Trunking vs tray

[Andy78]

Mainly to make room for the others that hadn't gone in yet. The SWA feeds were installed in phases over about 24 months. I didn't do the calcs myself as I was working for a firm at this time, but I'm pretty sure it will have been taken into account.
The installation method was decided by the lead sparks on the job, also not me.

 

[Guest55]

Mainly to make room for the others that hadn't gone in yet. The SWA feeds were installed in phases over about 24 months. I didn't do the calcs myself as I was working for a firm at this time, but I'm pretty sure it will have been taken into account.
The installation method was decided by the lead sparks on the job, also not me.

whats in the warehouse that needs so many cables going in / out ?
i take it steel inspection panels going over the trench ?

 

[Andy78]

Yeah very thick steel panels went over the trench as it was a lorry yard, and the rise got cladded with aluminium sheet.
The project was a complete overhaul of a small industrial park's distribution. These were the sub mains leaving the switch/transformer room. The larger ones went to panel boards and the smaller ones went to some of the larger units' D/Bs.
Nice job to work on.

 

[wade88]

Yea...nice ladder Andy.

I work alongside Aggreko on my summer season work doing site power at festivals and stuff. It's such great work and there is a really OCD fascination that comes with laying your heavy distro out so neat. Couple hundred meters of power lock all laid out like this is a thing of beauty.

 

[pennywise]

Nice and neat nice when a jobs planned:hurray:, didn't they supply you with PVC covered builders band

 

[darkstar26]

wade, you will get to love both of these containments. They are an art form. all you can do is practice when you get the chance, we are all learning. As said, tray for swa sy ect trunk for singles, twin ect.Personel fave is trunking with tube drops down, looks great!

 

[Knobhead]

All the pictures show is how as a part of a gang you've helped run cables. What was you're input at the business end of the cables?

 

[partypest]

Another great tool for metalworking where hot work needs to be avoided: Metal Cutting Circular Saw. I have an 18v Makita job, other brands available, cuts unistrut, tray, conduit, trunking, SWA with very little burr. You can also pop a wood blade on it for a bit of timber work if needs be. Quieter and quicker than a grinder, but it's horses for courses.

 

[Engineer54]

That's basically what the contractor uses on our project, ours are frame/bench mounted jobbies!! Gives a much cleaner cut all round...

 

[i=p/u]

when taking trunking on an outside run then back into a building.... is there not a chance of water getting in if mounted on its side??? would tray or basket be better soloution?

 

[rmc86uk]

I wouldn't cut trunking/tray with a circular saw! I always cut it by hand but if use of a jigsaw then I would use that.

I don't like it when people use an angle grinder for cutting strut and their cuts are awful!

 

[i=p/u]

Chop saw

 

[Guest55]

when taking trunking on an outside run then back into a building.... is there not a chance of water getting in if mounted on its side??? would tray or basket be better soloution?

what sort of cables ?

 

[rmc86uk]

Did a job on a roof where trunking was used and majority was mounted on its side but the cables inside were control cables and SWA that had been glanded into it.

 

[i=p/u]

But if water got into trunking would it not roll inside the building then.?? Well if trunking used probably high tuff and if not swa on tray

 

[rmc86uk]

The cables went from out of the building onto basket round the roof then into trunking.

 

[johnboy6083]

I wouldn't cut trunking/tray with a circular saw! I always cut it by hand but if use of a jigsaw then I would use that.

I don't like it when people use an angle grinder for cutting strut and their cuts are awful!

Thats down to a lack of skill, not the tool. I once had an argument with a much older spark about using a grinder for containment. I offered him a challenge to fab a bend, and I reckon mine would of been quicker and neater!
to be fair though, I would of beaten him with a hacksaw too!

 

[Stuuk1]

I've seen guys using handheld chop saws for cutting trunking and IMO think its a cowboy way of cutting.

Sure it's a fast way of cutting the stuff 'zing zing zing' job done but its easy to go off line very quickly as your line is obscured by the tools large base. Once the mistake is made, its then down to the engineer to rectify it, usually but just backing up and going back on track. That leaves a bad edge and will usually be flipped around its intended way and have an end caps shoved on the end.

Depending on size, its a hacksaw with a 32tpi blade or a jigsaw, goggles and ear defenders so that I can track the cut closely.

I've also seen guys, one up the steps, the other on the ground cutting lid and passing it up and the other guy putting it on, not a file in sight! Disgusting.

I cannot stand people who take no pride in their work. Nor can I stand people who believe their work is a competition, competitions lead to mistakes which are then hidden.

You know when you have done a good job. As the saying goes, 'measure twice, cut once'.

 

[pennywise]

You haven't seen bad until you see French tray work lol. I was working in Paris 2 weeks back doing CCTV, they were suppose to do the containment, the guy was butchering the tray with a 4in grinder cutting corners by just notching a square out of the it and bending it over his leg, gave us a giggle, we ended up re doing the lot, he wasn't very happy lol

 

[johnboy6083]

Well I beleive the opposite. I beleive that competition encourages self improvement. The competition doesn't have to be a race, but comparing skill ect.
Now, I don't beleive that you should using a grinder to cut tray or trunking unless your capable of doing it without.
im old fashioned in that I like to do a good job, and I take pride in a job well done, but if I can do it quicker to the same standard, then I'm all for it.

 

[i=p/u]

Guy i work with , out comes the square driver , then i pop out 12v with bit... He ploughed on too start with with driver

 

[wade88]

All the pictures show is how as a part of a gang you've helped run cables. What was you're input at the business end of the cables?

We then distribute the cable to the end customer, be it concessions, stage power, front of house power, site lighting, stage lighting, security power. Where ever a pwoer requirement is ordered, the heavy mains are taken from the generators to main distribution boards, and gradually "diluted" down to feed the necessary areas via a sort of cardio vascular style system. Heavy mains usually power lock or 25mm 5 core cable representing the arteries if you will supply the main distribution boards which will then further break down to an array of smaller cables which then run off to feed smaller boards which again break down and split etc etc until the capillaries such as the single phase 16amp commandos that feed a 500W site halogen on a path way, or the 13amp feed for a caterers burco boiler, or a 32amp 3 phase feed for a bank of metal workers welders.

The company i worked for distributed that cable from A all the way down to Z. We tailed the generators and fed the end customer. So my input was provided across the whole supply chain, chin deep in Glastonbury mud.

 

[Brightspark2]

The company i worked for distributed that cable from A all the way down to Z. We tailed the generators and fed the end customer. So my input was provided across the whole supply chain, chin deep in Glastonbury mud.

Do you get free entry to the events once done?...

 

[wade88]

Yea, AAA passes usually. Have to be there during the events to maintain the systems. If there is a fault, we are on radios roaming the site in defenders and just attend the fault site and fix it. When the gigs are on, we just make a sort of hit list within our team, of bands we all want to see, and pair off for the weekend.

For my first couple of years, as a green horn, i wasn't required to attend faults really, so just went off with my girlfriend who was the crew caterer and just enjoyed the gigs work free. Then when the shows are over, its 16-18 hour days back to back stripping out our gear. Glastonbury for example, takes under 2 weeks to put together and lay our cable and power the site, we take it out in 2 days. Hard graft, many cables you find have been crapped on by punters, ****ed all over, puked on... any bodily fluid available gets splashed on them, never leave compound with gloves.......

 

[wade88]

Glasto 2011. About to head out with my boy who was about 18 months old (conceived at Glastonbury 09 just for your information haha)

And out on call, but enjoying the weekend. Best work in the world. If i could do it all year round, i would be happy in work for the next 30 years.

 

[Brightspark2]

What about your usual job then?...if you do that in the summer it must require you to be there during the week. Do you take time off?...

I actually did my first 6 months of my apprenticeship at a film and TV lighting company. They did events like boxing and ultimate fighting, so used to go to them. I found in that sort of work you need to be 100% dedicated to work. Its long hours on site throughout the week or weekends depending on job, all over Europe too. Starting at 8am and only coming home at 3am once you've packed up. Hard to have a social life. It's hard work dragging the cables in too lol. Doing events during the summer would probably be good, but I wouldn't like to do it all year round...

 

[wade88]

Well yea 2011 was a little awkward with the seasons work, had to basically use up my full time job's holiday allowance to do it. Big money that way as i get double pay but had a pretty limp year with no break.

Absolutely yea, longest shift i ever worked flat out was 23 hours. Black eyed peas arrived for their headline gig at 10pm, two hours before they go on stage announced they wanted to use american gear. Full stage power strip down and replaced with their gear, 30 mins of awful music, they leave, replace entire stage set up as it was. All this after an already long day. Didnt get back to my caravan till gone 4 am....all for a flat day rate.

I would do it all year round for sure. I love it. The social life if the job for me. Awesome crew, meet lots of people, the work is intrinsically social anyway and you get to work out doors in festival and event environments which i love. Thinking about applying for work with Agrekko but they are the main competitor the company i was working for before, so it could get awkward.

 

[Smudge]

a bit late joining this now, but...

generally around our site, i always use tray. I think its 100 times neater. Infact, IMO, i HATE trunking!! I do however like to use trunking instead of gland plates as the pics show. Unfortunately, as you see from the pictures, this project grew legs like Usain Bolt and all extra capacity on the tray was used up immediately. Bit of a school boy error there, but as its a stand alone unit, i kind of got away with it
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And glasto 2011 for me was the same as 2008,2009,2010 and hopefully 2013, one big massive blur. Roll on June.