brians0105
New member
- Location
- Illinois, USA
Hi All,
I won't be offended if you suggest taking this to another forum or calling a local electrician for advice. I operate a TV production business and we have a mobile truck for sports broadcasts and the like. So I'm not an electrician by any means, but I do like to think and understand our projects before I call and hire someone to do the work they are qualified for.
We normally use 20kW rental generators to power our truck on location. Those generators come with the 50 amp 125/250 volt Twist-lock that our trailer inlet is equipped with. Our portable cable from the generator to the truck is 6 AWG 4 conductor SOOW portable cable with that Twist-lock on each end.
Our equipment load in the truck usually draws about 30 amps on each 120 volt leg of the supply. Our breaker panel in the truck has a MAIN 50 amp double pole breaker that feeds about 10 single pole breakers for the equipment. All of our gear, including the air conditioners, is 120 volts.
So my questions come into play when we are on location at venues that have adequate house power for us. However, it is not common for us to find a 50 amp Twist-lock at venues. Instead, we usually run into 200 amp Three Phase disconnects for much larger TV trucks. So ultimately, I'm exploring options for us to use these power sources rather than renting a generator.
Can our 50amp 6AWG cable connect to a 200 amp source if we have a 50 amp main breaker on our end matching the 50 amp cable?
Or do we need to purchase heavier AWG cable to match the supply source (200 amp rated cable)?
Thank you! Brian
I won't be offended if you suggest taking this to another forum or calling a local electrician for advice. I operate a TV production business and we have a mobile truck for sports broadcasts and the like. So I'm not an electrician by any means, but I do like to think and understand our projects before I call and hire someone to do the work they are qualified for.
We normally use 20kW rental generators to power our truck on location. Those generators come with the 50 amp 125/250 volt Twist-lock that our trailer inlet is equipped with. Our portable cable from the generator to the truck is 6 AWG 4 conductor SOOW portable cable with that Twist-lock on each end.
Our equipment load in the truck usually draws about 30 amps on each 120 volt leg of the supply. Our breaker panel in the truck has a MAIN 50 amp double pole breaker that feeds about 10 single pole breakers for the equipment. All of our gear, including the air conditioners, is 120 volts.
So my questions come into play when we are on location at venues that have adequate house power for us. However, it is not common for us to find a 50 amp Twist-lock at venues. Instead, we usually run into 200 amp Three Phase disconnects for much larger TV trucks. So ultimately, I'm exploring options for us to use these power sources rather than renting a generator.
Can our 50amp 6AWG cable connect to a 200 amp source if we have a 50 amp main breaker on our end matching the 50 amp cable?
Or do we need to purchase heavier AWG cable to match the supply source (200 amp rated cable)?
Thank you! Brian
