Portable power?

[epeace]

I am planning a few shoots for the very near future that may require portable power. I was looking on ebay (of course) for solutions. I came across this nice little generator (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=64005&item=3877868389&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW) and was wondering if this was the best approach. Especially considering that it is rated at about 900 watts and I would have 2 800 w/s strobes that will be running off of it. Plus whatever the makeup/hair people need.

How is this done typically?

[steven]

If you are using a little generator be carfull.
The power coming off some of those thing can be dirty, (low voltage/high voltage, noise in power signal). Make sure you run it through some sort of power filter to clean it up. Don't want to damage you strobes.

[robertwgross]

"Whatever the makeup/hair people need."

That's pretty ambiguous.

If somebody is trying to use a hair blower, many of those start at about 1500 watts and go up from there.

I would find all of the power labels on all of the appliances that I intend to plug in, add those up, and then I would double that to find the rating of the generator I need to get.

If your appliance loads are too great, you'll likely blow a fuse and then the entire shoot is ruined.

---Bob Gross---

[bballboy30]

If you have your car with you can buy a power inverter that plugs into the 12 volt socket in your car.

[epeace]

hmm. . so basically this little generator doesnt come close . . if im firing 2 800 w/s strobes. . . does that mean i require a minimum of 1600 watts to be available at all times? for recharging of the strobes?

a power inverter would rarely be an option as the locations would rarely be near a parking lot . .

[robertwgross]

The same kind of ratings problem happens with an inverter on a car. The trick here is that the 12 volt socket on a car is normally fused pretty low. If you drop a big inverter load on it, you blow the fuse and stand to take out your car radio or something similar too.

This may sound awkward, but I have an 800 watt inverter for my car, but I only use it by clipping it directly to the car battery, thereby avoiding any fuse issues in the car. The inverter itself has an input fuse, but you have to decide whether you are trying to protect the inverter, or protect the source battery.

When I really need some field power like that, I stick three big marine-style deep-discharge batteries into my car trunk, and I run the 800 watt inverter from that.

Once a person asked about doing this with solar panels for input. Forget about that. From one square yard of solar panel, you are likely to get only about 100 watts continuously. That is a good long term slow solution to a problem, but it is not a short term fast solution to anything.

---Bob Gross---

[epeace]

hmm. . . . according to alienbees . . all i need is the V150 (http://alienbees.com/vagabond.html?item=V150) . .

[cactusclay]

I bought a Honda EU 2000i to power a small A/C unit and my computer equipment a couple of years ago and after doing some research on the matter, discovered that I needed to have three times the wattage, for the initial surg from starting electronic equipment up. The EU model is specifically designed for sensitive electronics. There is also a 1000 version.

[chucksberg]

hmm. . so basically this little generator doesnt come close . . if im firing 2 800 w/s strobes. . . does that mean i require a minimum of 1600 watts to be available at all times? for recharging of the strobes?"

No it doesn't mean that at all. That generator is a pure sine wave generator and well regulated. It is designed to run computer equipment and other delicate instruments. You also don't need to double that number as in the previous post because you are not starting inductive loads "motors". Add up the power consuption of each device, usually written on it somewhere and see where you fall. Get a generator rated to handle that load and a bit more. Lots of places rent these, maybe try one before you buy.

You only need a fraction of the power to charge up the strobes.

[cactusclay]

Yea, Chucksburg is probably right.

[robertwgross]

I would find all of the power labels on all of the appliances that I intend to plug in, add those up, and then I would double that to find the rating of the generator I need to get.

I suggested to double that simply because other unexpected extra loads always grow up later. I would rather have a generator that had twice the power that I needed rather than one that had half the power needed.

In general, doubling the power output of a generator costs less than double the price. Plus, if you buy one, and then you discover you need a little more power than what it is capable of, you have to go buy an entire new generator. It's sort of like buying a car with a 6 cylinder engine even though you only need four cylinders initially.

---Bob Gross---

[chucksberg]

Robertgross
Your right about it's better to have a lot extra than a little short. Personally I would buy the Honda Eu2000. Then if 2000 wasn't enough, you could parallel 2 for a 4000 watt surge. Also the Hodna can run very quietly and for a long time in econo mode and still have the capacity when you need it.

The Weight factor is the biggie when going up in power. They start to get very heavy fast above 2kw.

I use the Honda on my boat. Runs the a/c, fridge ect. Great unit

I don't think he will come near 800 watts, my guess would be about 400 for a good setup and the 800 would give him a lot of extra...maybe to run the beer cooler.

Chuck

[robertwgross]

Your right about it's better to have a lot extra than a little short. Personally I would buy the Honda Eu2000. Then if 2000 wasn't enough, you could parallel 2 for a 4000 watt surge. Also the Hodna can run very quietly and for a long time in econo mode and still have the capacity when you need it.


I don't exactly doubt what you wrote, but on most generators like that, you cannot parallel two of them without an external synchronizer, which is expensive and a pain.

Anecdote>
Over twenty years ago, I was on a photo trip up high in Nepal, near Mount Everest. We came upon a village clinic with a power problem. First of all, there is no commercial AC power anywhere for miles around. There was no low-scale hydro power anywhere for miles around. All the doctors had were three "generators" and one regular Honda generator. The three "generators" were actually each a chainsaw motor with an auto alternator coupled. Then each of those were used to charge a string of regular 12v auto batteries. Then the lights in the clinic ran off 12v. OK. Crude, but effective. The problem was that each chainsaw motor and alternator had been used too much, and of the three of them, nothing much worked. So, they could not charge the batteries, so they had to use the regular Honda to run lights at night. Of course, generators make noise at night. That is why they preferred to run the chainsaw rigs during the day to charge batteries that would run lights at night. We had some spare time, so we flew into some maintenance tasks. We rebuilt the chainsaw motors, and we rebuilt the alternators, and we threw out the worst of the auto batteries, and we fixed up everything as best we could. When all the smoke cleared, we had maybe 80% of the original efficiency going, and that would have to do. They kept the little Honda for backup.

---Bob Gross---

[Ballen Photo]

I'm wondering if maybe renting a motorhome with a built in generator might not be a better solution for you? Motorhome's generally come with 4 to 6.5 KW generators. This would also give you a makeup/changing room as well as rest room facillities. It will haul all your gear too. Just a thought. ;)
-Bruce

[VentureFox]

Epeace,


I recently was faced with the same dilemma - i.e. to find a way of powering my studio monoblocs whilst on location. When I looked into possible solution I came across something called the "Flash Feeder" sold by the TFC (The Flash Centre) for approx £500+VAT. It is basically a huge battery powering mains powered monoblocs or other suitable equipment.

Hope this helps

[RDKirk]

If you have your car with you can buy a power inverter that plugs into the 12 volt socket in your car.

The inverter for an electronic flash must be a pure sine wave inverter. These are quite a bit more expensive than the common simulated sine wave inverters you plug into a car socket. Expect to pay at least $130 USD for a small 150 watt pure sine wave inverter.

[RickHulshof]

There are companies that also rent out generators - look up motor shops in your area most of them deal with gensets as well or can put you in touch with one. This might me a more cost effective option for you. Larger ones are trailer towed have individual circuit protection and here at least they will deliver them - also check out companies that rent construction equipment they rent out 1000 - 5000 watt generators in my area

[chucksberg]

robertgross, sorry, sort of forgot about this thread. Here is a link to paralleling 2 Honda generators for double capacity.

http://www.mayberrys.com/honda/generator/accessories/parallel-rv/rvuse.htm

[Avalonthas]

Generators create huge amounts of noise. I would find it distracting

[Ballen Photo]

Generators create huge amounts of noise. I would find it distracting

The new Honda EU series are VERY quiet, SHHH! ;)
-Bruce

[pcasciola]

That Yamaha generator is very cool, but might be overkill. I use those portable car jump start batteries when doing astrophotography with no power around. It powers my laptop and the telescope tracking system, and I use the laptop to control the 20D via USB and the Canon control software. They are only around $40 a piece on sale, too, and are very lightweight, but the cheap ones typically only have a cigarette lighter adapter. For around $80 you can get one that has a built in inverter and normal AC plugs. They take a long time to trickle charge in the house (8-10 hours), but using DC charging in the car, you can charge them up in under an hour if you're in a pinch.

Here's one with an inverter attached to it:
http://www.bestbrandsclub.com/vevejusywipo.html