I work for a pretty big school district. We have a theater that we rent out to other groups for concerts, plays, etc. We get a few groups in each year, mostly concerts, that have specific electrical needs and we end up running temporary power for concerts. They usually need 120V or 208V circuits, sometimes single and sometimes 3 phase at anywhere from 20 to 60 amps. And they sometimes need multiple circuits with different requirements.
The roadies show up a few hours before the band and start setting up the stage. All of their equipment has long cables with bare pigtails that they want to tie in somewhere. Fortunately we've got an electrical distribution room only 50' away from one of the stage wing doors and we've been able to pull their cables to there and provide what we need.
I'd like to put something on the stage so we can tie in right there. I picture a sub-panel with several breakers, providing both single phase and three phase branch circuits at several different amperages. Each branch circuit would feed a junction box next to the panel where we could do the tie in.
I don't want to re-invent the wheel. Is there anything like this that's standard in theaters? And if I go with my idea, what's the best device to install to tie pigtails into. I picture something with lugs that we can just insert the wire into and tighten down the screw. I've also considered individual fusible disconnects. We could tie the band into the bottom lugs and then put in the appropriate fuses. But I can see the bands wanting 100A on #10 wire and swapping fuses after we leave. The cables the bands provide are anything from #8 to #2.
Two months ago, I got a call on a Saturday afternoon that a concert was starting at 6:00 and the band had no electric. There was a contract mix up between the band, promoters, and us and we didn't know they needed several dedicated lines. By the time I got there, a 20 year old shaggy haired kid had the cover off of one of our 480V panels and was about to tie his 208V equipment into the panel's main lugs, hot, "like he always does". Fortunately our theater manager caught him and stopped him before he killed himself and the rest of the band. So I want this to be as simple, straightforward, obvious, and idiot proof as possible.
Thanks.
