Power distribution
A mains connector is not interchangeable with its neighbour: a 32 A P17 does not fit a domestic outlet, an IEC C14 wants a specific lead. Technipatch refuses what does not plug in, flags what needs a part, and converts a circuit’s load into amps against its rating.
One connector per rating, not per plug
The catalogue tells apart P17 (CEE 16 A, 32 A, 5-pole 63 A), IEC — C14 and C20, the inlets printed on the back of a device, not the end of the lead — and the domestic outlet (Edison, 16 A). Naming the inlet rather than the lead end says straight away what to grab off the truck: it is what is printed on the device in front of you, not what dangles off the cable.
What the engine refuses, and what it tolerates with a part to bring
Two connectors mate directly, mate through a part worth carrying in the case — a C13-to-P17 lead, a P17-to-Edison adapter — or not at all. A 32 A P17 does not fit a 16 A domestic outlet: that is not a missing part, it is a flat refusal, and Technipatch raises it the moment the cable is pulled, not at tomorrow’s print-out.
A circuit’s rating, converted into amps
Technipatch sums the declared watts of everything hanging off a circuit — one fixture, its mains thru, the next fixture — converts to amps on a 230 V single-phase basis, and checks it against the stated rating: past 80 %, a warning; past the rating, a refusal. What it does not do: balance phases on a three-phase install, or size the cable — the conversion assumes single-phase, and the rating stays whatever the user declares on the circuit.
An overloaded circuit, as the engine sees it
Here is a power distro built to show all three verdicts at once: two 2,000 W amps chained on a 16 A P17 circuit good for 3,680 W, and a speaker on a 32 A P17 circuit that does not fit its domestic outlet.
- Power distro — Stage right on 16 A P17, Stage left on 32 A P17
- FOH amp 1 (2,000 W) → mains thru → FOH amp 2 (2,000 W), on Stage right
- FOH speaker — domestic outlet, on Stage left
Warning CEE 16 A (P17) to IEC C14 (10 A inlet): adapter needed. Pack it in the case: C13 to CEE 16 A lead.
Refused Circuit “Stage right” on Power distro, rated 16 A, is asked for 17.4 A. A circuit loaded past its rating trips its breaker mid-show: spread the load onto another circuit, or bring it under 16 A.
Refused A CEE 32 A (P17) does not plug into a 16 A domestic plug (Edison). Check the connector actually fitted on the device, or pick a compatible port.
The rating, not the gauge
A circuit’s breaker does not look at what is plugged in behind it, it looks at the current flowing through it: past its rating, it trips mid-show. Technipatch runs that one conversion — declared watts to amps, checked against the rating — but not the choice of cable gauge, nor spreading a three-phase install across its three legs: two calls that stay the electrician’s.
The canvas is already open
Drop five devices, pull cables between their ports: the cable list, the patch sheet and the equipment list fill themselves in while you draw. No account, no card.