Events, Festivals and Temporary Power

The Shock Doctors Sept 2012

ECRA/ESA #7001377

In This Issue

Temporary power to venues

Who to contact

Using electronics with portable power

Just for Fun

Quiz

First 3 to respond correctly receives

5 Airmiles reward miles!

(We make wiring fun!)

An 18 gauge wire is thicker than a 12 gauge wire.True or False?

Back to College trivia: One short power bar with 6 plug-ins can efficiently run one kettle, one toaster oven and one computer at the same time. True or False?

Click Here to submit your answers.

Recalls and Safety Alerts

Newest updates from the Electrical Safety Authority

RECALLS

SAFETY ALERTS

Last Month "Just for Fun" Airmiles Quiz:

T or F: The Electric Code apply to both in ground and above ground pools? True - electricity and water do not mix. No outlets within 3 meters of the inside walls: in ground or above

T or F: A storable swimming pool requires an electrical inspction before use. False- even so, you must place it at least 3 meters from any outlets.

Congrats to these winners

Marilyn Boynton

Cathy Yerex

Chris Carman

who have been issued 5 Airmiles Reward miles!

Greetings!

Here in Southern Ontario, there is something fun to do every single weekend.

Locally, there is an awe inspiring amount of work that is put in - largely by volunteers - to make sure we get our waterfront festivals, heritage events, car shows, jam sessions, music in the park, music on the barge and Scottish festivals to make our summers magical and memorable. Our communities are enriched by these events and receive so much more from them besides the obvious enjoyment of the events.

So bravo and thanks to event organizers, community volunteers, business supporters, and everyone who attends to make them a success!

Terry Carman

Chief of Staff

Temporary power supplies

Bringing electricity to these venues is an essential part of event organization. Whenever you invite the public to your doors, you must make sure that their visit will be safe. It is very important to ensure that all individuals working at, or attending, festivals and events are safe from any potential fire or shock hazards.

Lights, temporary outlets, generators for mobile displays and amusement equipment all require safe and inspected electrical connections in order to work.

Who do you contact?

Anyone planning events such as these need to contact the ESA early in their planning process so they can assist in making the event a successful one.

Festivals and Events fall within the scope of Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) regulations and applies to booths, stages and displays where temporary power is supplied by generators, and distribution equipment or is connected to building power. Because it is deemed commercial work, all electrical work must be completed by an electrical contractor and cannot be completed by helpful volunteers (however capable they are).

Followup from last month's Portable generator topic

One of our regular readers, Dave Wolfe from Peterborough, has a small Coleman Powermate powered by a 10 hp gas engine. In the manual it says that it should not be used to power electronic devices without adding a POWERLINE CONDITIONER. He contacted us to find out what was meant by this term.

The Coleman Powermate is an excellent workhorse generator. It is commonly found on job sites where inductive (electric motors such as saws and compressors) and resistive (work lights and construction heaters) are used. These items can routinely work within the Coleman parameters with zero damage to their internals. Think of it as an old flathead V8 running a buzz saw which can bog down to stall speed when a log is pushed into it and come back up running smooth as silk as soon as the cut is finished.

Coleman specifies adding a power conditioner for electronic use because the voltage supplied by it's generator is not as constant as what is required for electronic equipment. The ups and downs of the voltages supplied by most work horse generators eat away at electronic controls like termites on old floor joists. Even adding a power conditioner to a generator is not optimum as it must stabilize a very fluctuating voltage and make it clean and constant. Most power conditioners are designed to clean up power from the hydro grid which rarely varies by even 5%.

There are portable generators that are made specifically designed for running electronics. Look for the words invertor technology in the specs. These should be considered if your needs include powering your electronics.

Thanks to Dave for giving us this question.

*Do YOU* have a question for the Doctor?**
If you have a question about the health of your electrical system or just wondering about a little "plastic surgery", ask the doctor: Just click below and send your question to terry@theshockdoctors.ca

Cheers!

ECRA/ESA
# 7001377

Cheri

The Shock Doctors

for our Newsletter Readers only One Airmiles Reward mile for every $10 of electrical work! (in Sept) (way better than the LCBO!) ... Cheers!
Tell your tech to give you this deal when you book your work this month.