Camlock Connectors

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FaradayFF

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Hey Guys,
Are the camlock connectors fairly standardized in the industry? Procuring a transfer switch and need to know if I need to be specific about specifying the camlocks for the temporary generator hookup.
Thanks,
EE
 
As far as I know they are interchangeable. I have used various brands at times depending on what I could get and never had any trouble getting different brands to work with each other.
 
When we did 400 amp crouse hinds it took a special tool to assemble, that might be one reson to standardize. Today I would look into Leviton.
 
E1016-series Cam-Loks* (without "Posi-Lock") are interchangeable between manufacturers. If you're expecting to work with the common USA-based temp power rental companies, you're good.

*Eaton/Cooper has that trademark, others also make the connectors

Beware of alternate single-pole connectors like the PowerLock/Powersafe/Powerline, but they're not common in the USA.
 
They seem to be fairly standardized. I haven’t run across any oddball ones yet, and have hooked up quite a few over the years. A lot of utilities use pin and sleeve receptacles and matching cords and plugs on the smaller stuff like sewage lift stations and telecommunications huts, but they usually own their own gensets. They don’t have to have an electrician that way.
 
Very much standardized on the mating end, very different on the wiring end.

Some are a bear to assemble, some go together really easily. I doubt that the contacts from one brand would assemble correctly into the housings from another brand.

For the smaller series (variously rated 125 or 150A) I rather like the Marinco CLM series.

-Jon
 
Do know there are a couple different types or series of camlock. There is the 15 series which is 150 amp and is referred to as 'mini cam', there is 16 series which is the normal camlock, then there is 18 series which is odd and I have never seen one in use (maybe they use them in mines or ships or something) To eliminate any potential confusion or rfi I would specify the connectors.

Trivia: It used to be that the UL listing on these connectors was only valid when mated to connectors of the same manufacturer due to varying tolerances between brands. Some years ago UL revised the standard to fix the issue (which resulted in some unhappy manufacturers having to retool)
 
Theater and live events Cam tie-ins typically have the gender of the neutral and ground connectors reversed from the phase connectors. Film use typically does not have reversed-gender connectors on neutral and ground. Carry some turnarounds with you, or you'll be lucky enough to have the wrong set of tails with you.

Depending on where you source your generator(s) from, you may end up with same-gender or reverse-gender N/G setups. It's a bit of a crapshoot, really.

The turnarounds also help when you've pulled 400' of 4/O Cam feeder only to realize it was swapped end-for-end in the roadbox by the last local crew :mad:


SceneryDriver
 
SceneryDriver said:
Theater and live events Cam tie-ins typically have the gender of the neutral and ground connectors reversed from the phase connectors.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of "it depends" there. I don't think I've seen a venue with reverse N/G in quite a while and none of the temp power gear does (when they have cams at all). OTOH lots of "studio" generators (for film/TV location work) do have them reversed.

If you're only interested in connecting the trailer-mount generator from Sunbelt/etc, they won't be reversed (but most likely they'll just have lugs and you'll need pigtails).
 
zbang said:
There's a lot of "it depends" there. I don't think I've seen a venue with reverse N/G in quite a while and none of the temp power gear does (when they have cams at all). OTOH lots of "studio" generators (for film/TV location work) do have them reversed.

If you're only interested in connecting the trailer-mount generator from Sunbelt/etc, they won't be reversed (but most likely they'll just have lugs and you'll need pigtails).
Click to expand...

I think it really has a lot to do with where you are in the country. East coast venues that I've worked in are a mixed bag, depending on age of install. Midwest are almost all reverse-gendered. Haven't done much on the West coast. And I was on a gig in NYC last winter with a Sunbelt genny with reverse-gendered cams. They must have rented to productions in the city regularly.

Like I said, it pays to carry around a set of turnarounds. And make sure to carry two for neutral - lots of locations like to double-up neutrals for harmonics.


SceneryDriver
 
I'm on west coast. Used to be 50/50 reverse or not. Now its pretty much all straight, however I have seen some reverse ground on film lighting stuff but I think it was old.
 
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