Pat Yuen wrote:
I built a power pack system using this inverter and it works like a charm. http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/puresine_300.html

That's exactly the same invertor I posted above.

$148 at Alternative Energy store.

Just FYI, "deep cycle" batteries do not hold charges longer, the self-discharge rate is the same, because the chemistry is the same (lead-acid).  Deep cycle batteries only do one thing better: they can withstand more charge/discharge cycle.  The difference is mostly in the thickness of the electrodes.

mcStudio wrote:
i see there is a bunch of engineers/photographers out there.  lol 

is building one that much cheaper than buying a vagabond?  just curious.

Yup. DIY 300W should run $250-300 (depending on what parts you use and where you buy from). Compare to $350 for the 150W Vagabond and $500 for the 300W.

robert christopher wrote:
i was going to build one till i found this one, $250 plus $45 shiping, got to seattle from the phillipines in 5 days. soilid metal box, built like a tank, comes with a built in charger so just attach a cord and plug it in to charge. used it only to try a few shots havent really put it to the test yet.

http://www.innovatronix.com/cgi-bin/pro … /index.asp

Solid unit. Here's a review -
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/conten … -7883-7908

Knocks on it are that it's only 150W continuous which makes it a 150W inverter (same as Vagabond) and there's no easy way to swap batteries in the field or plug in another battery/12V source, so run time will be limited to the 12AH battery the unit comes with.

DIY would be cheaper, and it gives you more options. Though there's no guarantee it'd look as pretty

RanIan wrote:
Go with a Honda ECU1000

They are extremly lighweight and I know from experience they will work perfectly and quietly.

I used one when I lived in a trailer for one year after the fires in 2003.

It's a great generator but serious apples to oranges. We're comparing a $650 30lb 1000W generator to a $250 15lb 300W DIY battery setup. If you have the budget, the power requirements, and are willing to lug around a 30lb generator then go for it.

robert christopher wrote:
i was going to build one till i found this one, $250 plus $45 shiping, got to seattle from the phillipines in 5 days. soilid metal box, built like a tank, comes with a built in charger so just attach a cord and plug it in to charge. used it only to try a few shots havent really put it to the test yet.

http://www.innovatronix.com/cgi-bin/pro … /index.asp

put it to the test and let me know!    thanks.

StratMan wrote:
The Honda portable generators may be beyond someone's budget, but Yamaha & several other companies make small port-a-gens that can deliver juice when ya need it, and don't weigh a ton. Loews & Home Depot sell em for half the price of the Hondas.  Also, Home Depot rents port-a-gens as well, which is a good way to go if you don't need one or have the budget to purchase. 

DIY is nice until you're on a shoot with a client, and something goes wrong, so make sure you always have a backup, and if you make "two" DIY units, the combined costs puts you right back into port-a-gen/vagabond $$

Strat

mi dos centavos!

The smallest generator Yamaha makes is the EF1000iS. It's comparable to the Honda in weight, power, noise, and price. Here's a review and comparison to the Honda -
http://www.campinglife.com/output.cfm?id=1112113

Valid point in having a backup, but I still don't think you're going to do any cheaper than DIY

And again, generators vs power packs is a different question all together - different tools for different jobs.

StratMan wrote:
DIY is nice until you're on a shoot with a client, and something goes wrong, so make sure you always have a backup, and if you make "two" DIY units, the combined costs puts you right back into port-a-gen/vagabond $$

Strat

mi dos centavos!

Pat Yuen wrote:
Trying to follow you logic here. DIY units require two units for redundancy whereas a vegabond does not. Are you claiming the vegabond contains two discrete units running in parallel that serve as backup to each other? The specification for the parts I used on my DYI unit far exceeds those of the vegabond. It has twice the wattage at half the price. Add to that the flexibility of choosing the battery capacity to meet my shooting needs. For a short shoot, I can carry a small 12 amp hour battery and switch to a 40 amp hour battery for extended shoots. If I run out of all my battery capacity, I just hook it up to my car's battery.

Depends on which Vagabond we're talking about. The 300W Vagabond ($500) is 2 150W inverters. The 150W Vagabond ($350) is just 1 150W.

Agreed though that the logic isn't the easiest to follow And yes, more current = more goodness

lll wrote:
Sure.

Part list:

1)  12V 15Ah Lead-acid (automobile/motorcycle) battery
2)  True Sine Wave 12VDC-115VAC invertor, about 300W continuous power would do.  This is an example
3)  Battery charger
4)  Some wires to hook everything up

And there you are, a home-made "Vagabond".

The 12v 15 amp-hour battery is more likely to be a "sealed lead acid" (SLA) battery than a regular automobile or motorcycle battery with a liquid electrolyte.  That's actually a good thing, as SLA batteries can be checked in airline luggage and are considerably smaller than a traditional motorcycle or automobile battery which isn't permanently sealed.

Mr. Anthony

BlindMike wrote:

The smallest generator Yamaha makes is the EF1000iS. It's comparable to the Honda in weight, power, noise, and price. Here's a review and comparison to the Honda -
http://www.campinglife.com/output.cfm?id=1112113

Valid point in having a backup, but I still don't think you're going to do any cheaper than DIY

And again, generators vs power packs is a different question all together - different tools for different jobs.

The old familiar term comes to mind.. "murphy's law: what can go wrong, will go wrong.." and at some point & time while shooting for a client, things will go wrong; camera, lens, lights, meter & various equipment failures. I learned from several shooters as an assistant, so it pays huge dividends to have redundancy/backup with your gear.

I'm mechanically inclined, but I'm no electrician, so I would opt for the portable generator and amortize (sp.) the cost over 5-6 jobs and still get the tax wrtite-off for the the year. I admit the DIY system is interesting, and could be quite reliable, but I've just be shooting too long to think that nothing will fail at the worst possible moment...lol.

For the types of shooting I do, I would opt for the portable generator. But the DIY system may work perfectly for your shooting situations.

Strat

Pat Yuen wrote:
Trying to follow you logic here. DIY units require two units for redundancy whereas a vegabond does not. Are you claiming the vegabond contains two discrete units running in parallel that serve as backup to each other? The specification for the parts I used on my DYI unit far exceeds those of the vegabond. It has twice the wattage at half the price. Add to that the flexibility of choosing the battery capacity to meet my shooting needs. For a short shoot, I can carry a small 12 amp hour battery and switch to a 40 amp hour battery for extended shoots. If I run out of all my battery capacity, I just hook it up to my car's battery.

Pat,

I understand your points as well, I've seen all kinds of DIY rigs made from off the shelf parts, and some have worked well, but on a shoot with clients there, I myself wouldn't risk it just to save a few bucks. I'd be kicking myself of something went wrong, and I lost the client because I wasn't prepared if something did go wrong...it's called being a "pro", and clients expect that when they contract you. I haven't used the DIY system, but I'd have TWO of em if I did make that purchase.

The two units aren't in parallel, you use one and have the other fully charged and ready to go just in case the other one fails or you end up shooting more shots (this is normal with clients), and you need a fresh battery.

Strat

MorningLight wrote:
One issue you will run in to is what power system they are running in any countries you plan to visit.
Power voltages and frequency are all over the place. Best do reseach before you do any purchasing of electrical items. 120 volt 60hz power which we have here is might be non existant where you are going.

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p … 0139-DL-WH

There you go.

StratMan wrote:
The old familiar term comes to mind.. "murphy's law: what can go wrong, will go wrong.." and at some point & time while shooting for a client, things will go wrong; camera, lens, lights, meter & various equipment failures. I learned from several shooters as an assistant, so it pays huge dividends to have redundancy/backup with your gear.

I'm mechanically inclined, but I'm no electrician, so I would opt for the portable generator and amortize (sp.) the cost over 5-6 jobs and still get the tax wrtite-off for the the year. I admit the DIY system is interesting, and could be quite reliable, but I've just be shooting too long to think that nothing will fail at the worst possible moment...lol.

For the types of shooting I do, I would opt for the portable generator. But the DIY system may work perfectly for your shooting situations.

Strat

Murphy's Law would dictate having at least 2 generators. At that point we're looking at $1300 and 60 lbs in generators, plus the logistics involved in getting everything on site. Yes, generators are great for runtime and power. No, they're not the best fit for all situations. Considering the original question was how to save money by making a DIY power pack for AB400's and 800's, going with multiple generators would be grossly overkill and over budget

Perfected Images wrote:
Just be careful if you DIY.  It took awhile to build strong enough (hi amp/hi watt) that wouldn't crap out after 20 minutes. I have a great powerpack I built to run 4 AB1600's at full power for 8 hours, but it wasn't cheap; around $450

  Is the Vagabond good enough for ya?

lll wrote:

  Is the Vagabond good enough for ya?

No, the vagabond was only able to run for an hour before it lost it's amp output.  And I need like 1000w for 4 AB1600's.

Dan741 wrote:
Hello... I have a situation I hope someone can help me remedy.
I am out of the country (United States) in South America for a year with my Alien Bees (400s and 800s) and would like to make a makeshift portable power pack to take around with me since importing the original Alien Bees power pack would cost me more at customs than the pack is worth... anyone have any ideas on how to construct one???? Thanks
Dan

I have no idea howmuch those lights draw.. but I have used an inverter and a 12 volt car battery..... matter of fact did so last week in upper Mi.

mcStudio wrote:
i'm looking to build one just for fun and backup to my vagabond.  if anyone made one, i would really like to see a picture of it to get a general idea of what it looks like.

many thanks.

4x 5AH batteries in pairs = 20AH. Good enough to run an X1600 and an AB800 for an entire shoot.

Perfected Images wrote:
No, the vagabond was only able to run for an hour before it lost it's amp output.  And I need like 1000w for 4 AB1600's.

Current only affects how fast your lights recycle. If you're looking for runtime, then you need bigger batteries.

Perfected Images wrote:
No, the vagabond was only able to run for an hour before it lost it's amp output.  And I need like 1000w for 4 AB1600's.

I thought you were talking about reliability.

And what Mike said already.  If you want it to last, just get a larger battery.

BlindMike wrote:







4x 5AH batteries in pairs = 20AH. Good enough to run an X1600 and an AB800 for an entire shoot.

Yeehaw, that looks very nice!  I'm impressed.  Looks like a pro kit.  lol  So... when you going to build me one? 

mcStudio wrote:
Yeehaw, that looks very nice!  I'm impressed.  Looks like a pro kit.  lol  So... when you going to build me one? 

Too late, sold it 2 weeks ago

BlindMike wrote:







4x 5AH batteries in pairs = 20AH. Good enough to run an X1600 and an AB800 for an entire shoot.

Nice.  But wouldn't it have been simpler to just get a 17 amp-hour battery and be done with it.  Lot lighter too.

Looking at your setup (and to help others make their own), it looks like your parts are:
1) a good size toolbox
2) an inverter
3) sealed lead acid batteries
4) a piece of wood to mount the inverter on to separate the batteries from the inverter
5) electrical connectors and wiring
6) foam to hold the batteries in place

Assembly would look like: cut foam to hold batteries. Wire batteries in parallel, place in foam in box.  Screw inverter to separator board (optional, spray board black),  Drill holes in wood for wiring from batteries.

Mr. Anthony

Mr Anthony wrote:
Nice.  But wouldn't it have been simpler to just get a 17 amp-hour battery and be done with it.  Lot lighter too.

Looking at your setup (and to help others make their own), it looks like your parts are:
1) a good size toolbox
2) an inverter
3) sealed lead acid batteries
4) a piece of wood to mount the inverter on to separate the batteries from the inverter
5) electrical connectors and wiring
6) foam to hold the batteries in place

Assembly would look like: cut foam to hold batteries. Wire batteries in parallel, place in foam in box.  Screw inverter to separator board (optional, spray board black),  Drill holes in wood for wiring from batteries.

Mr. Anthony

It'd save 3 lbs if I went with an 18AH compared to 4x 5AH. Reason I went with those batteries is because they were cheap

The toolbox I used had a removeable tray. That's what the inverter is mounted to. I used velcro to keep it in place. No wood needed

RanIan wrote:
Go with a Honda ECU1000

They are extremly lighweight and I know from experience they will work perfectly and quietly.

I used one when I lived in a trailer for one year after the fires in 2003.

The problem with any of the portable true-sine-wave generators is the overload protection circuit  they have.  Picked up a 2000 watt version, and with 2 AB800's, was popping the breaker on the generator after the AB's started recharging.  Could only run one at a time.  The AB800's pull 8+ amps on startup, and the 2000 watt generator was rated at approx. 16.7 amps peak.....wound up returning the generator.

d30john wrote:
Guys, this is a fantastic thread.  Thank you.  I got (2) AB 1600 and a Samlex  300 Watt 12VDC-115VAC Inverter in transit.  Any tips on buying a charger and maintenance?

Perfected Images:  Would love to know how you manage to power 4 AB 1600 for 8 hours.  Very impressive.

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p … 0139-DL-WH

These are good.

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-12BC1000D-1

These will work too.

If you let the batteries sit, they'll lose voltage. So make sure you charge them prior to use. The good chargers allow you to leave the battery plugged in at all times as they'll maintain proper storing voltage. And make sure you charge as soon as possible after shooting.

BlindMike wrote:

Solid unit. Here's a review -
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/conten … -7883-7908

Knocks on it are that it's only 150W continuous which makes it a 150W inverter (same as Vagabond) and there's no easy way to swap batteries in the field or plug in another battery/12V source, so run time will be limited to the 12AH battery the unit comes with.

DIY would be cheaper, and it gives you more options. Though there's no guarantee it'd look as pretty

actually it comes with an adapter to plug it into your cigarette lighter, so if you want to shoot for hours, get a deep cycle marine battery, put it in a fancy carrier that has a cigarette lighter attachment, or one of the jump start batteries and your set to go.

Eric S. wrote:
1. I have 2 complete Vagabond 150 kits. By combining two 150 converters to make a 300w set up, will that shorten the recycle time on ONE strobe? (Or is it only relevant if you're running 2 or more strobe units?

The two invertor units can only be used individually (since there is no way to put those two invertors in-sync with each other).  The recycling time will drop only in a two-light setup (one light plugs into one invertor to use its maximum current capability).

2. Can I power other strobe units off the vagabond? (lets say a Profoto Acute 2R 2400 pack with one head on full power) ?

Yes.  There is a caveat.  If your powerpack is digitally controlled, the current limiting circuit might cause it to "forget" your settings.  Other than that, it should work with all powerpack/monolight units, especially if the pack itself has current limiting.

3. Does anyone have a Hensel kit or the Profoto 7B kit?  Are they really worth all that $$$ ?

I know Marko uses the Porty...talk to him?