5000 watt power inverter for a van

5000w sounds too good to be true. That's about 7hp at 100% efficiency... quite the load on a vehicle.

For that price, you could find a generator and not have to deal with the van.
 
Its mainly the sound issue though. At least any of the Coleman and other brand generators I have used in the past in the $600 range were ridiculously loud. And I typically use a cargo van at almost every set I go to anyway, so I'm salivating at the thought of having a mobile power option like this constantly on hand. I could just buy one locally and return it if it doesn't work I suppose, but want to do a bit more research first.
 
ok, I also did a post about this on a contractors forum, and the advice I've gotten back is that the upgrades necessary to the van probably makes this infeasible. can read the posts at... http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?p=437330#post437330
... if curious. If anyone can recommend a quiet power generator in the 5000 watt range please do suggest. Cost isn't a major concern since I'm pretty sure I could rent it on occasion and make some of the capital back.
 
You could put the generator in the van. Just be sure to ventilate. I have put a generator in the bed of a pickup truck with a cap and reduced noise quite a bit. I left the back open for ventilation, but that way the noise could at least be pointed away.

I have also used plywood half-boxes to cut down on noise.
 
If you are trying to get 5000 watts of ac power out of a 12v dc source, you are looking at about 416 amps draw. Thats one hell of a demand on your battery and alternator. Might want to keep a fire extinguisher handy.
 
Generator is the best bet. Barry's right about the honda and I haven't used the yamaha. We have a van to run all our gear that we use to shoot Golf events thats loaded with deep cycle batteries and we can use a small honda generator or the van running every so often to keep up the batteries. Usually the batteries will last 6 to 8 hours and are silent. When we need more power we use a larger generator with a half box and a heavy rubber hose to feed the noise off 100 feet and put the van between us and generator box. We have the batteries wired into the van to charge while going down the road and with a seperate charger for overnight charging.
 
If you ever have a big production, there are generators available for rent that are very nearly silent. You should have a real generator operator and gaffer, though, as splitting the phases and such can be a dangerous place to learn by experimentation.

http://www.onsite-energy.com/rentals/moviegen.html

It's amazing how quiet these are. Still, they try to position them downwind from an exterior shoot. I got one free for an arrogant "going to be great" first time director who then refused to pay for the fuel so I could return it topped off. He's since disappeared from the biz... do I sound bitter? Heh heh.
 
Michael T said:
Generator is the best bet. Barry's right about the honda and I haven't used the yamaha. We have a van to run all our gear that we use to shoot Golf events thats loaded with deep cycle batteries and we can use a small honda generator or the van running every so often to keep up the batteries. Usually the batteries will last 6 to 8 hours and are silent. When we need more power we use a larger generator with a half box and a heavy rubber hose to feed the noise off 100 feet and put the van between us and generator box. We have the batteries wired into the van to charge while going down the road and with a seperate charger for overnight charging.
Click to expand...

Could you post pictures of your half box and heavy rubber hose?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top