Outdoor gigs with a generator

mgbchuck · April 17, 2018, 03:41:57 AM

Howdy...... question for everyone. A friend asked about my two piece group playing a gig on a big pontoon boat that holds about 50 people. I have been on the boat before.... and it is plenty big enough to play on. I told her she would need a generator so I would have power for my Tyros 5 and one Bose Compact. Any suggestions for a generator that would be sufficient? I have seen some small Honda generators that are compact.... and really quiet. But how much power would they have to provide to power the Bose and the Tyros? If the system is under powered... could it due damage to the equipment. Any idea on cost of these generators? Are we looking a $500.00 or over $1000.00?
I have no idea what would work.....any suggestions or past experience would be appreciated.
Chuck Lyons. Akron

Fred Smith · April 17, 2018, 04:03:56 AM

Quote from: mgbchuck on April 17, 2018, 03:41:57 AM
Howdy...... question for everyone. A friend asked about my two piece group playing a gig on a big pontoon boat that holds about 50 people. I have been on the boat before.... and it is plenty big enough to play on. I told her she would need a generator so I would have power for my Tyros 5 and one Bose Compact. Any suggestions for a generator that would be sufficient? I have seen some small Honda generators that are compact.... and really quiet. But how much power would they have to provide to power the Bose and the Tyros? If the system is under powered... could it due damage to the equipment. Any idea on cost of these generators? Are we looking a $500.00 or over $1000.00?
I have no idea what would work.....any suggestions or past experience would be appreciated.
Chuck Lyons. Akron

The generator would have sufficient power, but it's the noise that would be a problem. Unless you can find a silent generator, you'll have some tough competition from the noise.

Fred

mgbchuck · April 17, 2018, 04:33:26 AM

I was surprised Fred..... there are some really quiet ones out there. I have been some gigs where people used them..... and they are pretty quiet.

mikf · April 17, 2018, 05:43:09 AM

You don't need much power. The keyboard is negligible a nd the bose compact not much more than a couple of lightbulbs. Probably Less than 200 watts total. Even the smallest generator you can find would likely be more than this. But isn't there some kind of electric power already on the boat. They must run a fridge, lights?
Mike

Al Ram · April 17, 2018, 06:06:41 AM

Whatever generator model you decide . . . . i would thoroughly test it in advance of the actual gig.

You can test for noise, power and duration.

thanks

travlin-easy · April 17, 2018, 08:07:58 AM

The quietest generator available is the Honda 2000i, but it cost about $1,100. However, you really do not need a generator. A simple DC/AC inverter will easily do the job and can run off the boat's house batteries. I have a 1,500-Watt inverter on my sailboat and run my microwave oven and TV on it. Just be sure it has a modified or pure sine wave output, which eliminates any possibility of noise from the device. Square wave outputs are not suitable. Check this out - https://express.google.com/product/16993807527725707861_7075545105297179477_1699011?mall=WashingtonDC&directCheckout=1&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=product_ads&utm_campaign=gsx&dclid=CPz96_jDwNoCFZMEDAodakQAEw

Gary

mgbchuck · April 17, 2018, 06:51:38 PM

Gary............. Thank you very much for the information. I am sure that this big boat has some big batteries on it.... so I will suggest the inverter to them.

Thanks for your suggestion and expertise.

Chuck Lyons Akron, Ohio

travlin-easy · April 17, 2018, 07:11:43 PM

Most of those large party barges have a few golf cart batteries for running auxiliary electrical gear, sound systems, refrigerators, microwaves, etc...

Good luck,

Gary

AlBags · August 21, 2018, 11:02:03 AM

We call them 'Leisure Batteries' here over the pond.
They are fairly large, but designed to be 'deep cycled' with small output over very long perios (like you would want in a boat or caravan)
A good quality inverter would work ok.

Its when you start trying to power heavy loads like amps and old fashioned (non-led) lighting rigs.

Al.

mgbchuck · September 17, 2018, 01:10:57 PM

Howdy... So sorry I forgot to post the results of using a generator. We have played two gigs on the boat... With a small Honda generator... And it worked perfect. They had the generator on the backend of the boat by the boat motor... And you couldn't even hardly hear it running. I was able to power my Tyros five... And a Bose compact with it. Worked like a charm... No problem at all. Thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions.