power generator

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viva_zapata74

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hi all,

this could be an unusual question... I'll fire away anyway, some of you might have had the same situation before

I am looking to buy a power generator, I saw a nice Honda used by one of those Andean buskers, to feed power to a medium sized P.A., my keyboard and two amps - busking is in fact what I gotta do with it; and also playing in unusual locations such as piers, food markets, big gardens and the likes, so not having to worry about "will there be a power socket somewhere?..."

any advice as to what size generator I'd be looking for? Never been good at electricals

Any advice is greatly greatly appreciated, guys

thanks
 
If you go to lowes or home depot, they have a sheet hanging next to the generators that you can take. it will have a table of what size generator is requiured to run various household equip. More importantly, though, it will detail the basics of peak load vs. working load (or whatever it's called). Based on that, you can look at the sticker on the back of your various musical equipment you wish to power and start totalling up your needs. Also, keep in mind generator noise. Some are really quiet (more expensive) and some are quite loud.
 
add up...

ok, so adding up the wattages I see on the labels of my equipment... I'll go for a quiet one, don't mind shelling out a bit more.

Certainly it's something I won't buy from ebay - need to try the goods first!

Thanks guys
 
power generator... again ! :-)

coming back to this thread of mine after quite some time:....

if I understand well: I should add up the wattages of the musical equipment, that will give me a figure, OK. Now:.......

What should the peak load and working load of the generator be, in relation to the sum of the musical equipment wattages? unfortunately I don't have the slightest idea.... :p
 
Be sure to look at the actual rating of the unit, not the peak (surge) rating. For a medium PA system a 3-4 KW unit should be enough. Your power amps will be the heaviest load, unless you are using lighting, which needs to be considered. Keyboards and preamp, effects, etc will draw little current. When you say medium sized, I'm assuming that means less than 1000 watt power amps. One thing to be very careful of is that generators don't operate anywhere close to the voltage/frequency standard offered by normal power service (the grid). Power surges and frequency swings are common with portable generators and I would be hesitant to connect sensitive equipment to one. Be sure the generator is running and warmed up (stable) before connecting the equipment and to disconnect this equipment before powering down the generator.
 
Soundmind?? said:
Be sure to look at the actual rating of the unit, not the peak (surge) rating. For a medium PA system a 3-4 KW unit should be enough. Your power amps will be the heaviest load, unless you are using lighting, which needs to be considered. Keyboards and preamp, effects, etc will draw little current. When you say medium sized, I'm assuming that means less than 1000 watt power amps. One thing to be very careful of is that generators don't operate anywhere close to the voltage/frequency standard offered by normal power service (the grid). Power surges and frequency swings are common with portable generators and I would be hesitant to connect sensitive equipment to one. Be sure the generator is running and warmed up (stable) before connecting the equipment and to disconnect this equipment before powering down the generator.
Click to expand...
Thanks 4 the reply, dude; I get the message, but: would you consider a digital piano "sensitive equipment"? It's just a stagepiano, Korg SP 200 and I would say it can take some battering in any department... It took loads of punishment already :rolleyes:

The initial plan was to use the full PA, where I have a 500W poweramp, but now we decided to go out just with our own amps for amplification. At the end of the day I'll only need to power a 100W Peavey keyboard amp, a 150W unico combo for guitar, a small amp for the harmonica which is no more than 50W I believe.... no lighting as such, we are just going to busk, we're not gonna go U2 in the middle of St Patrick Street :D

thanks again
 
I'd assume any electronics to be "sensitive equipment" - when the thing converts to DC at something like 5-12volts, and you are fluctuating all over the place, you can easily blow the gear or at the very least the power supply on the unit.

Just always better to be safe than sorry in these sorts of situations.
 
cusebassman said:
Just always better to be safe than sorry in these sorts of situations.
Click to expand...

sound advice!

So, in this situation, how can I stay as safe as possible? I really have to use my stagepiano....

thanks, man
 
You could use a power conditioner between the generator and the equipment to keep the generator power stable.
 
Zaphod B said:
You could use a power conditioner between the generator and the equipment to keep the generator power stable.
Click to expand...

any reputable brands for these?

thanks, man! :)
 
I'd be less concerned for equipment that uses "wall wart" power supplies and that are rated for variable input dc voltages (ie 9-18 vdc). If a surge occurred with them, you would probably just have to replace the wall wart. I'd be more concerned with gear with internal power supplies. I would at least use a good quality power conditioner...not the $50 one at GC that has a circuit breaker and a capacitor and nothing more of any protective value. You may want to look at a good quality power inverter and two or three deep cycle batteries (RV or boats use them). Depending on how long the show is, this may work and you won't have to deal with the generator noise. If you must go with a generator, the main thing is to let it run for a few minutes and stabilize before turning on the powered equipment, and be sure to turn off the equipment before shutting down the generator.
 
boingoman said:
Any decent generator is going to have voltage regulation.
Click to expand...
whoa.... not all regulation is good though.... becareful... read the sepcs and over spec the thing by about 25-50%... and ask about the regulation....
 
I'm new here (this is my first post), but this is something I know a little about. I've been living off the grid for about 10 years now, and also have a small home studio. First off, I would suggest you set yourself up with a battery/inverter system for portable power. The advantages being no noise and better quality power. Depending on the inverter, you can actually get better than utility power in terms of voltage variation. The batteries could be recharged with utility power when not in use, and in a pinch you could just hook up to a car battery.

I don't know of any generators that are quiet enough to have running near where you are playing. Some are quiet enough if they are a distance away, and the less expensive models like you find at costco or home depot are so loud that the power drop would become an issue since they'd have to be at least a half mile away. Generators are notorious for poor voltage regulation and most have poor quality inverters to convert DC to AC. Most produce a square wave rather than a sine wave which is hard on sensitive electronics. Most of the separate inverters produce a better quality modified sine wave and pure sine wave inverters are available, but pricey

The down side is that the inverter system is probably going to be more $$ than the generator, but if you're really serious about a portable power system for music/electronics, I think it's the way to go. Check around locally for someone who is knowledgeable in alternative energy systems, and they could help you with specific needs.

Aloha
 
Another thing to remember is that if you add up all the wattages of your equipment
(lets say you need 1000 watts)
...you want a generator that produces at least 50% to double what you need
(in other words 2000 watts; like audio,you need some headroom)

You DONT want to bang up against the upper limit of the generator...
 
I've gotta agree with Horsedoc. You may not even be allowed to use the genie in a crowded environment. The Venice Beach guys all use a batter/invertor system.

You should even consider mixing both instruments to one combo amp.
 
Try googling power inverters. This seems to provide some good info: www.roadtripamerica.com/dashboarding/Power-Inverters.htm It has info that you may find useful concerning power quality. Unfortunately, it will be costly, but to get a generator that meets the specs you really need will be costly too. Looks like you would have to spend at least a grand either way. I'd go the inverter route personally. Quieter, less operating cost ( gas $3 a gallon and climbing - and generators are gas hogs!) You could charge the batteries in an inverter system for about 10% of the fuel cost for the generator. As said above, to get the generator far enough away to avoid noise issues will result in long cable run (an additional cost), and voltage issues resulting from the long cable. Good luck with your decision.
 
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