Power Generators?

[Kiada]

I realise this might not be the perfect place to ask this question - but ive racked my brain and searched about an it seems like the only place that might be able to advise me!

Im looking for a portable generator that might be able to run a guitar/bass amp from the back of a car! Not a huge PA system or anything, just an amp. I've no idea how i'd go about working out what kinda or size of generator I might need, or whether its an idea worth persuing at all.

Can anybody advise me on the potential size/output of the generator I might need? And how much (approx.) it might set me back?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Oh, and if its any help - the bass amp in question is a 35W one!

I've seen a generator on screwfix thats like.. £99.00 and its 720W. Now to my (somewhat amateur) eyes this seems like more than enough.. but yeah, im not sure if it works that way ha ! Just need a little guidance!

Thanks loads..

_______________________
moderator

please note 10a

 

[big-all]

heeelllooo kiada and welcome

now you need to read the input into the amplifyer on the rating plate.

720w is three amps

another point is generators arnt exactly quiet so might be best to hear one before you buy

also machine mart do quite a good selection

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product_113_generators/index.asp

 

[ban-all-sheds]

720w is three amps

No - at 35W each it's 20 amps.

 

[big-all]

i did say the input to his amplifyer or have i got that wrong as well

 

[kevplumb]

nice one BAS

fink he meant amps as in short for amplifier all

 

[Screwi]

Use an 12v-240 invertor

 

[HDRW]

Oh Good Grief, BAS!

Just as a tiny bit of revenge: B&Q Warehouse were selling a little petrol generator (about 750W I think) for £70-odd a little while ago - worth checking if they still do...

Cheers,

Howard

 

[big-all]

so am i to assume its" not" a mains amplifyer not made clear in his origional post

i was actualy refering to the output of the generator as being 3 ampiers or have i got that wrong as well

 

[Kiada]

Thanks for the replies..

Haha, as confused as ever now though ! By 'Amps' I did indeed mean an amplifier - a musical device with which you plug your instrument into to amplify the sound..!

The amp: http://www.biggars.co.uk/more/on/details/00045

Does that make it any clearer? !

Would an invertor still work Screwi?

Thanks again people!

 

[big-all]

is it mains operated !!!!!!

you need to know the input wattage to work out power required
and as i said the genny your looking at from s,f is about 3 ampier[720w]
so if the INPUT of your amplifer is 230v and less than 720 w you should be ok although i feel bas will have some snappy answer up his sleeve

 

[HDRW]

Thanks for the replies..

Haha, as confused as ever now though ! By 'Amps' I did indeed mean an amplifier - a musical device with which you plug your instrument into to amplify the sound..!

Oh, I think we all knew that really

The amp: http://www.biggars.co.uk/more/on/details/00045

Does that make it any clearer? !

Would an invertor still work Screwi?

It quotes it at "35W RMS" - that's the output power, you need to look for the input power (W) or amperage (A), on a plate on the thing itself. That will tell you what size you need in any generator or invertor.

The problem with a generator is the noise it makes (DON'T run it in the boot of the car to muffle the sound! )

The problem with an invertor is that all the cheap ones produce a horrible waveform - either a square wave or a stepped squarewave, and your amp. may well react unkindly to that - either adding a hum or a buzz to the sound, or getting hot and bothered - it depends how it's built. You can get "true sinewave" invertors, but they cost several times as much as the cheaper type of the same size (eg at Maplin a 150W 12V unspecified-wave invertor is £30, a 150W "True Sine Wave" is £80).

Also, I don't know how long your gigs are going to be, but if you go with the invertor solution calculate the battery drain before you find out the hard way!

Cheers,

Howard

 

[Big_Spark]

Most Power Amplifiers of this type are about 60% efficient, so the 35W RMS output will be about 50W RMS input, bear in mind that the RMS value means the true input can be up to 1.7 times this figure, however the imput will be dependant on several factors, not least of which is the actual volume or mutput, you have it set too.

Considering everything, I would assume that the amplifier will require a supply of 100W or about 0.45A @ 230V to ensure that you will be able to supply all it's requirements.

The 720W Genny you eluded too will be able to supply this amplifier, as BA pointed out, 720W is about 3.15A @ 230V, however as a word of warning, check that this is it's continuous rating and not it's peak power rating. If it is peak Power, then the continuous will be about 500W, still enough for the Amp, but you may have problems if you try to power other items, especially if they pull a lot of current on power up.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I reckon a 720W generator would power a valve amp more than loud enough to drown it out..

 

[mapj1]

If it will always be in the car, or near it, what you might really want to conside is an "in car entertainment" amlifier, or at least one designed to run off 12v, so optimised to run efficiently off a car battery, no inverter losses, no generator, and only downside if you play to long, a push start may be needed.
Might be worth looknig into that - otherwise generating a local mains supply for your amp to convert it back to DC internally is a great waste of effort, and as alluded brings problems, and if it rains all sorts of safety questions like how is the car earthed etc.
just a thought.

 

[plugwash]

yeah you can get some pretty meaty car amplifiers and most of them have line level inputs so it shouldn't be too hard to link them to whatever kit you need,