Supposedly a 24K Tungsten fixture on a 220V circuit...
 

...would according to my calculations pull over a 100 amps. Where do productions find circuits that powerful???

They use generators

24ks are also pretty rare on sets. Most movie sets tend to have 18ks as their largest single bulb instrument, and even those are becoming more rare. They would usually have walls of Maxi-Brutes or Muscos or some other multi-light type of fixture if they need more than that. If they are on a stage, stages are wired to supply high amperage/voltage and if they are on location, there is always a nice generator truck and or trailer that you can plug an amazing amount of stuff into.

The most powerful light that can be used on a normal house circuit would be the Barger Bag Lite. It spreads out three separate circuits that are located in one instrument and ends up being loosely the equivalent of a 6K. It is a genius light but generates a ton of heat and is only tungsten. Barger Lite V2.0 - 6-Lite 120 volt

They say that they have a 12K version coming, that will probably spread out the load over six circuits?

Dan

With larger lights they usually do a tie in the mains, rather than use the house circuits. However, in the UK they tend not to go above using a 4K (perhaps 5k tungsten) light when doing this. Usually there are also a number of other smaller lights in the rig, To do a tie in you need a qualified electrician.

You can run 2.5K HMIs on your every day UK 13 Amp mains socket, just needing to spread the load through the house circuits.

Anything larger it's get a generator.

Things here are somewhat easier being 230v of course, less amps for a given wattage.

Yes, it's much handier for power when shooting films. I suspect mains tie ins are much more common procedures in the US. Just to reinforce that you need a qualified electrician to do this.

Hi Dan. How are you doing!

Everytime I run across a baglight - I can't help but think that with the 6 Lowel Totas that I already own - some coathangers, stingers, and a quad box or two an i could make one of these suckers given half an hour and a spare roll of gaff.

Crazy huh.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Bill

I've seen a gizmo where you take the cover off of a utility box and it clamps directly onto the rails (like the breakers do). In most houses, that'll give you 200 amps at 220v (minus whatever else is being used by the rest of the house).

I've installed a service entrance on a prior residence and had my fair share of attempts at self-electrocution (110V was startling and 220V was... uh... very interesting) but I think a lot of people would have a problem being quite that close to naked buss bars. Still, that would be a good resource to be aware of. Have a link??