Meet The Gaffer #36: Plug-In House Power

This video discusses how to go about distributing power when plugging lights into existing circuits in a house rather than bringing in power from an outside source, like a genny.

[@raredreamfootage]

Wow you get the gold medal for showing this to all of us! THANKS!

[@JohnBowieLanford]

0:42 - 20 Amp breaker search 1:40 - Gaffer tools 2:35 - common home circuit types 3:20 - 15A or 20A? 4:30 - Amp probe tool 5:30 - using 220V power/lunch box 7:25 - power strategies 9:13 - sub-breaker panel 11:06 - Main breaker panel 12:04 - GFCI circuit tip 12:27 - Summary

[@TylerAdamsMedia]

BEEN LOOKING FOR A VIDEO LIKE THIS FOR YEARS! Thank you so much!

[@meetthegaffer]

+Tyler Adams, I’m glad you found it!

[@NewcombeEditing]

Loved this video, super helpful (Even for someone living in New Zealand). Hope the house didn't getting blown away by the tornado outside, after this video was made.

[@apollocobain8363]

Good info and extra credit for the clean audio despite that Kirosawa-esque wind storm outdoors!

[@meetthegaffer]

Ha, ha!

[@gdrriley420]

it will be interesting as more and more houses have EV charging 50-60A 240V/120V circuits will become easy to get access too. maybe 50A 240V split distro will become more a thing.

[@gdrriley420]

Funny thing about those old Nema 10-30/10-50 commonly used on dryers, the "ground" is really a neutral so you could get 60A of 120V out of them. There was no ground, it relied on the house being wired correctly so the neutral also connected to the ground. thankfully the 14-30/14-50 that replaced them has a proper ground and neutral.

[@PeaLoop]

So helpful!

[@CarlosBido]

Luke, Alan, This is great content, super useful. Keep em coming. Subscribed.

[@305kubrick]

Great info, easy to understand. Thank you for posting!

[@spitefullymy]

Extremely useful video!! Love the walk thru of the breaker and your description on strategies for finding power and what you do when a circuit breaks. Super thorough video, thank you so much.

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi David, I glad it was helpful!

[@11JoeyMy]

So much valuable information. Great!

[@ericcech2973]

Great video thank you Luke!

[@JulyCastlePhotographyHenderson]

I love you! All of you in this channel!

[@meetthegaffer]

+July Castle Photography, Ha, Ha! We love you too:-)

[@bubu9123]

Thank you so much for these amazing videos!!!

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Gabriel, I'm glad you find them useful!

[@stidkriss]

such good information, thank you for doing this

[@felipehenaovideo]

Very useful, Thanks!

[@DennisKussener]

pffuuu, glad I live in Europe, if a m18 is allready a problem wow....

[@meetthegaffer]

You're right, Dennis, it does complicate things a bit:-)

[@tylerskillings7188]

The washing machine plug is brilliant

[@meetthegaffer]

That’s a good one!

[@stidkriss]

@@meetthegaffer How many m18 can you plug into a washing machine plug? How do you calculate that? Are the dryer and washing mashing on different circuits? Would you do a video on how to calculate your drawing power, it would be very helpful to a lot of us, iam sure, thank you!

[@meetthegaffer]

It would depend on what kind of power your appliances draw and what country you are in:) But yes, that could be something to discuss.

[@stidkriss]

@@meetthegaffer Thank you, i am in Canada

[@nelsonsmith6702]

would you be able to recommend any online courses that someone could take to learn more about basic electrics that are relevant to gaffers / film? Great video thank you, very informative for someone just starting out!

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Nelson, I’m sorry, but I only know about a few books, not online courses. Alan mentions a few, besides hi own, in episode 100. I would check those out, especially Alan’s and Set Lighting Technician’s Handbook by Harry C. Box.

[@nelsonsmith6702]

@@meetthegaffer set light technician is my favorite! I'll check out episode 100 for the other recommendations though, thank you!

[@AwesomeShotStudios]

I'm personally looking forward for a LED replacement for HMI's. Eventually, it will reach M18 output, but with none of the drawbacks.

[@meetthegaffer]

Exactly! The way technology is going that day should come soon:)

[@digitalsnot]

every week i am setting up at a new venue and typically relying on standard outlets. i use a klein circuit tracer with usually successful results but it isn’t always reliable. i would love a safe way to intentionally trip a breaker. is there such a device? a box that ‘shorts’ or hyper loads an outlet to more easily find the breaker. much like a gfci tester does.

[@meetthegaffer]

I don’t know of such a “tripper” but I’ll ask around.

[@f.jacobalvaradoDOP]

What slit to the side is Alan speaking about? During that shot the camera is far away and I couldn't see what slit to the side he was speaking about to know if the outlet is 15 or 20 amp.

[@meetthegaffer]

He was referring to a 20 amp outlet.

[@meetthegaffer]

For a close up photo showing the extra side slit: www.dropbox.com/s/val3cbk7ikzfc5j/IMG_0118.JPG?dl=0

[@MattKehoeMedia]

NEMA 5-15 vs NEMA 5-20

[@Ben-fq1lj]

2 questions, do you recommend a surge protected power strip over straight plug into outlet to power aputure led lights? And what things do you recommend to insure your lights don't get ruined? The breaker powering the studio had to be replaced and two of my lights inherited problems with one flickering on certain brightness values and the other having smoke come out (wasnt the barndoors). Do you recommend a UPS or voltage regulator? Or is that unnecessary?

[@meetthegaffer]

I’m thinking there’s more going on here than the need for surge protection. What were units were you using and were they all on a single circuit? Also, was the power strip and outlet grounded and in good condition? Seems like there was more than a ground fault, like loose wiring in the receptacle or something.

[@Ben-fq1lj]

​@@meetthegaffer Hi thanks for the reply! So I was using an aputure 120d and a 120dii on the same room/circuit as far as I know. The lights have been sent in for repair, but I wanted to know if there was anything in the future that i can do to prevent this or make sure that studio im still using has actually been "fixed"

[@meetthegaffer]

I was use a voltage tester on the circuit to verify that it is wired correctly and doesn’t have a ground fault. Also check the power strip, separately.

[@jasperbruijns7449]

Feel sorry for gaffers in America.. In Europe we can draw 16A, 240V - 3500 watts easy on a single house circuit. Using a m18 or a D25 so much easier.

[@meetthegaffer]

Yes. We are a sorry bunch! But because it’s all about lighting, we try to look on the bright side😁

[@jasperbruijns7449]

@@meetthegaffer haha love your spirit!