Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Jamin Lynch]

I have a small back yard party event coming up and the home owner wants to supply a Wacker GP6600A generator. I haven't used many small gennies like this and was curious if you guys think this will be OK.

I could do it all on 2 circuits, but 3 would be preferred. The homeowner said they are already tripping breakers with all the Christmas light they have up. Not sure if I can find 2 circuits around the house.

Medium volume country music

2-VRX918SP Subs
2-VP7215 Compact tops
2-VP7212 wedges
1-Si Compact 1
Bass amp
Drums-4 mics
1-Electric git amp
1-Acoustic git-D/I
1-Fiddle amp
2-Vocals
8-LED lights

http://www.contractorsdirect.com/GP-6600A-Portable-Generator

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

It's a construction generator.  You want something with an inverter AND voltage regulation.

I've seen such things used...with mixed results.  Ya feel lucky, punk?

[Jamin Lynch]

It's a construction generator.  You want something with an inverter AND voltage regulation.

I've seen such things used...with mixed results.  Ya feel lucky, punk?

That's all I needed to hear. I'm not a gambler. Not plugging into that.

Out of curiosity, what could happen?

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

That's all I needed to hear. I'm not a gambler. Not plugging into that.

Out of curiosity, what could happen?

Worst I've seen has been a DJ smoking his entire rig on the back of a truck at a parade.  Big clouds of "magic smoke" whisked away by the breeze...

[Jamin Lynch]

It's a construction generator.  You want something with an inverter AND voltage regulation.

I've seen such things used...with mixed results.  Ya feel lucky, punk?

Thanks,

Now the home owner has thrown all this on me.    Which may not be a bad thing.

I haven't been able to find a rental company who has a inverter gennie. 

I guess I'll try to pick up a couple of circuits around the house. Now where are those 50ft orange extension cords?

[Frank DeWitt]

Thanks,

Now the home owner has thrown all this on me.    Which may not be a bad thing.

I haven't been able to find a rental company who has a inverter gennie. 

I guess I'll try to pick up a couple of circuits around the house. Now where are those 50ft orange extension cords?

I was surprised to see that my local ACE hardware store rents Honda inverter generators.  Call around, you never know.

[Jamin Lynch]

I was surprised to see that my local ACE hardware store rents Honda inverter generators.  Call around, you never know.

The closest ACE is about 50 miles away.

I'll keep checking

[Craig Hauber]

I've used one -an older version but also by wacker.  Didn't harm anything and seemed fairly stable -no surging or hunting for revs.  My gear is all old-iron analog so it probably didn't care.  (can't speak for digital gear but perhaps a UPS may be good insurance on the console?
The one you linked has a honda motor so at least it has that.
I do run it a while and warm it up before use -after metering and checking for fluctuations (and making sure oil and gas are at proper levels).  Sometimes running a 500W par can off of it -or a space heater -keeps it from dropping down to a low-power idle if it has that feature that can't be disabled.
I don't let anyone else plug into it, nor do I trust them if they looked beat-up or abused or the wiring has been modified.
(I ran through the 80's and most of the 90's without inverter-type gensets even existing and never had any gear failures.  Although the compactness,quietness and power quality of the inverters definitely makes them the way to go, a good non-inverter set isn't the end of the world)

I have a small back yard party event coming up and the home owner wants to supply a Wacker GP6600A generator. I haven't used many small gennies like this and was curious if you guys think this will be OK.

I could do it all on 2 circuits, but 3 would be preferred. The homeowner said they are already tripping breakers with all the Christmas light they have up. Not sure if I can find 2 circuits around the house.

Medium volume country music

2-VRX918SP Subs
2-VP7215 Compact tops
2-VP7212 wedges
1-Si Compact 1
Bass amp
Drums-4 mics
1-Electric git amp
1-Acoustic git-D/I
1-Fiddle amp
2-Vocals
8-LED lights

http://www.contractorsdirect.com/GP-6600A-Portable-Generator

[Lyle Williams]

Extension cords from neighbours?

[Jamin Lynch]

Extension cords from neighbours?

No. I remember that from another thread.

I'm pretty sure I can find 2 available circuits at this house that will get me by.

The neighbors are too far away

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

http://www.rentalworld.com/honda_products/generators/superquiet.html

[Wal Mann]

Thanks,

Now the home owner has thrown all this on me.    Which may not be a bad thing.

I haven't been able to find a rental company who has a inverter gennie. 

I guess I'll try to pick up a couple of circuits around the house. Now where are those 50ft orange extension cords?

Get the client to run his Christmas lights (and cooking equipment etc.) off the generator and leave the mains power for your gear, then you'll know if he trusts the generator.

Wal

[Stephen Swaffer]

Get the client to run his Christmas lights (and cooking equipment etc.) off the generator and leave the mains power for your gear, then you'll know if he trusts the generator.

Wal

Actually not a bad idea-lights and cooking equipment should be less susceptible to damage.

[Doug Johnson]

If you have a small distro and they have a dryer that uses an l14-30. I would use that.  Better yet if the stove is electric; l14-50.

[Mark Cadwallader]

If you have a small distro and they have a dryer that uses an l14-30. I would use that.  Better yet if the stove is electric; l14-50.

Assuming it isn't an old house with a NEMA 10-50 or 10-30 receptacle....

[Jamin Lynch]

If you have a small distro and they have a dryer that uses an l14-30. I would use that.  Better yet if the stove is electric; l14-50.

It's a new house. Hooking into the dryer plug would be a great idea and probably would solve all the power issues.

I guess I should get a distro one day,  for these types of gigs. I had one years ago, but I rarely need one anymore.

[Jamin Lynch]

http://www.rentalworld.com/honda_products/generators/superquiet.html

I called rental World. There is one just a few miles from here. But all their inverter Honda gennies were already rented out.

[Mike Sokol]

I called rental World. There is one just a few miles from here. But all their inverter Honda gennies were already rented out.

If you do find yourself stuck using a contractor generator, I highly recommend you use a good meter to check voltage and frequency prior to plugging into it. Also, be sure that the neutral and ground are bonded at the generator and insist on an 8 ft ground rod bonded to the generator chassis. Don't pound the ground rod in yourself unless you contact "Miss Utility" or whoever your local water/gas/electric safety group is. You don't want to be hitting a pipe or wire with the ground rod and be responsible for really bad things happening.

[g'bye, Dick Rees]

It's a new house. Hooking into the dryer plug would be a great idea and probably would solve all the power issues.

I guess I should get a distro one day,  for these types of gigs. I had one years ago, but I rarely need one anymore.

Having my own Honda EU3000i has allowed me to reduce my "liability profile" and not worry about power availability/suitability.  I can site the unit right behind the stage with no noise issues and cut down on setup time and cabling with no cable runs for folks to trip over.  Combine that with iPad mixing (no snake) and I'm as safe as can be.

The Honda paid for itself in a little over one season...monetarily.  But the savings in setup and logistical advantages paid off after the first job.  If I wasn't at the end of my career I'd go with the 6500 feeding my own distro to power the amps with 220.

I think TJ's setup for this is close to ideal.

[frank kayser]

Get the client to run his Christmas lights (and cooking equipment etc.) off the generator and leave the mains power for your gear, then you'll know if he trusts the generator.

Wal

Of all the suggestions involving NOT being able to procure a Honda/equivalent genest, I think this one poses the least risk to your equipment.


You stated you no longer own a distro, so you might want to check the rental places for one -


frank

[Jamin Lynch]

Having my own Honda EU3000i has allowed me to reduce my "liability profile" and not worry about power availability/suitability.  I can site the unit right behind the stage with no noise issues and cut down on setup time and cabling with no cable runs for folks to trip over.  Combine that with iPad mixing (no snake) and I'm as safe as can be.

The Honda paid for itself in a little over one season...monetarily.  But the savings in setup and logistical advantages paid off after the first job.  If I wasn't at the end of my career I'd go with the 6500 feeding my own distro to power the amps with 220.

I think TJ's setup for this is close to ideal.

Fortunately, most all the clubs, dancehalls and bars around here have good power available. There are a couple of exceptions, but I'm aware of those and make other plans.

The only time I need additional power is for larger outdoor events, which aren't very often, and even then adequate power is supplied to us. A 50amp distro is plenty for our system.

Years ago we needed our own distro due to the number of par 64 cans we used. Now we have scaled back somewhat and all the lighting I have is LED

I feel lucky that power hasn't been a real problem for me.

[Jamin Lynch]

Update: All went well.

It turns out the reason the homeowner was freaking out about getting a generator is because her outdoor Christmas lights wouldn't come on and she was concerned about the caterers.  So she called an electrician and he found a bad GFCI. It got replaced and all was good. The caterers had their own generator and were self sufficient.

I found 2 separate circuits in the garage and got a third from in the house. The party was a blast.

[Mike Sokol]

It turns out the reason the homeowner was freaking out about getting a generator is because her outdoor Christmas lights wouldn't come on and she was concerned about the caterers.  So she called an electrician and he found a bad GFCI. It got replaced and all was good. The caterers had their own generator and were self sufficient.

Great.... I'm pitching a bunch of small to medium wine festivals next summer and rigging a production trailer with a spot for my Honda EU3000 on the trailer tongue. That way we don't have to depend on anyone else for power, just fire up the genny and go. Advancing the power for a small show is always a pain since nobody seems to know what's available, and if you guess wrong then it quickly turns into a Cluster F$$K. The more I can carry myself, the happier I tend to be.

[ProSoundWeb Community]