Gas powered generators

[Tingchaleun]

I came across a Hyundai power generator at Walmart (see links below). What do you guys think of it as an alternative to the Honda EU1000iC/2000 generators? After i found that, i started a search for more alternatives. After all, i found that Yamaha makes one, as well as John Deere, in addition to Honda and Hyundai.

1) Hyundai:
http://www.hyundaipower.ca/hy1000.php

2) Honda:
http://www.honda.ca/HPower/Models/ModelOverview?L=E&Type=Generators&Series=Inverter&Model=EU1000iC

3) Yahama:
http://www.yamaha-motor.ca/products/products.php?model=3207&class=33&group=G|&LANG=en

4) John Deere: http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/homeandworkshop/products/generators/hr_g1700i.html

So, the reason why i was looking for a generator was so that i can power two Elinchrom 500ri lights. Ultimately, how do i tell if i need a 2000 watt generator or will a 1000w generator be enough?

[NHskier]

Assuming the Elinchrom lights put out 500 watts each you'd theoretically be maxing out these 1000w units if shooting at full power. The specs for both the Hyundai and Honda show 1000W Peak Power, 900W Running (continuous) Power. In other words they can handle a short power draw spike up to 1K watts but not an extended draw at 1K.

So if you're shooting at full power on both lights you're drawing 1K watts. My guess is that if you're really banging off the shots you might run into trouble (generator shuts down on overload) but if you're shooting with 10-15 second between shots, or not using full power on the lights then you should probably be OK.

No doubt someone else will come along who has direct experience lighting with generators and provide a more definitive answer.

[SkipD]

I have a Honda EU1000i and a few years ago I tried powering one of my AlienBees B1600 flash units (640Ws advertised power) with it. As I recall, the generator ran a little funky when the B1600 was recycling, though it did get the job done. However, the flash unit did not act normally during its refresh cycle. I would definitely want a beefier generator to run it with. If I had several flash units to operate at the same time, I would opt for at least a 3000 watt generator if it was the same type as the EU1000i (a DC generator with an on-board inverter to generate the power).

For more normal continuous loads (within the rating of the generator), the Honda EU1000i cannot be beaten. It's extremely quiet and the output waveform is rather clean (though not a perfect sine wave as the advertising would lead you to believe).

[tetrode]

I came across a Hyundai power generator at Walmart (see links below). What do you guys think of it as an alternative to the Honda EU1000iC/2000 generators? After i found that, i started a search for more alternatives. After all, i found that Yamaha makes one, as well as John Deere, in addition to Honda and Hyundai.

1) Hyundai:
http://www.hyundaipower.ca/hy1000.php

2) Honda:
http://www.honda.ca/HPower/Models/ModelOverview?L=E&Type=Generators&Series=Inverter&Model=EU1000iC

3) Yahama:
http://www.yamaha-motor.ca/products/products.php?model=3207&class=33&group=G|&LANG=en

4) John Deere: http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/homeandworkshop/products/generators/hr_g1700i.html

So, the reason why i was looking for a generator was so that i can power two Elinchrom 500ri lights. Ultimately, how do i tell if i need a 2000 watt generator or will a 1000w generator be enough?

Before you commit to buying anything, make sure the generator has a full (or pure) sine wave inverter. Digitally controlled lights such as the 500ri need to fed a pure sine wave. The Hyundai, John Deere, and Honda sites claim the models you've linked to are suitable for sensitive equipment such as computers. Yamaha just says pulse width modulation technology.

The Honda is very popular with photographers (the EU2000i, that is) so we know that will work with digitally controlled lights. An email to support at Hyundai, Yamaha, and John Deere asking if the generators produce pure sine waves would be a prudent course of action.

Dave F.

[Jon Foster]

The EU2000i is a killer little generator. You can get a MU cable that will link two of them together. Excellent gensets and hard to find around here because they are so popular. Actually, they are used by most RVer's for deep woods camping where no power is available. They produce almost no noise and run a long time on a single fill up.

Jon.