Powering a rave in a field ?

[Da3dalus]

Hey guys,

got a rave/jam sesh coming off soon.

I am wondering how can we power this event as we havent done this before and would liek to gain knowledge from those of you who may have done this before.

This is a list of the equipment that will be used in terms of wattage.

Speakers powered by 800 watt amp

Hazer 600 watts

Lights 400 watts

Guitar amps 300 watts

We have the choice of using a sheds power supply, daisy chaining extension leads 250 metres to the location, yes this does sound very stupid, so I doubt we should do that.

We also have 3 generators.

So we should go with the generators ?

Sorry I know its stupid just wondering from other peoples experience and opinion on what to do.

[tokenasianguy]

Hey guys,

got a rave/jam sesh coming off soon.

I am wondering how can we power this event as we havent done this before and would liek to gain knowledge from those of you who may have done this before.

This is a list of the equipment that will be used in terms of wattage.

Speakers powered by 800 watt amp

Hazer 600 watts

Lights 400 watts

Guitar amps 300 watts

We have the choice of using a sheds power supply, daisy chaining extension leads 250 metres to the location, yes this does sound very stupid, so I doubt we should do that.

We also have 3 generators.

So we should go with the generators ?

Sorry I know its stupid just wondering from other peoples experience and opinion on what to do.

Is that amp 800watts peak, or RMS? In any case, if it's either, I would say it's not enough for the outdoors. How many people are you expecting and how far do you want to hear the music?

Daisy chaining power over 250 meters?! I don't know if there are any known power delivery issues with carrying it over that much length of cord, but you'll definitely find out. I'm no electrician, but I know that having that many high wattage machines connected to one outlet is a really bad idea, unless you know for sure that it's safe and sound. I think the generators are your best bet.

[audiolive]

You will need more speakers IMO. Generator is your only real choice. The voltage drop from a extension leads even 50 meters long would be way too much yet alone 250 meters long.

To work out the generator size you need to know the current draw of the equipment. Then add 20% for head room. If you are using a few smaller generators ensure you have the audio and lighting on seperate generators or phases (if its a multi phase genny). IMO best bet is to hire a big genny so you don't have to worry about it. Nothing worse the a gig going dark and silent.

[synthet1c]

you should definitely hire out some bigger sound and an industrial generator to run it otherwise it's going to be a small party, then run the lights off a small generator and a fridge or two off another... Also I'm pretty sure guitar amps are tuned for specific frequencies so probably not going to be that great sounding at best and blow up at worst...

Me and my mates used to have bush doofs a few years ago, usually cost $380 for a generator on a trailor and two 18 subs with dual 15 tops. just charge everyone $5 so you can pay for the system and a keg, then everyone's happy. If more than 100 people pay you can start saving for your own system and eventually won't have to hire one.

Lastly make sure you either have no neighbours or tell them it's someone's birthday otherwise you will get shut down because 250m is nothing at night... usually your only safe after about a kilometre and even then you can have jerks calling the cops saying they can hear it LOL! It's good fun though so have a blast!

[escapemcp]

Brain dump, may not be 100%:
You haven't mentioned the size of the gennies that you have. We run a 2.4K AND a 2.5K amp, along with decks, cdj's mixer and LED lights (and a phone charger or 2 off a 3.7kVA diesel genny (how?!). We HAVE even run the rig off a 2.4kVA petrol one, although one of the amp channels and a few other bits and bobs were not in use. Saying this, the wattage of the amp isn't always the best bet to determine how much power it draws. If it is a class A amp for example, it will draw far more power than a class D at a set output wattage. It is often hard to find the actual power draw of an amp - try checking the specs on the internet, but the current draw is not always published. For example we have an 800W system, that draws 1395kVA (about 1110W) so if you used the "800W" figure, you would be underestimating the amount that it needs.
If you can, put all the sound equipment on one genny, and everything else (hazer, lights) on another. That way you should avoid ground loops. If you have to share the audio equipment across 2 gennies, tie their earth leads together before you stake them in the ground - this again should help reduce ground loop noise. Whatever you do though, make sure the gennies are grounded... only just learnt about that one... luckily it was before we blew anything up!
Sorry if I have confused the issue... best bet is to try it beforehand... a FULL rehearsal and see how it copes - suggest slowly loading the gennies, rather than switching everything on at once.
250m via extensions.. please NO!

And you can't beat a rave/free party in a field in the middle of summer - been doing it for 40,000 years, and now are they trying to stop us.... not gonna happen!

[MelloState]

800watts for speakers.... hmmmm =/

[rotebass]

IMO best bet is to hire a big genny so you don't have to worry about it. Nothing worse the a gig going dark and silent.

Bingo, and make sure that it has tie-ins that you can actually use. I've had a few promoters cheap out and get a welders genny, only to find that the 240V wasn't split phase (ie didn't have two hots and a neutral from which to derive 120V), forcing me to run a whole rig on two 15A.

Edit: I'm in North america, so the power situation is probably different, but still, make sure it has something you can tie into.

[Da3dalus]

thanks lads for all the great replys

Dont worry it is a small gig inside a marquee (should have went into detail) speakers are grand for what we are doing.

yeah the daisy chain of power is a big risk, very big safety risk.

I think I will go with renting a large kilowatt genny, and also make sure its split phase gen thanks rotebass

Again thanks guys for all the replys

[bigdanhack]

thanks lads for all the great replys

Dont worry it is a small gig inside a marquee (should have went into detail) speakers are grand for what we are doing.

yeah the daisy chain of power is a big risk, very big safety risk.

I think I will go with renting a large kilowatt genny, and also make sure its split phase gen thanks rotebass

Again thanks guys for all the replys

Genny's are deffo the way forward, hire shops like HSS will do the trick, if not any local plant hire company will have them or smaller local hire shops, make sure it's right for the job and you can run your gear off it, I had a silenced 10kva genny not long since and it was way too big for what I wanted but it cost nothing!!!

Good luck with your do mate!!!

[rotebass]

thanks lads for all the great replys

Dont worry it is a small gig inside a marquee (should have went into detail) speakers are grand for what we are doing.

yeah the daisy chain of power is a big risk, very big safety risk.

I think I will go with renting a large kilowatt genny, and also make sure its split phase gen thanks rotebass

Again thanks guys for all the replys

Like I said, I'm not sure what the power situation is like for you gents, so split phase might not even be an issue on that side of the pond. In north america, you need 4 conductors to safely carry a 230V split phase feed (hot, hot, neutral, earth), some welding units, and older appliances use three conductors (hot, neutral and earth) which is illegal for entertainment usage.

Again, somebody with experience in your country should hopefully pipe in with the applicable details for your power grid. All I'm saying is make sure that your tie-in meets code and is something that you can actually make use of.