Will Arri D12 work on a Honda 2000i generator?

F

FilmDude

Well-known member
Seeing if an Arri HMI D12 work on a Honda 2000i generator? I know its states its 1,200 watts which should be fine for a 2000 watt genny, but I've heard mixed information saying it wont...

Can anyone confirm or deny this? I have a feeling that although its 1200w light that it might actually pull more watts... anyone have any info? I cant find this info even on the arri website...

If it wont work on a honda 2000i... what will it work with? 3,000w genny?

Thanks!
 
The issues is not the watts, but the amperage it draws, mostly on start-up. From what I know of, if it is an electronic ballast it should be just fine as long as a) it is the only thing plugged into the gennie and b) you turn eco-mode off before striking (i.e. the gennie is running at full capacity upon the light being struck).

Please someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't see any issues with that.

Now, if it is a magnetic ballast, it is possible for it to have a much stronger amperage spike (and draw more constant amperage too), especially if there is a long stinger line running to it (which leads to line-loss, a drop in voltage, and a subsequent increase in amperage)


My best advise, though, is to test it. as many hypotheticals as I can throw out, I really can't tell unless we actually test it. if you are renting from a rental house, ask if you can strike it before you take it out to make sure it will work on the gennie (plus, on a side note, you should always strike every HMI you rent before you take them out of a rental house, just to make sure they are operating and, if you have a color meter, close to matching color-wise)
 
thanks anyone else with some first hand experience? oh and also I figured it actually pulls about 15amps, but the 2000 should handle that fine on a hot strike or will that peak?
 
FilmDude said:
thanks anyone else with some first hand experience? oh and also I figured it actually pulls about 15amps, but the 2000 should handle that fine on a hot strike or will that peak?
Click to expand...

The problem is not the 'average' current draw, but the initial 'peak' current as the ballast begins to draw current. While I don't deal with 'lights' on inverters on a daily basis... or ever... I deal with inverters powering a variety of electronic equipment, which have incredibly diverse patterns on startup. Some equipment we have to put in power distribution boxes that sequence the power on such that no two pieces of equipment are powering on simultaneously, despite once up and running everything is wonderful.

The only way we've found to effectively deal out the power on issues is by plugging things in and measuring peak and average current draw.
 
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