Goal Zero YETI series suitable for production Lighting?

[Sgdevilzz]

I've been following up Goal Zero products since they came up with their power packs but when i spoke to a sale person at a local store he said it's too weak for Production lights like Arri or kinoflo.

They've recently released a new series power generator called the YETI. It comes with 3 different sizes. YETI 150, 400 and 1250.

It claims that the 1250 is able to power a 32" LCD TV for 12 hours.

If we were to use for production purposes (charging battereies, run lighting etc), will it be ideal? i feel that this is a better way compared to traditional gas generators. They are loud, heavy and dangerous too.

Any thoughts?


Link to product: http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/140/Goal-Zero-Yeti-1250-Solar-Generator/2:8/

 

[Bamboopictures]

I've been following up Goal Zero products since they came up with their power packs but when i spoke to a sale person at a local store he said it's too weak for Production lights like Arri or kinoflo.

They've recently released a new series power generator called the YETI. It comes with 3 different sizes. YETI 150, 400 and 1250.

It claims that the 1250 is able to power a 32" LCD TV for 12 hours.

If we were to use for production purposes (charging battereies, run lighting etc), will it be ideal? i feel that this is a better way compared to traditional gas generators. They are loud, heavy and dangerous too.

Any thoughts?


Link to product: http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/140/Goal-Zero-Yeti-1250-Solar-Generator/2:8/

1250Whr battery like this will theoretically power one single 800W redhead for 93 minutes.

 

[Sgdevilzz]

1250Whr battery like this will theoretically power one single 800W redhead for 93 minutes.

How is that calculated? So would it be advisable to spend money on this or rather get LED lights instead?

 

[Bamboopictures]

How is that calculated? So would it be advisable to spend money on this or rather get LED lights instead?

1250 Whr means the capacity to deliver 1250W of power for one hour ( or one Watt of power for 1250 hours). Since a redhead is rated at 800W, it will last 1250/800 x 60 minutes.
The goalzero battery is a photovoltaic solar cell. Kinda of expensive, not very proven. LED is more compact and for that same heft and weight of the cell, you can carry an entire crate of lithium-ion that will last you weeks.
For battery powered LEDs:
Cheap and bright ipad sized panels: http://www.aputure.com/blog/2013/03/25/amaran-al-528-led-released/
Dedolight Mobile LED fresnel:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg3WxL-jfnA
I also had some success using an unorthodox long throw tactical light Nitecore TM26 as a stage light and an umbrella light.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrjfu7S9oVY

 

[DXNMedia]

Technically, the goal zero unit comprise of a battery with 12vdc to 240v AC inverter.

A 12v battery with 60ah (Power = Voltage x Current) capacity should yield about 720watts-hours.
So if your load or device runs 360w continuous, your setup ideally will run 720 / 360 = 2 hours approx..
That itself depends on the efficiency of the inverter unit for power conversion.

You also need to see what type of batteries are used, and the specs of the inverter unit.

Different battery chemistry will have different voltage holding capacities.
Some like the sealed acid batteries in cars are designed for cranking / voltage surge, so the true capacity before voltage drops to a minimum level will not be ideal for powering equipment on a long term basis. Some batts are designed for deep cycle purpose. eg. marine grade sealed acid battery.

For inverters, there are different types too.
Modified sinewave unit cannot power sensitive equipment as they'll cause a lot of electrical noise.
If you use a modified sinewave inverter with ballast driven lights, there is a high possibility that your inverter will blow the ballast unit.
Pure sine wave inverters are a lot more stable in it's output, but significantly more expensive.

Then you'd also need to look at the power rating of the inverter.
Some are rated to be continuous, and some peak power.
eg. if an inverter is rated to run 300w continuous, you won't be able to start a high-surge device like a fan/blower unit rated at 300w because the initial surge will be a lot higher.

Having said all these in a gist, if you think a petrol genset is a hassle, try having to charge the battery system for hours before field usage.
the weight of a typical 60ah marine deep cycle battery is easily 20+kg. a new model Honda Eu1000i genset only weighs about 12kg.
Petrol is messy, but instantly available. If you go for a 4-stroke engine, you don't need to mix 2T lube.

If you need silent operating, then you have no choice but to go battery options, but if lighting is all you need, it's a better investment to buy LED lighting units that can be powered by V-mount or other options.

I have both Petrol & LPG gensets, and also a huge variety of battery & pure sinewave inverter units in my inventory, and I think they all have different purposes. Ultimately if your purpose is for lighting & filming with small crew setup, go for lightweight & battery capable devices. We kind of standardise all our gears to be v-mount compatible so we don't need to worry about a million type of batteries for a million type of devices.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sgdevilzz]

Thanks for the advice! My main purpose to look into generators are because i shoot outdoors a lot. I've considered LEDs definitely but only afraid that it's not strong enough. There are times where i need to light up part of an outdoor area in daylight using 1k ARRIs, had to use extension cables multiple times to get into the nearest possible socket around. A hassle and actually risking the lights.

Powerful LED panels are much more expensive than Fresnel lights no doubt. That is why i'm seeking battery based generators. But since the YETI can only power 1250whr, it's pretty redundant to get it. Especially with that hefty pricetag

Does the Honda Eu1000i noisy as other generators out there? It looks compact.

 

[Bamboopictures]

Have you tried graduated filters to reduce the tonal difference in your composition? You can also get away with a lot by just locking down a shot and do some simple HDR compositing in post.
Or try magiclantern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL1Eedknipc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuhVZWaOVOY

I remember using these pre LED:
http://www.frezzi.com/400 watt hmi super sun gun kits.htm

 

[DXNMedia]

Eu1000i or Eu10i, are pretty lightweight... Looking at the specs for the goalzero inverter system, it looked really hefty at 48kg!
Even a 2kw genset is lighter than that.

As for noise level, they're pretty reasonable for outdoor shoots if you leave it far enough....generally can just hear a low rumble.. good soundmen will definitely complain though.

One thing good about the Hondas are that you can sync 2x 1kw to make them 2kw... but i think if u run a lot of 1kw arri, then better to get a 2kw. more power is always good.... the 'power to weight' ratio is still better for a 2kw genset since the weight increase is quite minimal.

If you can drive and park near your shoot location, then essentially you can use your vehicle as a power source. Once I ran my engine running for a shoot and hook up an inverter to supply 240v power to run redheads. can't run away from the noise issue, but mainly shooting non-sync MOS scenes.

 

[DXNMedia]

These are my gensets. 650w & 1kw. The Honda is a lot more silent & lighter than the Robin (Subaru engine).
Both are air-cooled, so you cant really pad them up in an isolated enclosure to minimise sound.

One painful part of using petrol gensets are maintenance.
If you don't use it often, fuel inside will turn foul and clog up the fuel lines.
Best is to run it dry and clear the fuel in the lines before storage.


I have since did a 3rd party LPG modification and can run with LPG tanks... but unfortunately the downside to using LPG is the inability to determine how much gas you've left for estimating your runtime.

Hauling around a LPG tank also poses a lot of security alert especially on location shoots....so I tend to avoid that and use back good old smelly petrol.

 

[DXNMedia]

For inverters, I use a 600w & a couple of lower powered 300w & 150w units. All are specifically pure sinewave output to protect my gears.

WHen using inverter system, calculation of battery capacity vs current draw vs output power is very important because if overdraw too much current than what your battery can handle, your batts are going to die very fast....

The downside to using battery inverter to power field lights are that the battery weight is a killer, and charging process is painful.
a typical 60ah deep cycle marine grade battery will take 12hrs to charge up with a 5amps charger. Chargers, batts & pure sinewave inverters aren't exactly cheap too....heavy gauge cables are required and those cost a lot too....and once you go high current systems to sustain a 1kw output, it's actually pretty dangerous too.

 

[Sgdevilzz]

Thanks Rodney for the tips. Though i'm a post guy, i try not to do everything in post. There is a certain distinguish quality in HDR and on set lighting. Maybe it's my preference to do everything proper during production. Can't help my pickiness :/

Thanks DXNMedia! Your in dept information about Gensets and inverters got me thinking. I've once used an old generator sized of 2 1/2 Eu1000i's. Bulky and noisy. Had so many problems like getting switched off halfway, starting up when there's still a lot of petrol inside. That is what got me going into battery style gensets but now i think those aren't the best options as well.

I'll most probably rent one first before considering getting one!

 

[Bamboopictures]

:thumbsup:

 

[GeoffreyTurner]

1250 Whr means the capacity to deliver 1250W of power for one hour ( or one Watt of power for 1250 hours). Since a redhead is rated at 800W, it will last 1250/800 x 60 minutes.
The goalzero battery is a photovoltaic solar cell. Kinda of expensive, not very proven. LED is more compact and for that same heft and weight of the cell, you can carry an entire crate of lithium-ion that will last you weeks.
For battery powered LEDs:
Cheap and bright ipad sized panels:
Dedolight Mobile LED fresnel:
I also had some success using an unorthodox long throw tactical light Nitecore TM26 as a stage light and an umbrella light.

Thanks for sharing information but I am bit confused to solar cells.. Are these too expensive and needs lots of care? I dont have much money to spend so what is alternative option

 

[DXNMedia]

The Goalzero system is simply a battery with DC to AC inverter, and options are available for solar charging.
Just treat solar panels as your charging device.

In simple terms, a 20w solar panel array will take 10 hours of full sunlight to charge up a drained 200w battery.
a 40w panel array will take 5 hours to charge a drained 200w battery.
a 100w panel array will take 2 hours to charge up a drained 200w battery.

If you get good panels, they can last maybe 10 years or more... I have panels from Siemens Solar since 2001 and they still yield good current & efficiency.
Likewise i have tried cheap panels where the surface cracked up after a year of constant sunlight & UV exposure.
The most money you'll spend on such a self-reliant power source is always on the battery.
If you use your system frequently, expect an annual battery change or even faster.
At best, batteries on standby can last two years before end of life.