Socapex from PD vs PD on stage

[taptotweet]

Hi all,
this is my first post so apologies if I get anything wrong.

I've got a gig coming up at a school and I need to run power to the stage. The nearest 3 phase outlet is roughly 50m away in the bio box of the other theatre.

As such, I have two options for getting power to the stage: putting the PD in the booth and running 2 socapex cables from there to the stage, or putting the PD on the stage and running a 5 pin series 56 lead to it.

I'd just like some opinions on what would be a better solution

Cheers,
Sam.


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[Lextech]

I would always run my heavier cable as far as I could. If you you can get the PD close and run feeder to it, I take it that the "5 pin series 56" is feeder, that is what I would do.

 

[techieman33]

Hi all,
this is my first post so apologies if I get anything wrong.

I've got a gig coming up at a school and I need to run power to the stage. The nearest 3 phase outlet is roughly 50m away in the bio box of the other theatre.

As such, I have two options for getting power to the stage: putting the PD in the booth and running 2 socapex cables from there to the stage, or putting the PD on the stage and running a 5 pin series 56 lead to it.

I'd just like some opinions on what would be a better solution

Cheers,
Sam.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

I would put the distro on stage. You generally want the distro or dimmers as close to the stage as reasonably possible. Cable is de-rated for longer runs and there is usually more head room on feeder than on individual soco runs.

 

[taptotweet]

I would always run my heavier cable as far as I could. If you you can get the PD close and run feeder to it, I take it that the "5 pin series 56" is feeder, that is what I would do.

Thanks for that - series 56 plugs are most commonly what's used in Australia for 3 phase, so yes it is feeder.


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[porkchop]

Distro always goes as close as reasonable in my opinion, better for power transition and makes for easier, shorter, and neater cable runs to the equipment.

SIDE NOTE: I found some info on Series 56 plugs. May I request that someone who knows a bit about them makes a wiki entry about to help educate those of us on the top half of the world?

 

[Chris15]

Ahh yes, 56 series...
Give me Ceeform by choice, but they work well enough.
Just be careful - the neutral pin is undersized relative to the actives in the 5 pin variants - designed for industrail applications and such where there aren't the harmonics and other garbage we create at times that dump excessive loads down the neutral.

For our northern friends - the 56 series incorporates a vast range of connectors, all of which are rated to IP56, but the term is most comonly used for a 5 pin connector used for 3 phase applications. The pins are arranged with a central pin, the neutral and 4 pins at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock, Earth at the bottom and then the 3 phases in the other positions. A 4 pin variety exists which omits the neutral. The 4 pin plug mates with the 5 pin socket, but not vice versa, so when an outlet has been installed to power a motor or the like and is only a 4 pin socket to save the cost of installing the neutral, then you're out of luck for single phase loads via a PD or dimmer.
Connecting cable is normally a 6mm2 5 core flexible cable.

Remember to check the normal gotchas - current rating of the outlet, plug and intervening extension.
The only thing worse than trying to plug a 40A plug into a 32A outlet is a 32 into a 20, becuase then you can't just file down the keying...

And remember the OH&S aspects of a 50m 32A 3 phase - those suckers are heavy.

 

[derekleffew]

... May I request that someone who knows a bit about them makes a wiki entry about to help educate those of us on the top half of the world?

See (brand new) wiki entry 56 series (formatting is being worked upon).

@taptotweet, please list your location as, at a minimum, Australia, so we don't inundate you with North American answers. Listing Location used to be mandatory; I don't know when/why that changed.