Once more into the breach on the subject of the Five Pecker Billygoat…
In response to a recent post, a reader asked why I would choose to use a 100 amp Billygoat -- with its five non-fused, un-breakered edison plugs -- over a 100 amp Lunch Box, which has five circuits (with two plugs each) protected by circuit breakers.
The simple answer is, I wouldn't -- I prefer to use a Lunch Box most of the time. But as a mere juicer on the crew, I have to work with what's on hand. The decisions as to what equipment we use comes from higher up the departmental food chain, and are subject to budgetary, time, and availability issues.
We often make do with what we've got on set, and so long as the gaffer isn't asking me me to power five 2Ks through a Billy Goat, it's no big deal.
In some circumstances -- as pictured above -- a Billygoat is faster and easier to rig than the heavier, bulkier Lunch Box. This one is being used to power five 1K par lights hung on a pipe that serve as the front bounce-fill for one of our swing sets. The paper load of fifty amps (ten per plug) is easily handled by the Billygoat, so that's what we used. In a business where time is money -- and swing sets come and go -- you do what works and move on to the next task.
As summer morphs into fall -- although it's still hotter than the proverbial hinges of Hell in LA -- I'm taking a couple of weeks off from the Blood, Sweat and Tedium of my Hollywood life.
And so is the blog.
We'll be back...
7 comments:
Please don't leave us hanging......
Having been previously enlightened on the Five Peckered Billygoat, I now see them in use all the time.
A 50A bates with three Edisons would be called a what?
Darn my typing...a 60A bates.
JD --
Good question. I've used those, but very rarely -- not enough to learn the official or slang terminology. So here's your chance to make an indelible mark on Hollywood -- come up with a good name, use it on set repeatedly, and see if it sticks...
MT, you're a tough taskmaster. How can I possibly top Five Peckered Billygoat?
JD:
Now that I think about it, I think we called those things a "sixty-to-edison" -- an effective, if not particularly imaginative term. But like I said, I haven't used them much. It's just as easy to run a hundred amp bates with a lunchbox (or five pecker billygoat), which offers more power and flexibility at the business end.
Granted, topping "five pecker billygoat" is a tall order, but putting your stamp on Hollywood is never easy. Dare to be great, JD, dare to be great...
Not sure about that. Happy to be a problem solver on set, don't need to be another Spielberg or a master of painting with light. I'd just like to collect a nice steady, reasonably sized check.
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