Power & circuit management for mobile DJ's

This is a little more in depth discussion on how I personally manage power & circuits at my events. I review ideas around total wattage, amperage, and voltage that we all need to be aware of. It's one of those "behind-the-curtain" things that your clients will never see but will make you a much better preventative DJ and reduce the risk of an unexpected shutdown.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• mobile
• dj
• band
• musician
• speakers
• power
• circuit
• electrical
• electricity
• cord
• conditioner
• surge
• protector
• ground
• loop
• test
• blown
• wattage
• amps
• voltage
• fail
• failure
• shut
• off
• down

[remyg34]

So different plugs are different circuits?

[BassIsLoadedDJ]

@remyg34 Not necessarily, and this is the whole purpose behind the circuit tester. You could have 12 different plugs in a room that were all wired to the same circuit.

[mtm1104]

That circuit tester is great but I don't think a lot of places will let you check out there circuit breaker box.

[BassIsLoadedDJ]

@mtm1104 Been at this over 20 years. Have yet to come across a venue that wouldn't let me use this, unless they flat out didn't know where the breaker box was.

[ShieldsDJServices]

I haven't found any other video on youtube that goes over this topic and I think you did a great job with it! I had a question though, that was vaguely answered, but I would really like to be sure. Does the output wattage of your amplifier (ex - 500 watts/side) relate directly to the wattage output of an electrical outlet (ex - 15amp outlet @ 1800 watts). So basically, would that amplifier use 1,000 watts from that 1800 watt outlet?

[BassIsLoadedDJ]

@ShieldsDJServices There really should be a Part II to this video. It's not a direct correlation between watts from a speaker/amplifier and watts being pulled from the AC plug to generate those watts. Generally amplifiers can crank out watts to a speaker with smaller amp draws than the total watts coming from the speakers. So a 1,000 watt speaker/amp isn't really pulling 1,000 watts from the wall. It's nice to know the formula, and apply it generally. Consult your amp manual for actual draw.

[djdave281]

hi i was just wondering i live in the uk and i have a issue from time to time with a smoke machine and occasional with some of my lights when i turn them on or when i swith the smoke to come out it puts a pop through the system can u advise anythink and i always use 2 seperate power sockets that are on 2 seperate rings

Thanks DJ Dave

[ab100100ful]

I separate sound and lighting and now with the LED's your pretty well protected

[mtm1104]

@BassIsLoadedDJ True but I don't think venue's in manhattan, were I do most of my work, will allow that. Maybe when I work in queens or brooklyn I'll give it a try. Thanks

[MrNightro]

One thing not mentioned here is the 80% max constant load of a given circuit. Pretty solid advice given all the same though, I used to use the same circuit finder shown but now use the Greenlee CS series for more accurate results.

[MrNightro]

This is the reason why I like to run my own dedicated distro for all of my gigs.

[wongsmlaw]

Great I like it