450 w/s strobe kit powered by 3500 watt gas generator... safe?

[CorzyPhoto]

I just found a client for shooting his 2009 Lancer... I really want to use my strobes. I told him I need a power source and if he can hold off a couple weeks so I can get a powersource (AlienBee). He offered to have me use his 3500 watt generator... Would it be safe to power up my strobes? Thanks in advanced! :D

[tim]

There's some documentation on the AB website, or ask their customer service - they're excellent.

[Curtis N]

Let us know what you find out from the Alienbees people.

I doubt there would be any problem, and 3500 watts is way more than you would need. It would be good to get confirmation from the manufacturer though.

[Rudi]

You want a pure sine wave generator. If that's what it is, you should have no problems.

[CorzyPhoto]

How would I find out if it's a pure sine wave generator? Would it be labeled somewhere?

I'll try to contact AB and see what they say. I'm wondering if they will say it's dangerous to try and get a sale..

[Bob D.]

Look in the manual or get the make and model of the unit and go to the website for the manufacturer of the generator. You should be able to find your answer there. The manual may not list equipment such as studio strobes but look and see if it is safe for use with a desktop computer (not a laptop which has an internal battery) or email the manufacturer and give them some info on your lights (maybe a link to the AB site) and ask them if the generator is safe for this type equipment.

[Lotto]

Honda and Yamaha are the two manufactures that make portable generators with pure sine wave inverter. Most of others are not, specially the high output models.

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/modeldetail.aspx?page=modeldetail&section=P2GG&modelname=EU1000I%20%20%20&modelid=EU1000IAN

http://yamahagenerators.com/yamaha_generator_ef1000is_pr_1.html

[Curtis N]

Honda and Yamaha are the two manufactures that make portable generators with pure sine wave inverter. Most of others are not, specially the high output models.Well maybe I'm an electrical idiot, but I'm surprised they have/need inverters. I thought they were alternators that generated AC power.

[JasonW]

I could be wrong but I reckon the inverters are there to match the correct AC frequency. Otherwise it would be the same frequency as the generator's RPM.

[Lotto]

Well maybe I'm an electrical idiot, but I'm surprised they have/need inverters. I thought they were alternators that generated AC power.

I don't know not'n about them either:lol: I just read what the other lighting guys are using. Maybe instead of inverter, they are pure sine wave regulator?

[SkipD]

The thing that's special about the Honda EU series is that they will produce the correct AC voltage and frequency with the engine running at a wide range of RPM's. For example, if one needs only half the capacity of the generator, the engine runs at the idle speed. That's what contributes to its being super-quiet. When using our EU1000i to charge our camper's battery, we power a conventional charger with the generator and the generator runs at its slowest RPM and is so quiet that you almost cannot hear it from 50 feet away.

The system is actually a DC generator which supplies energy to a rather sophisticated inverter to provide the AC output. The output is not a truly "pure" sine wave (as seen on my oscilloscope), but is a very smooth waveform with a tiny ripple riding on it.

[Curtis N]

Thanks for the explanation, Skip!