Will-Baker Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Hi, Doing a show in a few weeks time, and due to the venue having major electrical issues, we're having to power our dimmer packs using a generator. I've calculated that we're going to need a 60KVA generator to power 4 Betapacks. Does anyone know of anywhere that is reliable and reasonable on price in the Yorkshire & Midlands area? We also have the option of taking the Betapacks down to single phase, and run 60amps down that... If I did, is this likely to affect performance or anything else? We recently purchased 2 Betapacks which came with 32 amp 3 phase plugs attached... but surely as at most the packs can draw 60 amps, isn't this restricting them? If so, I can ask the electrician to fit 60amp plugs (or 63amp, whichever actually exists). Would really appreciate some help on this as I'm no pro, and certainly not an electrician! Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 we're going to need a 60KVA generator to power 4 BetapacksOnly if your fully loading each betapack.. We recently purchased 2 Betapacks which came with 32 amp 3 phase plugs attached... but surely as at most the packs can draw 60 amps, isn't this restricting them?No, in fact a 32a 3phase (red) connector has plenty of spare capacity in it. Put simply, each phase is a line of available current, so in this case, you get 3x 32a lines, thats plenty, even if you fully loaded your betapacks. You could get these racks converted to single phase (blue) with a 63a single phase connector fitted quite easily and with no limit to functionality, just find a sparky that's happy to take on this kind of work. 3 Phase in more detail. Does anyone know of anywhere that is reliable and reasonable on price in the Yorkshire & Midlands area?Power Electrics deliver anywhere in the UK, as does Aggreko, both reputable companies. Could also try If your really short on budget, try Speedy Hire.. If none of them are viable, I suspect if you type 'generator hire', followed by the name of the place the event is or where you are, into Google you'll get some luck. One thing I will say, whatever you do, don't bother with HSS, you'll be wasting your money! Would really appreciate some help on this as I'm no pro, and certainly not an electrician!Not to be rude, but if your dealing with this kind of stuff, you should at least have a basic understanding of how generators, 3 phase, single phase and power distribution works. If there's the budget, get a site sparks or someone with an understanding of this on the crew for your event. Best of luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Would really appreciate some help on this as I'm no pro, and certainly not an electrician!Not to be rude, but if your dealing with this kind of stuff, you should at least have a basic understanding of how generators, 3 phase, single phase and power distribution works. Agreed. And since it sounds like you're going to be creating another electrical environment within an existing one - ie you're going to be powering equipment from a generator within a building powered from the mains - you're going to need to involve someone who understands how to earth such a system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will-Baker Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 Thanks very much for advice! We're having an electrician come in and sort out the earthing, setting it up etc so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue! Thanks, I'm starting to understand 3 phase a little better now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 We're having an electrician come in and sort out the earthing, setting it up etc so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue!Just make sure he knows what he's doing. It's not the sort of thing your average domestic sparks will have ever come across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Would really appreciate some help on this as I'm no pro, and certainly not an electrician! The one bit of advice I'd add to the excellent collection above is: Always meter your generator output. I've had several over the years which have had problems - the best one being a miswired 3ph CEEform which meant 400v was getting sent down single phase distro outlets. The other thing worth thinking about is the physical security of the genset. If it's just sitting in the car park or even a closed yard you'll need to think how you stop anyone messing with it. I expect many people would think it a splendid gag to pull the power and bring the show crashing down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianW Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 The other thing worth thinking about is the physical security of the genset. If it's just sitting in the car park or even a closed yard you'll need to think how you stop anyone messing with it. I expect many people would think it a splendid gag to pull the power and bring the show crashing down... I'll second that one! Have seen first hand where the local scallies decided it would be great fun to release the brakes on a trailer mounted 300kVA set. This set was linked to the onstage distro by 120mm CAMS. As the set started to roll down the hill, Mr distro started to head across the stage in an attempt to leave by the fire exit........ closely followed by his friends Mr Dimmer rack & Mr Sound Distro, being pulled by their 125A tails! Not nice. Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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