How to work out your power output?
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Posted on Feb 11, 2009 06:27 pm
audiolife
Member Since: Nov 18, 2008
Hey guys im tyring to work out the power out put of our bands rig and PA so that we can get a genrator powerfull enough to run it all.
Whats the best way to do this ?><
Cheers
Seth
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Feb 11, 2009 07:42 pm You need the owners manual for all of your gear. In there, under the spec sheet, you will find how much each amp will draw @ max.
This is not the output wattage, this is the amount of amps that it draws. Do this for each amp that you own. And then add another 20 amps for your outboard. That should do it for you.
monmixrIf 50hz 60 will kill ya.Member
Since: Jan 08, 2009
Feb 11, 2009 10:59 pm yea,your power output doesnt factor in at all. you need to know the power consumption. If power consumption= power output, we would indeed run the world. however, we waste a great deal of our power consumption on generating heat. your gear should have its power consumption printed somewhere by the power cord, then as Rob said, add 20 amps for stuff. Also, if you have a 240v generator, remember you have 2 legs of 120 and all your stuff should be 120, assuming your in the US. the fact that you said cheers makes me beleive you may be an aussie. in that case, cant help ya...dont know anything about Aussie Generators.
Feb 12, 2009 11:04 am Good point monmixr. I didn't catch that. If you are out of the United States audiolife, it is a slightly different set of rules. The amperage is still important to the overall size generator that you need. But, by using 220v it cuts the amount of amperes that are required.
Your spec sheet will still list the total amount of amps needed at 220v. So still take a look at that. I would then calculate at least 10 to 15 amps over for the FOH outboard.
If you have a large set-up,(by that I mean enough PA to do around 10,000 or more people) I would look for a company that rents generators that can produce up to 60 kva to 100 kva. If you only have enough PA for around 100 + people, I would go with a tool rental company that rents generators.
Feb 13, 2009 12:50 pm I have used a device called a "Kill A Watt" for auditing my household appliance power draw. It's good for 110VAC, up to 15A, but it will tell you exactly how much power any line powered device is using. This device will only tell you the power consumed at that moment in time, so when everybody is jamming full tilt, it's going to read a lot higher than just "testing, testing 123". It can, however, give you a sanity check on the "worst case" numbers you'll see on your equipment cords.
Feb 13, 2009 01:18 pm Sorry to say that you can not use a unit such as the Kill A Watt on any amp. Music is to dynamic to get a good reading on such a unit.
The only way you can find out what you draw is, is to refer to the owners manual of your equipment. There is no other way. If you do not have the manual, you can always find them online.
But, as far as worst case goes. Where I work, we have the Camco Vortex 6. They can draw up to 30 amps under normal conditions. And that is just one amp!
So, you really have to look in your manual for any information of this type.
