POWER!!!!! Need help, please!

G

gorillaonabike

I need some power. We will be shooting outdoors with a few of these... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-Redhea...graphy_StudioEquipment_RL&hash=item2c634d0c49

At night, outdoors with a 5D, 7D and VG10.

I need a generator. We will have a couple of cars kicking around so we can recharge the generators off the car batteries but we will absolutely need generators to provide power.

Would any of you have suggestions about a generator I could buy quickly to supply as much power as possible. The generator needs to be seriously portable meaning we need it to be as small as possible and it goes without saying we need 'value' meaning we need it to be as cheap as possible. Anyone out there have any ideas?
 
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gorillaonabike said:
We will have a couple of cars kicking around so we can recharge the generators off the car batteries
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What kind of generator works like that? :huh:

Typical generators have a gasoline-powered combustion engine, and generate electricity (and a lot of noise!) by running their motor & converting the energy into electricity. Or Magic.

Are you maybe thinking about UPS systems, the backup batteries that stop your computer from crashing when the powergrid goes out?
 
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Rent, don't buy. You can rent a small Honda generator for a day for relatively cheap. Grip rental places have them, so do most hardware stores.

If you're using 3 800w lights, you'll need at least a 2400w/20 amp generator for 110v. Just a 10 amp if you're on 220 (I think my math is right haha), but that's exactly the the limit, you may still trip the breaker at that much, especially if you plug anything else in.

Also, really long heavy-gauge extension cords. You'll want the generator as far away as possible for noise, a couple hundred feet if you can. The long cords increase the resistance this increasing the draw meaning you'll need a beefier unit or less lights.
 
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I like to add a safety margin in my wattage, so the calucation I use is with 2400w @ 110v, I use 2400w / 100v = 24 amps (divide the wattage by the voltage to get the amps for the circuit)... by using 100v, the math is faster, and the safety margin is built in ;) Who ever is in charge of the lighting needs to be checking the load on the circuits everytime a light is changed. Tripping a circuit sucks and loses valuable production time.
 
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