Have a lot of these same barrier strips in
stock - have not used in years, believe off CAE gear
etc. in common. Stuff used in the 90's. Not the best construction in
barrier strip, but adiquate for the time in what was available. Have not used or looked at them in many years, but believe these barrier strips are not screw down but clamping type. Would have to verify, but fairly certain clamp down. No warranty I would say as I think modern tech for the day. Sorry. Long past their expected service life in I certainly don't use them these days - long replaced but do remember them as OK for the technology of the day.
A 575w
fixture would not have enough
current flow so as to allow for expansion and contraction of
conductor strands. Also, if the screw
terminal was not tensioned sufficienty, it would become a problem sooner, than how long later? Could take time in browning
etc. but probabably not years in failing - this assuming not a touring
distro where QD terminals loosen up with wiggling across the country. Could still have been the problem in a time
line - say three 575w fixtre per
circuit with a only semi-tightened
terminal.
Most likely and in considering the 3x 1Kw scoops, perhaps dimmed... and a combination of damage even after the intitial use. Who knows other than refined down to some likely causes. Like the idea of inspection/maintenance. My department has to inspect yearly multiple dozens of racks, and even inspect factory new ones... Now how did that screw
driver get left in there? We are writing the standards for AC racks one of our suppliers are doing - why are not the terminals on donuts for
current reading at least siliconed sealed so they cannot
roll and conduct. Amongst many many notes over the years. Many notes of what is our failure points and product ugrades even today.
Soco head insert rubber spinning with bad keyway's... many in the works solutions generated by my department vendors are doing.
Making safe is a never ending process even with the most modern gear.
MNicolai's thoughs are useful even if he had to further explain what he was thinking that I understood, as with a debate as per a student/employee's need to and ability to
address fixing of stuff. If something is marked off as do not use - lots of
breaker lockouts on the market... as per a rule, if marked, a student is a student, but as per a reporter questioning why...
Tough position to be in. It's a debate and discussions of morals, process and advancing.
Safety, yes.. but what went bad by way of it burning out, and how it did by working properly in failure will not have started a fire. Let's not go to an extreme for this problems in solving - not factual reasons. Experts on the forum no doubt know this is not a fire in the theater awaiting. The conductors seemingly in the equpimpent barrier sttip in failing did their job in no longer working and I would think in seeing the photos not conducting even if breakers were turned on.
Something that should have been addressed... Yes! Easy to fix, also Yes! Why not addressed! Yes also in liking the school board type question of why an easy fix (to repair at least back to standards of install) was not addressed, or could not be now? This to past standard or as advised above for a few hours for an electrician or school maintenance staff electrician to replace the
terminal block with.
I remember once way back when, I finally got grounded the 1st
electric to a 1911 theater... One miswire or patch somewhere between me and my boss, and he said Nope... rip it out, go back to non-grounded. He had these
ground fault isolation rigging balls rigged between the
electric rigging wires (Bronze
sash cord) and the actual wires of the
grid and was fine with that. This was mid-90's. Though he did let me
ground almost everything else on
stage. I have no doubts years later everything there was upgraded, just not ready yet. I tried, and if we had trouble shooted further, could have grounded the
system. But we were still using 80 year old origional wiring even that said.
Amongst other things I got from the 1911 theater, in paying large in helping them years later after employee, and paying historic value over in some cases zero resale value, was an actual period soup can
PAR 38 can - with the home center markings for it's steel
yoke. Above and beyond that in historic value in how it was done, and I have a sample of how I also did it early in the years... a personal victory, in some way to me personally. A Chicago Cinema Equipment 4.1/2"
PC Spotlight c. 1911. I acquired it, and re-wired it and restored it.
Neutral/
ground short gone - historic in probably 50 years of not fixing it, and just plugging it in correctly. This was the pin-rail light. It wasn't the crow's
foot porcelain plugged spiral staircase light plugs, more like a
NEMA L1-15 - though not polorized if existed.
Twist lock, not polorized or grounded. If you plugged it in the wrong way, it would be bad. Didn't realize why they were saying that was a bad thing - didn't understand how/why. Suppose I Un-plugged and changed the lamp over the pin-rail
index light at some
point. Later, perhaps during pre-production, I was bending or streightening
cyc weight 1/2" sch 40
pipe weight between some parts of the fly
system parts. I got sparks! No
shock, but this was certainly concerning for me. Cause was me plugging in backwards that
index light. Just reverse the
plug. Obviously I supplied my own
fixture to light the
pinrail, and was busy there inb upgrading other stuff, and the 90's when i was lookibng to become a TD and learning my trade.
Almost became a TD at a large Ciciro Theater, but a notorious Mayor got in the way of that expansion from home theater to another in management of it - probably not proper payoff in deal for re-opening the theater not done and me not it's TD... alternate
universe. Hope it helps in tales of the past. Wonder in the later 90's what it would have been like to have my own theater when such a concept of old school I dreamed of. Option was there, dream was there. A shame, but perhaps the corrupt Mayor did a favor to me in providing a different time
line - better.