HMI

[chad vachter]

There's a guy called guy holt.... I think , thatsnhis name .. forgive me guy holt .. if im mistaken ...back east , I think that is the master of what your asking , he rigs small Gennys and step down transformers. S you can plug a 30 amp 220v dryer plug ,and step transform it down to 50 amps of 110 , enough to safely strike and run your 2.5 k Hmi

 

[Michael Panfeld]

I'll second that. Guy's company is called ScreenLight & Grip. I have their step-down transformer and a Honda EU6500. The stepdown is great for inside work or shots tht are within a 100-200 feet of a dryer/stove plug. Their 60A stepdown is heavy, about 150 lbs, so buying it also involves a substantial shipping cost. You also will probably want some distro cable and a few pigtails with some of the common 240v plug types. There may be one for rent in your area. (Mine are and I am in the DC area). THe transformer also pairs nicely with the EU6500, for when you are shooting out in the field.

I beieve they are now making a 100A stepdown transformer. That can plug into either a 50A 240v stove plug or into the Honda 10K genny.

Note that, while the stepdowns from Guy are basically foolproof, you should still hire a gaffer and definitely don't try to use one anywhere near water.

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

You certainly can run a 2.5K off a dryer outlet. We've adapted our 2.5K (which requires 120V) to run ONLY on dryer outlets (either 30 or 40 amps). Heck, we've run our 6K HMI (220 volts) off of dryer outlets, as well. Easy breezy.

It is also possible to run a 2.5K HMI (120 volts) off of two different 15 amp 120V circuits, but they MUST be on the same phase. An engineer friend of mine is making me a box that does this phase checking before you flip a switch to turn on the current to the HMI.

Stephen

 

[Peter Berger]

Note that, while the stepdowns from Guy are basically foolproof... definitely don't try to use one anywhere near water.

I came across in another forum a link to an IATSE training curriculum about ground fault protection. It covers how to use film style GFCIs like Shock Blocks on everything from Honda to Crawford Studio generators. I can’t remember what forum it was, but you can find it if you search for "Local 481 GFCI Workshop Curriculum" on line.

According to this curriculum a transformer is very safe to use around water. As a new point of Impedance, transformers have to bond the Neutral to Ground on their secondary load side. As such there exists a low resistance path for fault current back to the Transformer windings that will cause a breaker to trip in an over-current situation caused by an electrical short.

For GFCI protection all you need to do is plug a 100A Shock Block into the secondary side of a transformer (you’ll need a 100-to-60 Adapter.) Since the Neutral and Ground are bonded in the Transformer, the Shock Block will provide reliable ground fault protection for an entire distribution system – consisting of Bates Extensions, Siamese, and Edison Breakout Boxes – downstream of the transformer. Used in-line with a Transformer, a 100A Shock Block will also provide a larger GFCI protected circuit than is available on any house service (typically no bigger than 20Amps) or on a portable generator (typically the largest GFCI circuit available on a Honda “industrial generator” is only 30Amps.) It is the only way I know of to operate a 4k HMI with GFCI protection without having to do a tie-in.



Peter Berger

 

[Chad Bonanno]

Get an Arri M18 with the reflector kit. You can plug it in a 20A house outlet ( dishwasher, etc..)
It trows light like a mother****er.

+1 ! ! !