Gaffer & Gear 94 - Powering HMI's off Portable Generators

[@meetthegaffer]

I learned a lot from this one. Thank you. I was always taught to keep a certain amount of headroom on a genny, but was never given the kind of detail you provided here. We’ve found you can run an 1.8 off a 2200, but only with a power gems ballast. I tried it with a regular ARRI ballast and forget it. Totally boned me on a job. Nice to know the technical reasoning behind it.

[@gaffergear]

The worst ballast I had was a Lightstar, 2050watt to run a 1.2k. And that was a compact, electronic, flicker free ballast. I had a client with an ARRI m18 ballast that was pulling 2850watt. Almost no gaffer in Melbourne use arri ballasts. They use the heads, but not the ballasts.

[@avdpost]

Agreed, I've shared this with all my shooter friends, it's a must watch.

[@nelsonsmith6702]

@@gaffergear what ballasts might you recommend as someone looking to start putting together his first hmi kits? Fantastic video by the way, incredibly informative!

[@foresterwin1837]

@@nelsonsmith6702 Also curious

[@daviskreeling7062]

When COVID is under control, Luke and Andrew on set together for a series of videos would be the best thing since sliced bread.

[@soufianenajah4746]

This is exactly why I come to this channel when looking for some practical answers not just a review of some freaking softbox. Thank you so much!

[@rumorscameras]

you missed the softbox review

[@4CardsMan]

This should be a billable course.

[@jonpav6224]

That 24.5 minutes went really quickly. So much great content. Many people don't appreciate that a decent power outlet on the mains grid disguises a lot of considerations and physics. Richard Cadena covers a lot of detail regarding power factor, etc. I recall a story re kilometres of cheap LED festoon lights, causing a mid sized genset to shut down, as they hand't used power factor correction in circuit design.

[@gaffergear]

Wow, in Sydney around early 2000 a power substation went down because if the amount of kinoflo tubes being used in fox studios. Same reason.

[@avdpost]

Andrew do you think you'll ever do a Truck/Van review? I think a lot of people would love to see your van build!

[@gaffergear]

I will get around to it, I'm just not happy with the kit at present.

[@SamkempfilmsUk]

@@gaffergear I'd also love to see your van layout when you're ready!

[@galvanizedfilms]

all good stuff! some additional notes - don't plug anything into the generator before powering up the generator. line loss or voltage drop can keep from getting a good strike whether or not the generator has enough power. each connector adds resistance so three 25' stingers are more line loss than one 75' stinger or 2 25' header cables are more line loss than one 50' (on a long run - use ALL of the header cable and get the ballast as close to the generator as possible with as few stingers as possible). older generators will not give 100% of rated values. gas is important - fresh is good - don't let the generator sit with gas for 6 months. generator maintenance is crucial. prep with generator/heads/ballasts under load is crucial regardless of theory. a 1,000,000 watt generator with a 30 amp outlet will only give you 30 amps. stay away from non-inverter generators... unless you're doing MOS tungsten shoot and no one is charging their laptop off of it...

[@keithdennis5085]

Sir. This has been one of the most useful videos I've seen discussing the use of portable generators for powering HMI's. It's incredible how many warning you shared that I've seen violated on set. Thanks so much!

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

Again -- great, zero-bullshit content.

[@AhrensburgTV]

Fantastique Andrew!!! Thank you from Hamburg/Germany! M.

[@kostaspapadopoulos7323]

You are fantastic, many thanks from Greece!

[@philm]

Useful video much better than gear reviews!..thanks

[@lawrencegress9831]

So very well done. Great information Andrew! Thank you.

[@Bryce.Padovan]

Holy moly what an incredible to the filmmaking community this KZbin channel is!!

[@davivalentefoto]

Best Channel on the subject in the whole internet!!

[@EarthFireEnt]

Loving the non-gear review videos! Keep them coming please. Thank you!

[@Jsfilmz]

YESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more on this please. Be cool if you can make a video on how to plug hmis in dryer outlets. I know you live in australia but im sure you would know how to use our dryer outlets to plug lights in

[@gaffergear]

Every outlet here in Australia is 240v. Look up "meet the gaffer" I'm sure Luke has an episode on it.

[@hughturral2569]

Bloody excellent information and clear presentation. Nice job Andrew!

[@newnickfb]

Even if I don't remember many of the specifics from this video, the important takeaway is that having an electrician on set DEFINITELY makes sense.

[@benjaminbraten7384]

Invaluable info! Thank you so much!

[@hakeembryan9474]

Thanks for this! Education is key.

[@andreazevedo105]

Man, this is just amazing. Great work!

[@seanjensen7172]

Fantastic info. Thanks.

[@dance.science]

Amazing video. Thanks. I just bought a M40 and this is a huge help. I was told the start up sequence once every thing is connected was power on ballast. Then power on switch on head. And I have a watt meter. Cause the new Arri ballasts have lime correction so they pull more and more power as the cable heats or for long cable runs. Huge thanks again

[@tallguytrav]

Holy crap this was so much information. Thanks so much for sharing what you know. I'm going to have to watch this video several times to really absorb everything but I definitely feel better prepared to safely run generators and HMI's on set.

[@glebv]

Great info! Thanks for structuring these so well and going into all the details. Covering common mistakes is SO useful!

[@wsfvn]

WOW! Thanks again! You are the most valuable person , Andrew!

[@OlegKrassin]

Thank you for the video! So much useful information.

[@4thwalltvandfilm]

Great information

[@MartijnSchoeber]

Great video again, Andrew! Thank you!

[@bobbygoulding2124]

This video, was just so helpful. Thank you Andrew!!

[@yassineelidrissi0000]

Amazing info's. Thanks from Morocco

[@ΔημητρηςΣταμπολης-τ1ι]

Very good !!! I liked your link box !

[@lll9416]

I've been running my twin Briggs and Stratton 2200 watt units together now for about five years with zero issues. They are at least 1000 American dollars less than the Honda EU3000 or the Dual Honda 2200 setup.

[@dmitry_vancouver]

Excellent tips! Thanks for doing that.

[@abelgauthier8484]

Thanks a lot for your amazing insight Andrew. I'm amazed at the lenght to which you take your research.Have a good one!

[@emmanuelboadi3176]

You’re the best! I really appreciate you making this video. Keep going! 💪🏾

[@ericcech2973]

Epic video thank you!

[@larklandstudios6461]

Thank you for sharing you knowledge as usual, learned a lot on this one!

[@dennismenace4188]

Great info - thanks!

[@RodrigoObregonubidia]

Amazing, thanks

[@liamdunaway7681]

You mentioned sand... would love to hear your tips for working on beaches. We regularly work on the sandy beach in Florida and it's constantly presenting challenges for our gear with wind, sand, and salt water.

[@gaffergear]

I elevate the generators, say apple boxes, as for corrosion, no problem with the Honda's. The design has anything that can be affected by rust fully protected.

[@qvalfilmstudio1048]

great review THANKS!

[@adamasx5303]

great info buddy!

[@adamasx5303]

Over 4 years later and I still watch this!

[@sk3indevast]

Thaaanks

[@Kongogrips]

great work consider smoke machine power output...

[@nicklarovere]

so helpful...

[@whiskeytonsils]

any suggestions on how to reduce the threat of sand particles being sucked in, if one is shooting on beach? (besides placing the generator further inland on grass/pavement) lots of great tips, thanks

[@gaffergear]

Elevate it on apple boxes or put it on a large tarp.

[@jfratis9081]

Gaffer in Hawaii here. I opened up a 2k and it was full of sand. Still worked fine.

[@BotakTV]

Hey Andrew, great video! I do have a question on 14:30 when turning off the HMI. Does flicking the main breaker applies to house/location power too? or only to generators?

[@gaffergear]

Just generators with small motors

[@mrclarenceboddicker6173]

Hi Andrew, you should check out the Instagrid One Max 2.1kwh Portable AC Battery. I had 2 on a feature film that i was recently DP-ing and i've never seen my gaffer and his sparks so happy. It's a really great alternative to generators especially when combined with Aputure's range of lights like the 1200D Pro & 600D Pro.

[@gaffergear]

I am very interested in this stuff, but so many of the manufacturers won't send them to me. They all want to send me some 500w rated version because it's cheap, I tell them they need to send something that can run a 1200D, at least a 600c, then gaffers will go crazy buying them. But they just don't seem to get it and want to send me a lower wattage version like the camera department uses. Some brands interlink and can make a 15Kw power station. I've seen the 500w versions on camera trollies everywhere and the 1st ACs love em

[@davidp158]

Thanks for the info. Can you do a video discussing generators for 650/1K tungsten and larger LEDs (Aputure COB300d)? I'd like to know how to accurately calculate what size generator to rent. V-mount batteries are convenient (and silent), but can be expensive if I need a lot of them.

[@zachyoungberg1406]

This was such a good episode! Is there any way you could chat about whether you should run old magnetic ballasts off generators? I have a couple of old Arri 1.2k HMI's with the heavy magnetic ballasts and am wondering if they're safe to run off a generator. Thanks!

[@gaffergear]

Make sure, if its a portable generator it's an inverter generator, otherwise it won't be running at a true 50/60 Hz and will give you flicker even at flicker free frame rates. Other than that information using the old ballasts is just a bit before my time.

[@Brenhere08]

Thank you Andrew for another amazing video. Really enjoyable. Do you think at some point you might do a video on light stands and arms? Cheers Tim in Dublin Ireland

[@gaffergear]

Added to the list

[@bradleymowell676]

Luke, I recently bought some Arrisun 60s w/ older Arri 6/12 EB ballasts. On the plate it states “cos 0,7” which I think works out to 0.76. According to your explanation, that would mean the ballasts aren’t PFC, correct? Thank you, sir.

[@bradleymowell676]

Yep. Just spoke with Arri directly. These ballasts were made before Arri started using active line filtering, so they are not PFC.

[@gdrriley420]

@@bradleymowell676 thats was always a weird move in my book by them. it gave then a bad name in Ballasts

[@lgoverman]

Hey Andrew, How would you go about sound proofing a generator while keeping in mind the issue you brought up about not getting enough air flow?

[@gaffergear]

Hire a film industry silent generator if you need it close to the set. Otherwise I use very high gauge cable to get the generator further away. Have it down wind and around a corner if possible.

[@rolobotoman]

Lucky here we have 2200 eu generators available, they run 1.8s fine. I remember a few years ago we ran a m40 on a older 10k generator borrowed from unit. We blew off two ballasts.. only to find out a DIT nerd that was also plugged in was puting the generator back to eco mode. At first we were suspecting the -20c weather wich usually is hard on ballast. Incredible luck we had two 4k and a back up ballast and repair was no big deal the rental house didn't charge.

[@avdpost]

Love the door open look!!! Love the jabs at folks breathing in CO, and slowing killing their brain cells.

[@ianzhao5693]

Hi Andrew, I'm trying to find a way to power the Aputure 600d outdoor. There're a lot of portable rechargable power stations available, which I think they would be a better option comparing to battery power which only allows half the output. Do you have any experience with rechargable power stations and how do they compare to generators? I'm not going to power HMI's, so I thought they might be a better alternative. Thanks in advance

[@techwitheds]

I really love your channel. I have a quick question for you. How do you plug a 4k HMI into a Honda 7000 Generator. I ask because the generator does not have a bate connector and wanted to understand what was your work around. Thanks

[@gaffergear]

I'm in a 230v country with different connections. So I can plug straight into mine

[@NathalyPinheiroo]

Thank you!! Recently I needed to use a 4K HMI but the gaffer said the 7K generator couldnt habdle it because it has 3 outputs of 15amp each one but in your video you mention it’s posible. Is it a different kind of generator or how is it done?

[@gaffergear]

(Assuming you are in Australia) Change the outlets to 20A. I don't know why Honda put only 15s. If you're really keen to save money the sockets on the generators are already a generic 10A/15A/20A under the 15A cover plate, all the different amperage sockets from that manufacturer have same part numbers on all the inside connectors. It just has a 15A cover instead of a 20A or a 10A. So remove the 15A cover, check it's a 20A connection underneath, then just file the 15A cover holes the same size as a 20A.

[@NathalyPinheiroo]

@@gaffergear Thanks for your answer!! 🙏🏻

[@Kongogrips]

been looking for a gaffer to learn from your the man... any jobs

[@rayt_visual]

This is great. I was just talking to a couple of Gaffers about running consumer Gene's for certain lights. Could you do one on Electric Battery Gene's? Those have been popping up on talks ... especially among those utilizing LED lights vs Hot lights.

[@EclipseSound]

can you do review of LISHUAI HS150 RGBW ?

[@rumorscameras]

hi, now that Leds are more usable on pro environment, would you still use a gen or keep just batteries

[@gaffergear]

Generators this size are making a comeback because of the 1200 LEDs. So much fire power can be run off one of these now

[@nickperritt2786]

Could you do a video on using car batteries and inverters to power led lights like the 300dii?

I always wondered how carzy big sets power 6k 12k and even bigger light setups out in the field? How does that work? I have seen cranes around a church all of them had hmis on them, do you knoww how they do that?

[@gaffergear]

In Australia it's usually a large truck mounted generator.

@@gaffergear ahh cool, thanks, i think i have seen them on festivals tonow that you mention that

[@verifiedccp]

Hi ...I have an hmi by movie facula that's a 1000w light but it doesn't have a ballast and I can power it straight up...is it safe to use or I have to get a ballast later

[@gaffergear]

The light can't start without a ballast. So if it is turning on it must have a ballast built in

[@foresterwin1837]

Hello! Can you run an m18 with the new high speed ballast on the new honda 2200? Thanks!

[@gaffergear]

I don't know unfortunately

[@StringerBell2002]

Does all this apply to LEF lights when using a gas powered generator?

[@gaffergear]

Yep it applies to LED. This episode is dating fast, small HMIs are becoming irrelevant

[@StringerBell2002]

@@gaffergear thanks for the speedy reply. Love the channel!