220V Step-up transformer

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doctorhandshake

Member
Gents - forgive a noob question but I'm looking at an application where I want to run a 200-240V 15k lumen projector off one or more 110V circuits (museum setting with no access to 220 or 3-phase).

It seems a continuous-use voltage converter is indicated, and as I've seen recommendations to give yourself 100% or more headroom on your wattage requirement (for spikes in lamp strike, etc), I figured a 1800W projector like an Eiki LC-XT5 would demand something upwards of 4000W.

Howzabout this:
Best Voltage Transformer | Travel Power Voltage Converter | 110/ 220v Plug Adaptors
(LiteFuze 5000 Watt Voltage Regulator / Transformer Heavy Duty LR-5000)

Am I wrong in thinking this might suffice for continuous operation (10 hours/day for two days)?

Thanks, gentlemen. New to this forum and wondering how I never saw it before.

Best,

N
 
Welcome doctorhandshake. While I can't speak for that device, you might find something useful in this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/22335-transformer-question.html . Something to consider, since it's for a museum install, is the UL Listing of whatever device you choose. Others will be along shortly to weigh in, I'm sure.

See also the threads
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/20808-getting-200-240vac-120vac-pigtails.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/19720-115-volt-ac-220-volt-ac.html
 
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I could be misunderstanding the product's page, but a cursory glance raises a red flag: I think you can only tap into the full 5000w with a 240v/20A input. A 120v/20A input won’t get you there.

There are certainly other options but I do not have time right now to delve into them. I'll return to this later if someone else doesn't chime in first.

Edit: I'm also a little concerned with an apparent lack of OCPD on the outputs... (but again, I could have missed something on the product's page)
 
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MNicolai said:
I could be misunderstanding the product's page, but a cursory glance raises a red flag: I think you can only tap into the full 5000w with a 240v/20A input. A 120v/20A input won’t get you there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply- I think you must be right. If I'm using a 20A 120V circuit I don't know where the other 2600W would come from.

That puts me back to square one asking how to pull 200-240V out of 1 or more 120V circuits. I've seen somewhat-related discussions on the issue and am currently consulting the house electrician but I'd love to have something to suggest if he shrugs at me.

Thanks again!
 
doctorhandshake said:
Thanks for your reply- I think you must be right. If I'm using a 20A 120V circuit I don't know where the other 2600W would come from.

That puts me back to square one asking how to pull 200-240V out of 1 or more 120V circuits. I've seen somewhat-related discussions on the issue and am currently consulting the house electrician but I'd love to have something to suggest if he shrugs at me.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

If you can live with fewer lumens, you might want to consider this projector from Panasonic. Great quality projectors and will run on 120VAC. As a bonus, this model is intended for installation and can be controlled via Ethernet connection and has a self cleaning filter for longer periods between maintenance.
 
Is the LC-XT5 the specific projector you are using?

Will the projector exist permanently where you're putting it or is it for temporary use?
 
As was pointed out to me via PM, you did note in your original post that it'd be for two days. If that's the case, you probably should not be concerning yourself with how to get 220v to the projector. If you must though, you can try that device you linked to.

The user manual for the LC-XT5 shows it really only sucks up 1800w continuously and at absolute peaks, 2328w, but if the 120V/20A circuit breaker its attached to isn't 100%-rated (meaning it can sustain a full 20A load for 3+ hours), it's possible your projector will run just fine for a few hours before the circuit breaker trips. In other words, you can spend $200 and still be at the mercy of outside variables.

You're best off trying to get away with using a 120V projector if at all possible, even if that means renting something just a little dimmer than your existing projector. A 2-3 day rental on a projector that bright will probably cost 2-4x more than purchasing a step-up transformer, but then you don't have to worry about it crapping out on you part-way through the day.

If the museum has a couple not-as-bright projectors that you can use, another thing you can try is double-stacking one projector on another and sending the same video signal to both. It's a 1+1=2 scenario, where you directly focus two projected images on top of each other from a projector stacked on another. The result is you can get a bright(er) image with much cheaper projectors venues are more likely to have available.

You can also try 1+1+1=3 if the projectors are available to spare and you need to get a bright image on something without much money.

What's the environment of the presentation? (Layout of the room, ambient lighting levels, throw distance to screen, screen size, etc.)

Might you be able to get away with doing multiple, smaller projections from smaller projectors instead of doing a single, very bright projector?
 
You know it's sometimes takes an expert to give the simplest advice. I think you couldn't be more right in the sense that I can (must) take a 3k lumen hit in exchange for stepping back to 120V.

I'd rather not double-stack due to the install window I'm dealing with but that Panasonic will be just fine, plus it's DLP which is going to work better for my purposes (RP on irregular surfaces with observer viewpoint in the 'blacks').

Thanks for the help, gentlemen. 120 it is!
 
BTW in case you see some red flags here:
MNicolai said:
What's the environment of the presentation? (Layout of the room, ambient lighting levels, throw distance to screen, screen size, etc.)
Click to expand...

RP, short throw (.8) from about 5' onto a 6' wide collection of rectangular and square Da-lite RP wide-angle Da-Plex panels. Ambient light from a window in front of (viewer side) and about 90 degrees off-axis from the viewing surface.

I'm thinking a 12K should work well even in broad daylight and a DLP is the right call as I'm only shooting onto the surfaces and the user will be able to see the lens in the spaces in between.

Sound about right?
 
I would say that it's a safer bet. Also, with the DLP being a smoother transition between pixels than LCD, you may like your image more if the patrons are close to the image.
 
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