|
Forums >
Photography Talk >
my lights keep killing the electricity - wtf?
I've done a few shoots at home, and i havent had a problem with my lights and the electrics within the house, however, a day after shooting at home, i went to a friend's house to do another shoot and after setting everything up, done a test shot and the electricity cut. After turning it all back on, resetting modems, digital clocks and such, it happened again, and again, and again until i had enough of destroying her house. It's been several weeks since, i've used my lights at home again and not had any problems, then i went to another friend's place yesterday to do another shoot, similar crap, 2 hours of styling, set everything up and pop, everything cuts off. 1 light or 2, left or right, it happens and i'm beyond pissed off. I've setup 2 shoots next month and am renting out a room to shoot in above a pub, and i wont be impressed if i destroy their business as a result of my lights. I have no idea what the problem may be, but would like to hear from anyone with similar problems or solutions. I've been plugging directly into the wall sockets if that helps. I'm using all plugs supplied by the manufacturer. Using both sync cable or wireless thing and it's the same crap each time. I have 2 x Stellar Interfit 600's (http://www.interfitphotographic.com/Lig … 0flash.php) thanks Dec 21 07 12:03 pm Link Well... an outlet in an house (or a bunch of outlets on a single circuit) are not normally capable of handling past certain wattage of electricity. For safety reasons circuit breakers cut off around this point. When you mentioned having to reset modems routers, etc sounds like the computer and other electronics are sharing the same circuit breaker, and strobes will hit that peak real fast. You either need to 1) Turn off things on that circuit that are not needed. 2) Or find an outlet thats running off a circuit breaker without as much load. I'm going to imagine that the wiring in a pub is setup for higher load (or balanced, by not running all the outlets in the same room off the same circuit breaker) than your friend's place. Dec 21 07 12:05 pm Link It's a safety mechanism; you're putting too much load through the fusebox so it's automatically kiling the power, ensuring that you don't blow your shit up! Dec 21 07 12:06 pm Link NSE Films wrote:
Dec 21 07 12:08 pm Link  then why doesnt it stop working at my place? They're meant to be 'home studio' lights, yet they dont actually work at home, or they do, just mine and no one elses. FUDGE! Dec 21 07 12:08 pm Link You need a circuit with more amps. The outlet also needs to be grounded. Just because it's a three prong outlet does not mean it's grounded properly. Bring an extension cord and try different circuits. Worst case, get a battery and use a pure sine wave inverter. Dec 21 07 12:08 pm Link It was probably JUST those two places. Dec 21 07 12:09 pm Link How many watts are your lights? Dec 21 07 12:09 pm Link whats happening is youre overloading the circuit. if you can find an outlet that doesnt have as many other things plugged into it, that will help. also, if youre using multiple packs, putting them on seperate breakers would also help. if for some reason you cant use an outlet on a different breaker then, dial the packs way down, set the recycle on the pack to slow, and dont fire faster than the pack can recycle. this is a good way to baby it along. Dec 21 07 12:10 pm Link PYPI wrote: The website he linked says 600W/s Dec 21 07 12:10 pm Link It's the cumulative amperage drawn on your circuit. Usually wall outlet circuits are only 15amp and will trip the breaker (blow the fuse) past that. If you already have a lot of current draw on the circuit you might not be able to add the draw from your pack. If your pack has a slow recycle option, that usually drops the current draw at the expense of recycle time. John Dec 21 07 12:11 pm Link your circuits at your house could be 20 while at your friends they are 15 Dec 21 07 12:12 pm Link Looks like you are shooting on 15 amp circuits (standard in many homes) and that they are loop circuits (more than one plug on a circuit) and that there is already something drawing current on the 15 amp circuit. Try this: unplug the refrig and run an extension cord to the lights. Refrigerators are normally (in newer homes anyway) on a dedicated 20amp circuit. Otherwise, try to find 20amp circuits. Or, buy a battery pack and use it. Dec 21 07 12:12 pm Link are you using extension cords or a power strip? EDIT: if so did you try plugging them directly into the outlet preferable each light in a different dedicated circuit? Dec 21 07 12:12 pm Link That light draws 10 amps each so you need to put them on separate circuits. Most household outlets are 15 amps each. Two light on the same circuit or a microwave on the same circuit will exceed the rating. Dec 21 07 12:13 pm Link Craziest Benny wrote: Or just has too much existing shit on the same circuit Dec 21 07 12:13 pm Link What PYPI said -- a sine wave inverter or two might save your bacon if the place you're shooting in doesn't have enough capacity for your lights. Dec 21 07 12:14 pm Link Your lights should not be tripping the breaker. Seeing it happens in two different locales I would look for an issue with the lights. Find someone that knows electrical to see what kind of load they are drawing. I have an issue with lights spiking above rating when they recharge. Apparently as they get older they tend not operate as optimally as originally manufactured. First thing to try is somebody else's lights with the same wattage on your outlet, if they do not blow it then it is an issue with your lights. Dec 21 07 12:15 pm Link If the lights have modeling lamps, try turning those off as well. My co-worker says 600W/s (10amp) strobes shouldn't be tripping the breakers unless of course you're running hot lights off of them too. But two of them on the same circuit.... Dec 21 07 12:18 pm Link A standard residential circuit carrys a 15amp load, which will run a few light bulbs, or small appliances. 15amp is not a lot of current, most refrigerators require a 20amp circuit due to the startup surge from the compressor motor, just to give you an idea of comparative draw. If you look at the circuit breaker panel, each breaker should have a number on the switch, either 15 or 20...If the circuit your plugged into is 15amp, figure your going to pop the breaker. edit: circuit breakers weaken over time, like anything else mechanical and will trip under less and less load until you eventually have to replace them. So a 15amp breaker that trips under 10amp load just means its a weak breaker, needs to be replaced, or else it is wired with subgauge wire and the circuit has too much resistance. Dec 21 07 12:19 pm Link Bernie Browder wrote: I have used extension cords at my place once or twice for one light, and plugged the other in to the wall where the microwave/oven/dishwasher/washing machine/toaster/extractor fan are all plugged into. Dec 21 07 12:24 pm Link I just noticed OP is in the UK. If they run 220v, that changes the math and I have no idea how many amps a circuit in the UK will have. Dec 21 07 12:25 pm Link Karl Blessing wrote: I tried this, as well as turning everything down and it still popped. Dec 21 07 12:27 pm Link Darren Stehr wrote: That's good advice to have your lights checked out. It may be that the circuits just cannot handle them, but it is better to be safe. Dec 21 07 12:27 pm Link every home isn't wired the same. It's just a safety measure. Just be glad it isn't messing up your stuff. I really can understand the frustration. Dec 21 07 12:28 pm Link Circuit breaker work by tripping when they get too warm... the power passing through them warms up the metal so when it gets too hot a spring over powers the metal and the switch opens. Flash units, when they first start powering up ( just after the flash) have a very large current draw, which is usually too short in time to heat up the breaker to the point that it will open. If there are other devices on the same circuit ( computers overhead lights etc, ) then the breaker is already warm, so the large current draw of your flash is enough to trip it. Every time you trip a breaker, it weakens it. They should be replaced after 5 to 10 trips. The purpose of the breaker is to keep the house from burning down, so don't try and figure out a way to by pass it. The best way to use strobes in a house on a seperate circuit with nothing else on it. Also the circuits in Kitchens usually are rated for a larger load, so you can have better luck using one of those circuits. Dec 21 07 12:29 pm Link PYPI wrote: wouldn't hurt if he put his location in his profile info..eh?...jezzzzz Dec 21 07 12:29 pm Link Try running an extension cord to the garage for some lights, then plug another into an outlet on the far wall of the room you are in. Garages will work because people tend to set up work benches and run tools ect., and the outlet on the far wall should be isolated pretty much from kitchen, bathroom ect I had the same problem as you in a brand new house and i split the power draw to a farther bathroom and left one in the room, worked great. I was using 4 500w lights and 2 strobes, 2 fill lights. Dec 21 07 12:29 pm Link My Digital Eye wrote: after looking at my question, I may not have been as clear I should, what I meant was if you are using extention cords did you try plugging them each in seperate outlets without the extention cords? Dec 21 07 12:29 pm Link Since he's in the UK all my assumptions go out the window. But one other thing to consider... how is the wiring at your place and at their place, is the electricity properly grounded? Dec 21 07 12:30 pm Link PYPI wrote: Solomage wrote: Would be too easy... but then again I noticed people make the same mistake even when the location is in big bold letters. Dec 21 07 12:31 pm Link Bernie Browder wrote: right, i have only used extensions at home, which have been plugged into different outlets. The best way to use strobes in a house on a seperate circuit with nothing else on it. Also the circuits in Kitchens usually are rated for a larger load, so you can have better luck using one of those circuits. I was just thinking that the shoots i usually do at home have been in the kitchen, then i remembered i'd done a few in my brother's room and not had any problems, but plugging into the kitchen makes sense. wouldn't hurt if he put his location in his profile info..eh?...jezzzzz I've always wondered why my location doesnt show in the forums Dec 21 07 12:40 pm Link I was doing this also. So all I did was turn down the power to the lights. Instead of shooting full power I was shooting at 1/2. Sure I had to wait a few seconds longer but so what. Gave me more time to compose the shot. So try that and see if it will work for you. bs Dec 21 07 12:43 pm Link bobby sargent wrote: Curious... if shooting at 1/2, wouldn't that cut down your recycle delay as well, just not as much power to use smaller aperture.... Dec 21 07 01:08 pm Link I can't tell from the link how much current those lights actually draw. The fuse ratings seem somewhat high, especially for 230V. If there is a panel on the light that gives actual current or power consumed that would be helpful. But given that you are tripping the circuit breakers in one house and not the other, the household wiring and other use is probably the culprit. You should figure out which receptacles are controlled by which circuit in the house. You should then try with one light plugged into one circuit and the other into a different circuit. If you were in the US and your house was wired according to the current National Electric Code (doubtful), here would be my advice: use the receptacles in the bathroom, kitchen, or dining room. These circuits are required to support 20A, while other circuits are only required to support 15A. As a plus, there must be at least 2 independent circuits in the kitchen and dining room. They don't have to be labeled so you have to figure out which is which. You can check if any of this is true in your house by checking the ratings of the circuit breakers in your electrical panel. Dec 21 07 01:28 pm Link I checked the specs on the website and those lites are fused for 10 Amps or 1200W. If you are using a pair, you could be drawing 2400W or 20 A. Looks like your friends places were wired with 15A circuits. Dec 21 07 02:17 pm Link David Weiss wrote: I checked that too, but even with 1 light, it went nuts. Dec 21 07 02:43 pm Link PYPI wrote: That really screws up the equation! Most of the replies seem to be based on US standards of 110v. Dec 21 07 03:02 pm Link PYPI wrote: UK electrics! HAH! Ever wonder why the brits drink their beer warm? Dec 21 07 03:42 pm Link Dudley Watson wrote: Without sounding tardish, can you tell me how to list my location? Dec 21 07 03:43 pm Link |
thats a blunt way to put it... otherwise he'd have to buy new bulbs for his light (or new set of appliances 
