"Portable Power: The Secret Life Of Generators" Analysis by Adam Gray

Portable Power: The Secret Life Of Generators

Analysis by Adam Gray

Most of the time on tour the one of the last thing you worry about is power. You tie into the venue's power supply check your distros and get the show on the damn road. However it is festie season. Festivals bring a whole new element of power and power distribution to putting on a gig. This is where is gets tricky considering the chances of having an electrician or generator tech on site could really go either way. Basically a power generator takes mechanical energy and converts it to electricity. There are four parts to a generator : engine, governing controls, distro, and a generating unit. Gasoline is the most common fuel for systems under 6000 watts. The drive shaft then turns the rotor which is connected to windings and the movement in the windings AKA stators generate power. Distro contains the circuit breakers while also protecting from overload  and the governor make sure that the flow of power is consistant. In our business we are looking for generators that are consistant and quiet. Show generators are quiet and operate with in 1.5% fluctuation from the desired power. We cannot count on a normal construction generator because they can fluctuate to up to 25% which is not at all desirable when running audio gear. They are also really freakin loud. Production generators are not only more quiet but also have very large fuel tanks as well as a fuel cell built into the trailer that tows it. Larger generators can carry kVa's but when you figure out what you need also up it some for seat of your pants changes. There are also a few common sense things that we need to remember when using generators. 1: Make sure you are up to code locally and larger. 2:When refueling park on a flat surface inaccessible to the general public. 3: Block wheels and put in a ground rod. 4: Check your levels as well as your voltage levels. 5: Breakers off before starting and stopping 6: Grond wire first then meter after all connected 7: Do not be an ass like really just use your head.