im in need of a power distro can someone help?

[djpk]

I'm going to be in need of a power distro. sometime soon the dryer type broken down into 6 to 8 15/20 plugs anybody here available to build one?
Thanks, "BFM" fam !

here's a picture of what i'm talking about
some of the outlets variety from club to club some are 30a to 50a and 3 to 4 prong so ill need a versatile distro.

distro2ij.png (146.24 KiB) Viewed 2556 times

[UROK]

Could you not build one yourself?

I posted a question about this a while back and Bill said he'd seen these things online as DIY kits.

As I'm still not even building yet [thanks to Byzantine procedures at Chinese customs] I haven't investigated further...

[djpk]

UROK i went to some part stores after reading threads on other sites but im not an electrician... So i wanted it to built to the right specs thats all. but ill look into the DIY kits

[Gregory East]

You'll need an electrician to inspect it before you use it, for safety. For liability it probably needs some kind of certificate of compliance. By the time you pay for all that it may be the same buying one off the shelf.

One of the regulars who hasn't been around lately posted a bit about distro requirements. I forget who, maybe Big RonK, but he's an oldtimer been doing a lot of electrical work for big outdoor shows for many years. He reckoned he was way out of his depth to DIY a distro. Hooking up to the house system I believe he uses an electrical contractor, to be sure the house system is correctly wired. Something about not having a good ground return in the right place can put a hell of a jolt through everyone and everything on stage kind of a deal.

[djpk]

we had the input tested and has been used by multiple dj's if you know a link to a pre built box ill be interested in investigating a purchase. all the dj's around here say they will build one for me but i wanting to go the professional route. All of their's look a little too home made for my eyes

[Gregory East]

3 phase 240Volts 5 wire system.5th wire is ground.

The only way to run 480 3 phase is either through a Transformer or use a freq Drive as the inverter! If you use Freq drives you set the output to 240 Vott 3 phase at 60 Hz. Between the legs you get 220! Very expensive and usually requires the use of big Power Factor Coils to keep the input voltage steady.

There are some amps that will run from 3 phase 208 like the old Crown Macro 10000s.Butt that is a 3phase 4 wire system if I recall.

Note:
Not meant for the OP but for anyone reading this thread
Unless you're a qualified electrician and know how to use a meter correctly you shouldn't be poking around distros! If you dont know the difference between a Delta Secondary and a Y secondary of a transformer you should steer entirely clear! These types of things could ruin your day for real!

Presume 4/4 prong means you're into three phase.

Next post on that thread was about 3 phase going BANG not just fizzing on fire or tripping a breaker when someone screws up.

[Jon Barnhardt]

Find a local electrician to build you one using a sub-panel breaker box. Had mine made for about $125 with parts and labor.

50 amp can really only go into two 20amp breakers or four 15 amp circuits... Four prong dryer outlets are nothing more than two 120 volt lines (usually 30 amp) married together to form a 240 volt (usually 60 amp, but described as 50 amp) drop. The distro essentially breaks it back down into it's native two 120 volt / 30 amp drops which can be split into a 20 amp or 2 15 amp "true" breakers. Many people split them into more, but they each don't have the "juice" you would expect...

[LEVLHED]

I've been collecting parts do build one myself too. 4 x 15 amp circuits is perfect for me. I've got the breaker box, breakers, and 6/3-8/1 cable.
The most difficult part is figuring out what type of plug you need. The coolest and most expensive way is use those Marinco twist lock ends and just have little pigtails for whatever ends you need.
At one time I did find a guy on ebay that built them custom and got a quote...but never went through with it.

[camrynekai]

I use the Marineco 50A/250V twist lock connector. I have a breaker panel mounted in my rack with the twist lock mounted in it....I also have pre-made twist lock connectors with different pig tails so all I need is to grab the one needed to hook to my supply. Here is a photo http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hph ... 2426_n.jpg

[RubiconProSound]

After choking on the price of a new Furman ACD-100 I had started to build a DIY AC Distro some time ago. Before I got all the parts together I lucked out and came across a "spider box" used for construction. They're not cheap by any stretch of the imagination (cost as much as the Furman...) but since they're UL listed and "off the shelf" you don't need to worry about liability so much. There was some discussion on this forum about issues with the GFI's tripping when used for live sound but so far so good for me...

They run about $500 new or you might be able to find some used on eBay or CraigsList for cheap since the construction trades are hurting. I found mine in a dumpster of all places...

This is what I'm talking about:

http://www.ccixpress.com/cci/Marketing/ ... lletin.pdf

Look for the terms "Extreme Box" or "X-treme Box" and you should find some.

here's a used one on sale @ eBay...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-TREME-POWER-D ... _521wt_932

Another option is the 30 amp Mini X-treme Box for about $190...

https://www.ccixpress.com/webapp/wcs/st ... y_rn=10645

[Benj Ross]

I can get you one of these:
http://peavey.com/products/proaudio/pwr ... istro.html

It uses a nema 14-50 plug, whatever the hell that means. I PMed with the price. It can take 80A but you just dont use the ones you dont need.

Let me know if that is what you are looking for.

Benj

[djpk]

here's the power outlet at 1 of my main clubs

here's the power outlet at 1 of my main clubs

Some of the clubs have one with 4 prongs with 1 of the prongs being in a "L" shape so will i need more than one box or just different connectors for this end? let me know if you guys have a clue

[Jon Barnhardt]

You can make "pig-tails" for the different plugins you come across. Make (or buy) your box with the most common end you encounter and them make some pigtails to connect to the rest. Any hardware store worth its salt should have what you need.

[BoostFab]

here's the power outlet at 1 of my main clubs

power outlet.jpg

Some of the clubs have one with 4 prongs with 1 of the prongs being in a "L" shape so will i need more than one box or just different connectors for this end? let me know if you guys have a clue

If you want to buy the assembled units, check this out: http://www.dimmerrack.com/panelassemblies.html

[RubiconProSound]

here's the power outlet at 1 of my main clubs

power outlet.jpg

Some of the clubs have one with 4 prongs with 1 of the prongs being in a "L" shape so will i need more than one box or just different connectors for this end? let me know if you guys have a clue

That's a NEMA 10-50R plug for ranges. It has two hot legs and a neutral but no ground.

The 4 prong with the "L" you talked about is either the NEMA 18-30 or the NEMA 14-30, both of which are intended for 30 amp service. (usually clothes dryers) Although it's rated lower (30 amps per leg) it does have a separate ground along with the neutral. I would prefer this plug over the 3 prong if I were plugging my gear into it.

Even at 30 amps per leg that should be enough to run most any small club system. That's essentially four 15 amp outlets at the distro side. That should be enough to cover lighting, FOH, and backline.

All you'll need is adapters to make the change from the wall outlet to your AC distro plug. I run Hubbel twist-lock "California" plugs on my distro and have a few 3 prong and 4 prong adapters to work with my Hubbel connection. I made mine but you can usually find premade adapters at RV stores.

Here's some examples...

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/it ... ndle/48858

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/it ... ndle/57408

just for reference I found a website with the different outlet configurations...
http://www.stayonline.com/reference-nem ... blade.aspx