Power Pack recommendation

Hi all,

I am looking for a battery or power back to use with my strobe, Hensel Expert Pro Plus, i asked a local dealer in my area and he told me that Hensel discontinued Visit MPG1500 to use with Hensel Pro heads [Integra/Expert], so i don't have any option with them to use my heads, so what you will recommend me to buy instead which give me a power minimum 1500ws? And to add, i want that power pack to be silent as much as possible and not noisy, also it accept our electricity output in UAE [230-240v].

I'd recommend the innovatronix Explorer XT SE, as I do believe the Hensel Expert Pro Plus is a multivoltage strobe. This is because it's the only reputable powerpack that I know of that will work with multivoltage strobes.

I've got the non-SE version (doesn't work with multivoltage) and love mine dearly. Works like a champ everytime. Also, it ships worldwide from the Phillipines, so they'll be fully equipped/ready to ship to the UAE.

I second the Innovatronix Explorer XT SE. It's rated to handle up to 2400 Watt seconds and will work with bi-voltage strobes. I use both the XT and XT SE and they are extremely reliable and real workhorses. Lots of battery life.

One thing to be aware of is that Innovatronix does its testing with one monolight and the only way to know if you're going to be able to power multiple strobes is to actually try it. Innovatronix can't and won't tell you you'll have compatibility with multiples.

An example of this is the Elinchrom BX500Ri strobe. It's a bi-voltage strobe. One works fine with the Explorer XT SE but when you add the second one things become unstable, even at lower power levels.

This is why bi-voltage strobes are not at all ideal for location shooting. You my have to get an XT SE for each strobe. That gets expensive and heavy and really makes a good case for a move to pack and head.

If you only plan to use one strobe then you're just fine but that can certainly be limiting.

TMR Design wrote in post #11401349
I second the Innovatronix Explorer XT SE. It's rated to handle up to 2400 Watt seconds and will work with bi-voltage strobes. I use both the XT and XT SE and they are extremely reliable and real workhorses. Lots of battery life.

One thing to be aware of is that Innovatronix does its testing with one monolight and the only way to know if you're going to be able to power multiple strobes is to actually try it. Innovatronix can't and won't tell you you'll have compatibility with multiples.

An example of this is the Elinchrom BX500Ri strobe. It's a bi-voltage strobe. One works fine with the Explorer XT SE but when you add the second one things become unstable, even at lower power levels.

This is why bi-voltage strobes are not at all ideal for location shooting. You my have to get an XT SE for each strobe. That gets expensive and heavy and really makes a good case for a move to pack and head.

If you only plan to use one strobe then you're just fine but that can certainly be limiting.

Yep, one of the reasons I sold my Hensels was because I wanted to hook multiple lights up to one portable power source.

Thank you very much!!!
I will look at that option, in fact i was looking to use minimum 2 lights/strobes if possible, if that power pack is a bit cheap [less than $400-500 per unit then i may get 2 or even 3, the price of AB Vagabond is so tempting that i am able to buy 3 if i have AB lights.

Tareq wrote in post #11401469
Thank you very much!!!
I will look at that option, in fact i was looking to use minimum 2 lights/strobes if possible, if that power pack is a bit cheap [less than $400-500 per unit then i may get 2 or even 3, the price of AB Vagabond is so tempting that i am able to buy 3 if i have AB lights.

The one thing we've never gotten a confirmed is whether the Vagabond II is handling the bi-voltage strobes correctly. We're heard that it works but that doesn't mean it's handling the bi-voltage power supply correctly and that would worry me.

This is the XT SE that you would need:

http://www.innovatroni​x.com …Products%20and%​20Services

TMR Design wrote in post #11401517
The one thing we've never gotten a confirmed is whether the Vagabond II is handling the bi-voltage strobes correctly. We're heard that it works but that doesn't mean it's handling the bi-voltage power supply correctly and that would worry me.

This is the XT SE that you would need:

http://www.innovatroni​x.com …Products%20and%​20Services

Thanks!

My Hensel head is not bi-voltage, it is only 240v, it is Expert not Integra, Integra version is multi-voltage, but if bi-voltage is different than multi-voltage then i have to wait and see if i can have an option that allow me to use 2 lights at once on one pack.

Tareq wrote in post #11401573
Thanks!

My Hensel head is not bi-voltage, it is only 240v, it is Expert not Integra, Integra version is multi-voltage, but if bi-voltage is different than multi-voltage then i have to wait and see if i can have an option that allow me to use 2 lights at once on one pack.

I'm not an engineer but technically there is a difference between multi-voltage and bi-voltage, BUT they are used interchangeably by most people and manufacturers.

I had Glenn and an Innovatronix engineer explain the difference in detail but sadly, I can't remember the distinction.

If your strobes are not bi-voltage then you should be fine.

I power two 600 Watt second strobes without any problems with the XT but recently when I know I'm going to be using 2 strobes I go out with the XT and XT SE to keep recycle times as fast as possible.

TMR Design wrote in post #11401698
I'm not an engineer but technically there is a difference between multi-voltage and bi-voltage, BUT they are used interchangeably by most people and manufacturers.

I had Glenn and an Innovatronix engineer explain the difference in detail but sadly, I can't remember the distinction.

If your strobes are not bi-voltage then you should be fine.

I power two 600 Watt second strobes without any problems with the XT but recently when I know I'm going to be using 2 strobes I go out with the XT and XT SE to keep recycle times as fast as possible.

I will use one 1000ws strobe and another 500ws strobe, but i may end up using 2 500ws strobes, so my range will be 1000-1500ws, i think the price of that XT[SE] is not that much, so i can buy 2, it is almost equal of 3 Vagabond in price, so instead with 3 VB i will go with 2 Explorer XT, and from your reviews you think it will be fine using one light with it, and as i said, my strobe is not bi or multi-voltage, i will read more about it to know, but i hope even if it is bi-voltage it will be fine to use then.

Tareq wrote in post #11401573
Thanks!

My Hensel head is not bi-voltage, it is only 240v, it is Expert not Integra, Integra version is multi-voltage, but if bi-voltage is different than multi-voltage then i have to wait and see if i can have an option that allow me to use 2 lights at once on one pack.

Tareq, whether your lights are single voltage, dual voltage, bi voltage , multi voltage or whatever isn't going to affect whether you can put one or two lights onto the one power pack (without splitting hairs guys).
The Explorer is good for 230v, your lights are 230v. Initially that is all that matters.
As you add more load, i.e. add the 500 to the 1000 and maybe another 500 you may see the performance start to come down.
Obviously the more load you have the less pops you will get.

fivegallon wrote in post #11402207
Tareq, whether your lights are single voltage, dual voltage, bi voltage , multi voltage or whatever isn't going to affect whether you can put one or two lights onto the one power pack (without splitting hairs guys).
The Explorer is good for 230v, your lights are 230v. Initially that is all that matters.
As you add more load, i.e. add the 500 to the 1000 and maybe another 500 you may see the performance start to come down.
Obviously the more load you have the less pops you will get.

That's not true. I've tested bi-voltage strobes on the Explorer XT SE and there is glitching and it does not work correctly. We're not talking about general performance and slow recylce times. I've personally tested many strobes with portable batteries and have a good relationship with Innovatronix. I've had many conversation with them and others about this issue and it's very real.

Once you have two bi-voltage power supplies on an Explorer XT SE and the total Watt seconds is greater than 500 you will run into problems. The bi-voltage power supply draws power in an inconsistent and fairly unstable manner and the Explorer XT SE can't handle that load properly once you start powering multiple bi-voltage strobes.

Again, this is not about just seeing a change in performance. This is the difference between working and not working due to the power relay momentarily switching off and then on in one of the strobes and this is not a healthy thing to do to your strobes.

If you question this information I do encourage people to contact Innovatronix technical support to get the official and technical explanation.

My experience has shown me that this is a very real issue and needs to be taken into consideration when powering bi-voltage strobes with a portable battery.

According to the compatibility chart on the Innovatronix site it would appear that your Hensel Expert Pro Plus is compatible with the Explorer XT SE. But it only mentions the 500

fivegallon wrote in post #11402242
According to the compatibility chart on the Innovatronix site it would appear that your Hensel Expert Pro Plus is compatible with the Explorer XT SE. But it only mentions the 500

If you look under the compatibility chart they are very clear about the fact that they only test with one strobe. I've tested with multiples and reported back to them. If you ask them about using more than one bi-voltage strobe on their chart you will dig in and find out that what I'm saying is true.

As has been mentioned, if the strobe is not bi-voltage then there's no problem but it is important for people to realize that if they're using bi-voltage strobes they have no guarantee that they can power them correctly, and as I said, I've personally tested two Elinchrom BX500Ri's and the XT SE glitched and was unable to power both without the glitching.

TMR Design wrote in post #11402235
That's not true. I've tested bi-voltage strobes on the Explorer XT SE and there is glitching and it does not work correctly. We're not talking about general performance and slow recylce times. I've personally tested many strobes with portable batteries and have a good relationship with Innovatronix. I've had many conversation with them and others about this issue and it's very real.

Once you have two bi-voltage power supplies on an Explorer XT SE and the total Watt seconds is greater than 500 you will run into problems. The bi-voltage power supply draws power in an inconsistent and fairly unstable manner and the Explorer XT SE can't handle that load properly once you start powering multiple bi-voltage strobes.

Again, this is not about just seeing a change in performance. This is the difference between working and not working due to the power relay momentarily switching off and then on in one of the strobes and this is not a healthy thing to do to your strobes.

If you question this information I do encourage people to contact Innovatronix technical support to get the official and technical explanation.

My experience has shown me that this is a very real issue and needs to be taken into consideration when powering bi-voltage strobes with a portable battery.

Yeah i understand what you're saying Rob, and i failed to put in a brief sammary to make my point.
It appeared that Tareq was searching for confirmation of using two heads on one pack. My point was intended to come across such that the lights themselves would not know if they were on a shared pack, and that there is no problem per se with putting two heads on one pack.
So yes there are other inherent issues with under-voltage sensing etc but i was aiming directly at Tareq's query.
Sorry for the confusion.

fivegallon wrote in post #11402269
Yeah i understand what you're saying Rob, and i failed to put in a brief sammary to make my point.
It appeared that Tareq was searching for confirmation of using two heads on one pack. My point was intended to come across such that the lights themselves would not know if they were on a shared pack, and that there is no problem per se with putting two heads on one pack.
So yes there are other inherent issues with under-voltage sensing etc but i was aiming directly at Tareq's query.
Sorry for the confusion.

DOH!! My mistake. It's all good. Thank you for the clarification.