Except one is not allowed on the barge, due to flammability concerns.
Power Where No Power Can Go
- Thread starterbishopthomas
- Start date
shiben
Well-Known Member
I guess I figured you needed a tug to keep the barge in position. I would think a zodiac could hold a generator large enough to power a small concert, they can carry what, 8 SEALS with like 200lbs of gear each, Im pretty sure a genny wouldnt be a problem... Then you only need a few hundred feet of cable.
bishopthomas
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the responses. It sounds like deep cycle marine batteries and inverters would be only slightly dependable so I'm going to try to stay away from that. I will find out if the tug stays with (or close to) the barge, but I don't remember seeing it on years past.
Father Murphy is spot on with his knowledge of barges and fireworks. They are remote detonated, I believe through CAT5 cabling or even wirelessly, from shore. Xander, it's on the Navesink, not the Hudson, so quite a bit smaller. I don't have hard numbers but I would say the cable run would be no more than 250' from shore to barge.
I also like the idea of fixed position spotlights. That seems to be the easiest solution, depending on the distance. I'll get more information and report back. Thanks, everyone!
Father Murphy is spot on with his knowledge of barges and fireworks. They are remote detonated, I believe through CAT5 cabling or even wirelessly, from shore. Xander, it's on the Navesink, not the Hudson, so quite a bit smaller. I don't have hard numbers but I would say the cable run would be no more than 250' from shore to barge.
I also like the idea of fixed position spotlights. That seems to be the easiest solution, depending on the distance. I'll get more information and report back. Thanks, everyone!
Last edited:
bishopthomas
Well-Known Member
Not really interested in ShowGuns but after I check the distances I may rent a couple of spots.
JD
Well-Known Member
Let's get back to basics-
Lighting one side of a banner on a barge.
How about two 250w ACLs in par cans. (4552 lamps) (Maybe with frost.) They are 28 volt lamps, so two car batteries in series will give you 24 volts. Should be fine. They will draw a total of 18 amps at 24 volts, so a couple of 45 amp car batteries would work fine. Best of all, they will not cut out when the battery voltage starts to lower like an inverter would. When the batteries reach their end, the lamps will just dim down like a flashlight with old batteries.
Lighting one side of a banner on a barge.
How about two 250w ACLs in par cans. (4552 lamps) (Maybe with frost.) They are 28 volt lamps, so two car batteries in series will give you 24 volts. Should be fine. They will draw a total of 18 amps at 24 volts, so a couple of 45 amp car batteries would work fine. Best of all, they will not cut out when the battery voltage starts to lower like an inverter would. When the batteries reach their end, the lamps will just dim down like a flashlight with old batteries.
I'm saying possibly use either ShowGuns or large followspots from shore. Where (at least in theory) pow
er is plentiful.
I was posing that question to you more in terms of budget and scale. If a client came to you and asked for an LED package (say that rental about be around $500) and then you turned around and suggested a $5000+ package, how do you think that would go?
"How about two 250w ACLs in par cans. (4552 lamps) (Maybe with frost.) They are 28 volt lamps, so two car batteries in series will give you 24 volts. Should be fine. They will draw a total of 18 amps at 24 volts, so a couple of 45 amp car batteries would work fine. Best of all, they will not cut out when the battery voltage starts to lower like an inverter would. When the batteries reach their end, the lamps will just dim down like a flashlight with old batteries."
If you'd like to make it more economical, what about talking an auto shop into loaning you a dozen "dead" batteries? The kind where one cell has died so they're only ~10V. They're useless and get recycled, so I don't see them minding loaning them to you. Then put 6 in parallel, put the other 6 in parallel, and put the two sets in series. Then you have a free-to-cheap solution, and you don't care if you damage the batteries as long as they get you through the show. You can adjust up or down from 6 per set depending on space/length of time needed/how much backup you want to have.
If you'd like to make it more economical, what about talking an auto shop into loaning you a dozen "dead" batteries? The kind where one cell has died so they're only ~10V. They're useless and get recycled, so I don't see them minding loaning them to you. Then put 6 in parallel, put the other 6 in parallel, and put the two sets in series. Then you have a free-to-cheap solution, and you don't care if you damage the batteries as long as they get you through the show. You can adjust up or down from 6 per set depending on space/length of time needed/how much backup you want to have.
JD
Well-Known Member
Got to watch out for those that have a single dead cell. In use, this cell can go reverse polarity and the cell can boil or worse when the battery is under load. I would just stick with two new ones, or borrowed. Cost of a 45 amp battery is around $80 new.
Use a couple of stock Par64 cans. No point in rewiring them, just go right to the screws on the ACL lamps with #12. Slip some sheath around the wires to protect them from lamp heat. Keep it simple.
Who says there can be no generator, and have they ever heard of a flame arrestor muffler, with a cool-touch shield around the muffler?
A generator is less of a fire or explosion hazard than all those rocket tubes near each other. In open air fuel fumes will not persist around the generator fuel tank.
A liquid propane powered generator is even less of a hazard because there is no fuel tank vent.
If "no generators on the barge" is such a big deal to the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), then see if you can rent/borrow a pontoon boat, and put the generator on that alongside/behind the barge.
=========
Batteries wired straight to DC lights? Sounds easy. Except if you do not have overload protection included in this idea, then a shorted wire or a loose connection in wet/salty conditions may lead to cables melting, sparks, and/or a fire on deck -- as bad or worse than the risks the generator poses.
You need fuses somewhere and properly sized ones too, for the direct-wire idea. At least any gas/LP generator you might use would by default include circuit breakers for protecting against exactly this sort of situation.
You should really just find out exactly who says no generator, what the specific reasons are for not permitting them, and what circumstances or safety compliance is needed to allow them.
A generator is less of a fire or explosion hazard than all those rocket tubes near each other. In open air fuel fumes will not persist around the generator fuel tank.
A liquid propane powered generator is even less of a hazard because there is no fuel tank vent.
If "no generators on the barge" is such a big deal to the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), then see if you can rent/borrow a pontoon boat, and put the generator on that alongside/behind the barge.
=========
Batteries wired straight to DC lights? Sounds easy. Except if you do not have overload protection included in this idea, then a shorted wire or a loose connection in wet/salty conditions may lead to cables melting, sparks, and/or a fire on deck -- as bad or worse than the risks the generator poses.
You need fuses somewhere and properly sized ones too, for the direct-wire idea. At least any gas/LP generator you might use would by default include circuit breakers for protecting against exactly this sort of situation.
You should really just find out exactly who says no generator, what the specific reasons are for not permitting them, and what circumstances or safety compliance is needed to allow them.
JD
Well-Known Member
shiben
Well-Known Member
I dont know, I tend to listen to the people who make things go boom, you never know exactly why, but if they say no, they probably have a decent reason. Although come to think of it, a barge full of fireworks going off at once or in rapid sequence would make a spectacular (if short) show...
FatherMurphy
Active Member
The thought above of full racks lifting at once reminds me of one of my pyro friends talking about how some of the barges he's been on tended to rock around when several large shells would lift simultaneously... the preference for no generator might be related to fears that it could tip over, spilling gas, etc.
If you're just lighting the banner for visibility, you shouldn't need more than a 2kW generator - those are about the size of carry-on luggage, and easily put in a john boat, isolated from the movement of the main barge and able to be trailed a safe distance down river.
Or, put a couple 2K long throw followspots on shore, and be done with it.
If you're just lighting the banner for visibility, you shouldn't need more than a 2kW generator - those are about the size of carry-on luggage, and easily put in a john boat, isolated from the movement of the main barge and able to be trailed a safe distance down river.
Or, put a couple 2K long throw followspots on shore, and be done with it.
Similar threads
Vintage Lighting
Magic Moon c.1925.
