management had some imput on in making the design process harder for solving but also causing problems. It’s been decided that the 120v Kabuki
system would be using Powercon in making feed
thru easier given readily available cable
stock rather than our old
NEMA L5-15
system which in stringers was totally against code and under
power for the 14ga cable that had to be used so as to fit. That’s a 20A now good thing at least and in using a standardized
jumper also a good thing. Problem is going to be huge in some idiot is going to
plug the solenoids into 208v at some
point and perhaps at many points in blowing up a lot of gear at times far into the future.
Another problem now comes up and is crucial to the whole Powercon being rated for 20 Amps in feeding
thru to the next and other solenoids in passing that 20A. The panel mounts to these types of plugs have .187" quick
disconnect terminals off the back of them. Nobody in me spending hours checking catalogs and websites makes a 12ga quick
disconnect female
crimp terminal that will fit a .187"
terminal.
So how is it that the Powercon
plug system gets it’s 20A
rating if you physically cannot connect a
wire terminal to it that is rated for that amp
rating? Sure with some careful work with a scratch awl, you can expand a 14ga non-insulated
terminal so it will fit a 12ga.
wire, and a proper
crimp tool will make it work without a gap in
crimp. Should there some day be a problem, this becomes a legal problem for the end user in making it work “properly” to carry a 20A load assumed given such a concept of modifying terminals to fit the
wire that is proper for the load.
How is it such a
plug type is rated for 20 Amps if there is no possible way to carry 20 Amps in connecting to it with any available listed materials? Am I perhaps supposted to by design to do 14ga SF-2 high temp
wire in
fitting the .187" terminals but per se carrying the 20 Amp load? Funny didn’t note anything like that on the website. Perhaps more appropriate for the project in feeding
thru the Powercons and also powering up the individual solenoids.
For now I just cap splice for interconnection between
solenoid and female Powercon, but still have a problem with proper
gauge of
wire in going to the .187" terminals on this project at totally separate from the above hoping it goes away problems. No idea on what
fixture manufacturers are doing in feeding
thru Powercon to the next
fixture other than specifying the maximum amount of fixtures that can be
fed. Rated for 20A, curious if anything is doing that and how much gear will get burned out from this crappy
plug forced into the industry some how by some bad ideas overall.
