Determining my needs for a generator?

Cole McDonald · July 12th, 2009, 12:02 PM

Convert the wattages to amps on your lights: watts = amps x volts (household circuits are 120, as your generator probably will be as well)... so amps = watts / volts.

You can then add all of the amperages to see what your need will be and add a bit so you're not running over 85% capacity of the generator for surge safety (blown fuses/circuits will stop your shoot dead).

Find someone who owns one and ask to borrow it/ rent it from them, much cheaper that way. Lots of small generators will be enough for a bunch of lights and a coffee machine/ small fridge. You could even look into purchasing one so you won't ever have to worry about it again... it would be more of an investment, but you'd have it whenever you need it in the future... and you can have the production rent it from you for a discount to keep the budget down and offset your cost.

Paul Tauger · July 12th, 2009, 01:09 PM

An alternate idea: have you considered calling the power company and seeing what they'd charge for a temporary drop? I've seen this done on construction sites and it may prove to be far less expensive (and less complicated) than buying/renting a generator.

Andrew Dean · July 12th, 2009, 01:50 PM

oooh. thats a great idea, paul.

July 12th, 2009, 12:02 PM	#16
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,547	Convert the wattages to amps on your lights: watts = amps x volts (household circuits are 120, as your generator probably will be as well)... so amps = watts / volts. You can then add all of the amperages to see what your need will be and add a bit so you're not running over 85% capacity of the generator for surge safety (blown fuses/circuits will stop your shoot dead). Find someone who owns one and ask to borrow it/ rent it from them, much cheaper that way. Lots of small generators will be enough for a bunch of lights and a coffee machine/ small fridge. You could even look into purchasing one so you won't ever have to worry about it again... it would be more of an investment, but you'd have it whenever you need it in the future... and you can have the production rent it from you for a discount to keep the budget down and offset your cost. __________________ http://www.yafiunderground.com Low/No Budget cinema that looks like a million bucks!

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July 12th, 2009, 01:09 PM	#17
Paul Tauger Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles (recently from San Francisco) Posts: 946	An alternate idea: have you considered calling the power company and seeing what they'd charge for a temporary drop? I've seen this done on construction sites and it may prove to be far less expensive (and less complicated) than buying/renting a generator.

July 12th, 2009, 01:50 PM	#18
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 201	oooh. thats a great idea, paul.