Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

topic posted Sat, June 11, 2005 - 5:30 PM by  The Architect
OK HT Here's the beginning. I'd like to explore this a bit further and maybe entertain other energy mediums...like Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Biodiesel. I know you set up some sort of inverter to power lights from your truck..but that was only 400wts of electricity. I believe we were talking about a 5kw generator....Maybe it can be an amalgon of different fuel sources..I'd don't know. I do definately think this idea is promising and should be explored. It would be great if the architecture of the booth can channel passive energies.

Our earlier link.

sanfrancisco.tribe.net/thread...bac0aac

I'll post a more accurate tally of how many watts are needed for a 5 speaker set up and maybe a smaller set and bigger set.
posted by:
The Architect
SF Bay Area
  • there's a couple of interesting start-ups (well funded start-ups, that is) in the silicon valley working on new forms of solar energy cells.

    Miasole (www.miasole.com/ currently under construction) has some cool new shingle like solution with much thinner than usual cells.

    Nanosolar ( www.nanosolar.com/ ) make printable solar cells which are (supposedly) cheaper yet as efficient as current solution.

    Neither company is ready for market, as far as i know, but i think that if someone approaches them and sells them on the idea that it's good publicity for them to give us free solar cells that we can test for a week in the desert for with sorts of application we might be able to get some samples/prototypes from them.
    • www.partsonsale.com/

      solar panels, inverters, etc. One of the highest volume/lowest cost online outlets for such gear.
      • backwoodssolar.com is another good source.

        As for the inverter, the better ones cost more. The coleman inverters are modified sine waves, basically stepped square waves. A couple of good pure sine wave inverters: Xantrex (ProSine), OutBack, and TrippLite. OutBack is the best and they can be mounted on the vehicle.

        As for other tips and suggestions, the alternator route is tough, but easy. I know you can have alternators built up that pump out more amps, but pumping out 6kw of 120 means 500amps of 12volt, or more with inefficencies. That is a hell of a lot.

        I am looking for diesel powered generators that are low kw, so far I can only find 15kw versions. I'm sure they exist, just haven't found them yet. That would be the way to go. Green Biodiesel powered music!
  • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

    Sun, June 19, 2005 - 10:15 AM
    Sorry it took me so long to come back...I was in Alabama...y'all

    Let's start by looking into how much power we need, then we can go from there to the actual predicition and construction.
    • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

      Mon, June 20, 2005 - 9:46 AM
      Ok so here's run down of the basic requirements for a set up. This a small sound system with all self amplfied speakers.

      2 Mackie SRM 450's for monitoring sound - 400 wts ea.
      2 Mackie 1530's to for mid and some low end sound - 500 wts ea.
      1 SWA 1801 SubWoofer for Low end Bass - 900 wts (1200 peak wts)

      That's a min. of 2700 watts - 3000 watts peaking.

      I have not included the mixer rating...it has amp as well. This does not include
      lighting. and extra peripherals.

      This also does not include the peak load for the 1530's and the 450's which I need to look up.
      • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

        Wed, June 22, 2005 - 6:44 PM
        So, this looks like a 3000 watt system that neds to run for what, 12 hours?

        So, 36000 watts...

        There are several ways to approach this:
        - solar only
        - biodiesel powered generator
        - hybrid system
        - wind power

        I can do a rough design estimate for all of them, or we could look at a couple of them in particular. I would say that if we really want a broad spectrum appeal, I would look at the hybrid system and the biodiesel generator.
        • Unsu...
           

          Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

          Wed, June 22, 2005 - 7:44 PM
          Or you could look at a fuel cell generator since biodiesel will be noisy.

          Ballard is the main proponent and inventor of fuel cell technology. Not sure about pricing but worth checking out.
          www.ballard.com/be_a_custo...rgen/airgen

          My guess is you would need a hell of a lot of equipment and wind... that has some logistics challenges.

          Can't wait to talk with you Todd!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxo!
          • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

            Wed, June 22, 2005 - 8:01 PM
            Actually, biodiesel generators are incredibly quiet. Diesel generators, when run at idle are usually quieter than gas.

            I'll check into fuel cells. I know Ballard, and IFC, and several other companies. Just don't think that they have quite made it to market yet. Most are still in experimental stage, or pilot programs, or aerospace.

            I got your message, I was actually working...drudge drudge drudge...though sneaking a note in on tribe. How are you on time tomorrow? I actually am free...:)
        • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

          Tue, August 16, 2005 - 6:59 PM
          >So, 36000 watts...

          Actually, about 5500w total power consumption to produce ~3600w of output pwr.

          Any inside scoop on efficient DC to AC power conversion, Todd? I'm currently using two 1000w coleman units, electrically noisy & inefficient switching converters...

          My diesel truck with high output alternator will provide around 30a/13.5v = ~400w at fast idle, 1200w peak @~4000rpm. This into two high capacity dual-purpose marine/starting batteries which feed the inverters.

          So I can provide 2000w of continuous output power at 115v. I'd like to get to 6kw of continuous output capacity, using a second (higher output) belt driven alternator (possibly even a dedicated 110v unit, assuming they exist?) and simply using the diesel truck engine as a de facto generator.

          But my main concern remains the inefficiency of the inverters. If I can't find a super efficient type, I may default to the 110 alternator solution, with a last resort of an onboard standalone generator fed from the vehicle's gas tank.

          Goal being: 60a @ 115v continuous output driven by biodiesel with minimized conversion losses. I'd happily incorporate additional solar or other additions to a 12v system, but as these are typically low peak power output, they will not likely serve the main demand, and will have to be later augments to the system. (ie: passive recharging)

          Any thoughts, tips, ideas, tricks?
          • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

            Fri, August 19, 2005 - 7:25 PM
            Oh, another note, if you start with higher input voltage, like 24volt or more, then your conversion efficiencies are higher.
            • Re: Environmentally Sound DJ Booth

              Tue, November 22, 2005 - 4:25 PM
              Let me help you prune down your options.

              I've found rollable solar panals that are rad if your camped somewhere. My laptop takes ~65W to run just that I would need 5 of these units totaling a 5' x 5' area. I think solar is just plane unfeasable for 5kW even if you could get much higher efficiency solar panels.

              Fuel cells although new and intersting are very expensive and oddly make allot of waist heat that must be dealt with. Sometime on the horizon we will see small units for cell phones and laptops, but they will be very expensive.

              That leavs you two major options:

              gas generators and batteries

              Since the batteries need to be charged taking an enormous battery bank into the woods is pretty much unfeasable. The ham radio folks do it but their not using quite as much power as you need to throw a party.

              This leavs generators. I know that diesel in general is the most efficient way to generate power and that most diesel generators can be converted to biodesel if you like.

              I think you major concern is polution? Being green house gases and noise. Like cars you can add a muffler to the generator. Most people don't realize that the sound comes out of the end of your tailpipe mostly. You could solve two problems at once. Add a catalytic converter and muffler to your 6kW generator and connect a hose to the end of the muffler and take the exhaust and noise away from the party. Be sure to get a thermaly rated hose. I have seen them in professional auto shops and race tracks.

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