Running a rig off a small generator

[sam.spoons]

I've been thinking about running my rig off a small inverter generator for a while now and did some calcs to see what power capacity I would need. I'm not sure how many of you here are also active on the SOS forums where I originally posted regarding this but I thought there are others like me who would like to be able to do small "off grid power" gigs without the expense of a huge diesel genny.

My rig is 2 x QSC K12s and 1 x EV SbA750 for FOH, 2 x Yamaha DXR10s and 1 x Truesonic TS110A (probably another couple to follow) for monitors and my DL1608. The sums I did suggested my 4.5KW rig would have a real world power requirement (quoted 1/8th power figures where available and educated guesswork elsewhere) of around 4A. I measured the backline (1 x Ashdown Superfly bass amp, 1.4A and 1 x 18watt valve guitar combo, .35A as loud as I could make them go) and came up with a total figure of around 6A for PA and backline.

I ran the full PA rig last Friday in a medium sized pub with a five piece soul/funk functions band (everything miked or DI). I put a power meter on the mains supply to the rig (all powered from a single 13A socket with no backline or lights) and checked the reading a couple of times during the gig when the band were "giving it some". The meter readings never exceeded 2A or 600VA, much less than I expected, my iPhone dB meter was reading 102dBA peaks 10 meters from the stage so it was plenty loud enough (and many complements from punters and band on the sound).

Given the above I have high hopes that my newly acquired (and very cheap) Kipor 2KVA inverter genny might do the business. It's a fairly informal  outdoor gig with my trio over the bank holiday weekend. We played on the beach last year to an audience of around 250 in support of the RNLI (using dodgy mains power from the nearest caravan), this year I'll be using the genny to power a larger rig than last year (a slightly reduced version of my new rig comprising 2 x K12s and 2 x DXR10s plus backline. I'll mic everything (kick, snare and lead guitar and bass DI plus 3 vocals) and, before you ask, I do have a contingency plan to resort to the 'dodgy mains' if the genny proves insufficient.

Last year was great fun so I'll post again after the gig and let you know how it goes this year (if nothing else you'll find out if a £200 used genny has the ba**s to power a rock band on a beach or not) 

[RoadRanger]

I also have a 2000w inverter generator I bought recently:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330964481755
You should be OK . Make sure it's not on economy (variable RPM) mode if so equipped.

[Rdmitch]

I do it every year at a bike  rally.
Running a 1200 watt D class Carvin Amp, passive mains and 1 powered sub along with my mixer.
Never had a problem using a small Honda 2000 watt generator. I usually have it on the economy mode
and appreciate the tip to not do that any longer!

[ijpengelly]

Hi Sam, you must not be far from me in the world :-)  What's your band called?

At the weekend we were at the Harefinch Social Club in St Helens and Wish FM had provided a stage and it looked like we were going to have to share a small generator with them (3kW). We were waiting on our guitarist to show up with the big @ss extension lead (a military style 16A 50m unit), so I plugged all our gear into the genny and ran it up. We had a QSC PLX3402 for the bass bins, 2 Mackie SRM1521s, 2 RCF ART 312A, 2 W-audio SM12 monitors, a couple of guitar amps and an Ampeg bass amp all running from it, plus the Wish FM powered mixer. Nothing went pop during sound check, but we did swap to the mains lead (all 75m) in the end. 

So fingers crossed, with all the modern kit you have with switch mode power supplies you should be fine.

[sam.spoons]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Mine's on of these http://www.kipor.com/product/xiangxi.aspx?classid=144679241835872256&id=203 street price in the UK £450 and a bit noisier than yours RR but otherwise very similar specs. I have decided to take the full rig so a bit more power required but, hopefully, it should be ok. The Band's called "The Tree Fellers" (or Lumberjack! when we go out acoustically. cheesy I know and done to death across the world but I favour silly names for a pub band, people seem to remember them better (perhaps we should start a band names thread, see who has the best/sillyiest  ). I'll link to some pics when we've done the deed.

[RoadRanger]

Kipor is a decent brand. Among the 2000w inverter generators I've looked at the the Yamaha seems to be top rated with the Honda close behind. So far I've just used mine to power a Fishman Loudbox Mini (60w acoustic amp) and box fan at a farmer's market where I'd have to run cable ramps to get the mains power - the generator is lighter . I did run a 1000w heat gun on it for a while just to check it out.

I actually have one of these coming in (Wednesday?) to try out for that gig (Thursdays):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YR00MI
I've read of many folks having good luck with it for beach and park gigs. It has a 28 A/H battery so theoretically about 200 W/Hrs of energy available assuming discharge to 80% and a conversion efficiency of 80%. The Loudbox Mini probably draws about 15w on average so it should power it for 12 hours or so. At the full rated draw of 600w it would probably run about 10 minutes but good enough for a quick power tool job. This guy is actually manufactured by Xantrex, a premium inverter maker and has a smart charger so the battery should last for a long time .

[sam.spoons]

I would have liked to be able to afford a Honda (they seem to be the favoured on in the UK) but I can't  so I bought my Kipor used off ebay for £200 (plus £40 carriage)  . I tested it with a 1500 watt fan heater for additional load and a DXR10 playing iPod music pretty loud, no audible nasties evident. The SOS thread is here if anybody is interested http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1058655&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=365&fpart=1#1058655

[RoadRanger]

Yah, reading that thread on SOS you always run into those guys that tell you your rig is 10x too small to do a broom closet at the pub and that you need a 25KVA diesel generator to charge your iPod. I swear these guy's primary reason to hang out on sound forums is to try to scare off the competition - probably because they suck too much to compete on service . 

[sam.spoons]

You could be right, but I like to think that, as on here, most are knowledgeable, helpful and likeable guys 

I'll be interested to see the responses if it all goes to plan 

[Rdmitch]

I've owned 3 generators in the past 4 years, one Genex, one Honeywell and the Honda.
The first 2 were unreliable pieces of garbage that seemed to fail at the most critical times.
The Honda always starts right up and runs like a champ. Yes,it was not inexpensive
Even with getting a great deal on it but I learned from experience that cost is secondary.
My decisions are based on 99% quality and 1% price.

[sam.spoons]

Well, the gig was last night and the £200 ebay genny did great. It powered 2 x QSC K12s, 2 x Yamaha DXR 10s, 1 x Alto Truesonic TS110A, 1 x Ashdown Superfly 500 watt bass head, 1 x 18 watt EL84 valve combo, 1 x Mackie DL1608 and two LED PAR cans and didn't break a sweat. It was my 3 piece band, (plus one for a couple of tunes) and we miked the Kick, Snare, O/H, Cajon, Guitar combo and three vocals plus 3 x acoustic and 1 bass DIs, we even had an eight piece choir do a couple of songs. Levels weren't huge but loud enough for a crowd of 350ish to be happy (and I even got a couple of complements on the sound quality). I did have a 'Homer' moment (d'oh) and left the powercon cable for the sub in Manchester (so we just did without :-). I'll post some pics later (with the Sub doing duty as a speaker stand as I'd rigged it before i discovered the lack of power con, I might convert it to a standard kettle lead when I get home). The genny ran for nearly 4 hours, used less than a litre of fuel and with Smart Throttle engaged ('cos the switch is broken :-) it was completely inaudible to the audience throughout. We raised £440 for the RNLI and everybody had a great time so I think it qualifies as a success all round. 

[RoadRanger]

Awesome !

[sam.spoons]

My wife and son tell me that the sound was clear and every word audible, back at the caravan around half a mile from where we were set up the beach 

[sam.spoons]

Some pics here https://plus.google.com/photos/101721579759699481377/albums/5917190940573852849 

[WK154]

Nice Pics, looked like fun. Love pic 15 with that novel concept of digging a hole in the sand and standing in it so your lower than the lead and even with the mic (clever gal). Who's the old geezer (us old folk haven't lost the Freedom of calling each other names). I see that Aussie Mic Dundee made it to your gig (far left). I take it you're the country guy in the hat and geetar.