Generator Power

[JP12687]

Ok i'm doing a show in a few weeks in an old Middle school Gym, there is no way there is enough power to make it possible for me to tie into it.

I am thinking about using a generator. My questions, I've done a lot of regular tie-ins, just wondering if theres anything i should know/need to tie into a generator.

[propmonkey]

the frequency, will play a part. also the noise

[JP12687]

I right now intend on having the generator about 150 feet away from the building, and run the feeder cable in cable trouffs then inside to dimmer land.

Ive never seen these size generators, are there breakers for me to tie too?

[mike80]

It all depends on what type of generator that you get. The ones that I have used usually have an area where you can tie in with a set of tails. It is essentially an allen key bolt that you tighten on the bare copper end of the tails.
Some other generators actually have camlock plugs on the unit.
I think that I all depends on the generator that you are renting.
Another thing to think about is grounding the genny. You need a cable to ground the generator. Usually, you run the cable to a grounding rod or grounding plate. The specifics may vary due to your local laws.

[ship]

Might notice a sligt variation in voltage between what you meter before the lamp load is turned on. Don't be surprised by this and re-test and if possible adjust once under load. Having the generator people stick around if they will do so, install the grounding rod, tie in your tails and adjust the generator for your production would be a good thing. Otherwise while not difficult, having someone on staff trained with generators that can thus do it would oterwise be a good investment.

Test voltage between Neutral and ground, hot and ground and hot and neutral on all phases. If you don't have a good ground pat you might have to salt water the ground (for a temp install it might be permissible???) or drive a second and or third grounding rod.


Should be others about who more regurally deal with generators than I however. The above is off the top of my head.

[sandals1621]

The company you get the genny from should send a tech, and if you've never worked with generators before (which it sounds like you haven't) you should make sure they stick around until your tied in and metered, also make sure you have theor cell number to call with any questions.

Other than that.... make sure they drive a 6-8' grounding rod in, this is where your ground, and the genny's ground should tie into. When metering, make sure you get them to balance it across the phases, Most generators have the ability to adjust the voltage for each leg.
Also make sure that you load your phases as evenly as possible as generators can act quite oddly when one phase gets alot heavier of a load than another.

I also like to meter a few times within a 10 minute period, just because i've had genny's that are fine when first throttled up, but after awhile will slowly drop the voltage.


Make sure the Gas Tank is FULL!! Don't laugh, I've had it happen, just check

[JP12687]

The only thing i'm running on the gen is a 24x2.4k sensor. I'm going to make sure they set it up this time, even if it costs a little extra. and get them to show me how to do it all so next time i hopefully will be fine.

thanks alot

[sandals1621]

It shouldn't cost any extra to tie in your tails.... that is part of the cost of the rental. And insurance/ liability wise you really shouldn't ever have to do the tie-in. I know how to, I have, but 99% of the time I will not tie in to the genny.

Even though your only running a 24 rack, still make sure you've evenly distributed the power across all phases.