Scenario--Outdoor events with ALOT of extension cord connections...displays and of course during what is usually the most inclement times of the year. Would anyone have any insight to particular products/methods that may assist with keeping moisture at bay. It is the same thing every year trying to explain that the gfi tripping is "doing its job". Products.... dielectrics, gaskets etc??? I realize there is only so much that can be done but thought it might be a decent first post. Thanks.
outdoor events...
- Thread starter zooby
- Start date
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- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
The easiest is to fold back the cord and plug and put it in a plastic bag. You can tape or tie the bag shut. Try and lay the bag so the opening is down.
- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
Expensive but there are cord connectors and attachment plugs with a NEMA 6P rating.
James L
Senior Member
- Location
- Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
- Occupation
- Electrician
What kind of outdoor events?
I worked setting up electrical for a downtown fair/carnival a few times.
Booths were assigned, and we had SO cord with Bell boxes and in-use covers laying all over the streets and sidewalks.
Fortunately I wasn't the maintenance electrician during the event, my coworker was.
If I were to do it again, I'd try to zip-tie under a table or the edge of a trailer.
If it's grassy area, I'd try to use some wood stakes, then zip-tie to the stake and wrap with a plastic bag
I worked setting up electrical for a downtown fair/carnival a few times.
Booths were assigned, and we had SO cord with Bell boxes and in-use covers laying all over the streets and sidewalks.
Fortunately I wasn't the maintenance electrician during the event, my coworker was.
If I were to do it again, I'd try to zip-tie under a table or the edge of a trailer.
If it's grassy area, I'd try to use some wood stakes, then zip-tie to the stake and wrap with a plastic bag
VirutalElectrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Mpls, MN
- Occupation
- Sparky - Trying to be retired
These are the type I use and are very nice. Always wished they made spider boxes with these outlets. Always wondered how they could list the spider boxes as weatherproof without some sort of watertight outlets on them.
mopowr steve
Senior Member
- Location
- NW Ohio
- Occupation
- Electrical contractor
If your lucky, sometimes you can find small weather tight enclosures that snap over a plug/recept cord caps.
thanks for the input gentleman......type of events (James L)---Christmas....Halloween etc....Some events will be spread out over a month or more. As for the NEMA 6P, being a non-profit Zoo we are squeaky with money. I have been here a good while but with event season nearing I thought to just throw the question out. Sometimes your standing too close. Good things!!
dellphinus
Member
- Location
- Southern Illinois, USA
We have a similar scenario. We have found that using bags trapped water. We ended up going with wood stakes with connections zip tied high on the stake, with 5 gallon buckets over the stake. Toying with using 6 inch PVC pipes with caps, but the buckets were free; the pipe and caps are not (we're a non-profit and cash strapped too). Our biggest probllem since going to buckets is squirrels. They love Christmas lighting wires.
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
He he, just got back from doing an outdoor event*.
Keeping moisture at bay? You can't unless connections are actually under cover and stay that way. Bags leak and get condensation. Many cords don't fit in in-use covers (try that with a 12/3 SO). Etc. Best I've ever seen is taping cord-to-cord connections with vinyl tape and trying to keep everything out of direct water flow (a scrap of 2x4 will do that).
* smaller one- maybe 30 spider boxes with 60-70 cables, about 600' of 5 wire 2g bundles, and over 150 yellowjacket cable ramps.
Keeping moisture at bay? You can't unless connections are actually under cover and stay that way. Bags leak and get condensation. Many cords don't fit in in-use covers (try that with a 12/3 SO). Etc. Best I've ever seen is taping cord-to-cord connections with vinyl tape and trying to keep everything out of direct water flow (a scrap of 2x4 will do that).
* smaller one- maybe 30 spider boxes with 60-70 cables, about 600' of 5 wire 2g bundles, and over 150 yellowjacket cable ramps.
I feel like there really is only so much that can be done. And....we have alot of metal frame displays ( lighting wrapped around ) and at some point there will be connections/splices/repairs and sequencers that well, ya just hope for a dry snow
This is much of what I do. We typically use GFCI construction site spider boxes, alot of them, placed as close as possible to the loads. In order to battle cumulative leakage we try to keep it to one load per gfi regardless of wattage. Plugs off the ground. Had an event last year that rained for a week and had only one GFI trip when a light fixture pointed up at a flag got full of water.
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
Todd- do you the construction (OSHA) spider boxes that need to be reset each power-on or the entertainment ones which don't? I much prefer the latter since most of our loads are either lighting or food-related (freezers/warmers/etc), not saws/fans/pumps.
The construction type ones we have (southwire xtreme box) have the auto reset type GFCI modules (meaning upon application of power the GFCI output is active)
could you expand on the two different spider box (GFI) protection?
Remember per the UL standard and OSHA regs, spider boxes have discreet GFCI modules which in addition to GF protection also provide open neutral and high voltage protection. These are different than a GFI breaker or receptacle.
There are some that are manual reset (I haven't come across these but they do exist) meaning when you power the box on the GFCIs default to a tripped state and you have to manually hit the reset button on each one. Automatic reset GFCIs reset themselves upon application of power.
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
I've got some older Ericson ones that don't auto-reset, they're a PITA. They're also expensive to repair, IIRC the modules were over $200!
Zooby- there was a discussion of this a few months ago on this, took a few posts for Todd and I to realize we were talking about slightly different stuff. Here are two versions of the "same thing"-
lexproducts.com
lexproducts.com
Zooby- there was a discussion of this a few months ago on this, took a few posts for Todd and I to realize we were talking about slightly different stuff. Here are two versions of the "same thing"-
DB-50NF-BQQ-S3 | 50 Amp Pagoda Jr.™ Spider Box to GFCI Duplex Receptacles, Weather Resistant | LEX Products
50A 125/250 VAC, (1) California Style CS63 Male (Inlet) to (6) NEMA 5-20 (Edison) GFCI Straight Blade Receptacles (Outlets), Pagoda Jr.™
T2-A2-6A1E | 50 Amp Terrapin Station II™, Feed Thru Spider Box to GFCI Duplex/L6-30 Receptacles | LEX Products
50A 125/250 VAC, (1) California Style CS63 Male (Inlet) to (6) NEMA 5-20 (Edison) GFCI Straight Blade Receptacles (Outlets) and (1) NEMA L6-30 Locking Receptacle (Outlet), Feed Thru, Terrapin II™
VirutalElectrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Mpls, MN
- Occupation
- Sparky - Trying to be retired
Kind of a strange design with the breakers on top. You just know someone is going to leave the top open when it rains.I've got some older Ericson ones that don't auto-reset, they're a PITA. They're also expensive to repair, IIRC the modules were over $200!
Zooby- there was a discussion of this a few months ago on this, took a few posts for Todd and I to realize we were talking about slightly different stuff. Here are two versions of the "same thing"-
DB-50NF-BQQ-S3 | 50 Amp Pagoda Jr.™ Spider Box to GFCI Duplex Receptacles, Weather Resistant | LEX Products
50A 125/250 VAC, (1) California Style CS63 Male (Inlet) to (6) NEMA 5-20 (Edison) GFCI Straight Blade Receptacles (Outlets), Pagoda Jr.™T2-A2-6A1E | 50 Amp Terrapin Station II™, Feed Thru Spider Box to GFCI Duplex/L6-30 Receptacles | LEX Products
50A 125/250 VAC, (1) California Style CS63 Male (Inlet) to (6) NEMA 5-20 (Edison) GFCI Straight Blade Receptacles (Outlets) and (1) NEMA L6-30 Locking Receptacle (Outlet), Feed Thru, Terrapin II™
Always puzzled why all these spider boxes provide an L6-30 and not an L14-30. I've seen many field replaced with such, including my own.
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
Lots of L6-30 gear out there (compressors, floor sanders, and masonry/tile saws)? Anyway, the tops don't stay open that well (and latch closed), it's never been a problem for me. I really like the Lex gear but it's $$$.
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