Anybody ever power an arcade (games) using a generator?

orion3311

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Anybody ever power an arcade (games) using a generator?

One issue I have with my garcade is that I'm pretty much out of juice. I can run all the games I have (I think 11) and that maxes out the 15 amp breaker I get to use. (I use a Kill-a-watt to keep track). Its a rented garage (a friends place but still) so I'm hesitant to even mention I'm using that much juice, even if its only for an hour or two twice a year.

Anyone ever use a generator to power their games for a while? What about a high wattage inverter from a car/truck. (High wattage meaning 2500 watts)

If I ever have a game day I may need a little extra juice.
 
Powering from a generator will work just fine. You just have to be able to put up with the noise (cheap generators are pretty noisy). And you have to make sure you don't exceed the generator's rated load, but that's generally pretty easy (if you exceed it, the generator's breaker will trip, among other things).


Good luck!
 
I have for short periods of time. My storage unit doesn't have accessible power, so I keep my hurricane generator there for those times when power tools are necessary or powering a game up for testing.

ken
 
I have to test games out in the barn. It works fine. But I don't think most generators are going to be able to power very many. I would be reluctant to power more than 3 off the one I was using, and its midsized. Maybe 6500 watts. I think its the amperage you really have to watch.
 
Electricty sounds like fun!! Fork in the outlet time! ZZZAP!S#@4656!!@@ oww....
;)
 
here's a list of some fairly common games and the power they consume-

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=46009&highlight=arcade+power+usage

I'd say that 200 watts per 19" raster game is a safe estimate.
So, a 6500 watt generator should power 32+ games.
As far as amperage per games goes, your looking at less than 2 amps each.
If your running 11 games right now on a 15 amp circuit (1800 watt circuit) thats approximately 165 watts per game, which is pretty standard for 19" raster games, but doesn't leave much for overhead and accessories. I'm running 11 games as well, but lucky for me each wall is on a seperate circuit.
At any rate, a 2500 watt inverter would power a bunch of games. My concern would be the inverters duty cycle rating - as in how long you can actually use it maxed out for every hour of use. I don't think you'd hurt the games, but you might very well overheat and fry the inverter.
 
I would think a quality generator could handle several games,although how many I'm not sure as I've never tried.I'm thinking 5-7,but I may be wrong.(Wouldn't be the first time.)
 
Humm...my reaction would be to say..Dont Do It!!.. But after all the above I guess my instinct is WAY off. Ive done countless outdoor shows doing intelligent lighting and those "rental" type gas "genies" are prone for spikes that can and have totally destroyed my gear. Now a larger diesel genie that you tow in is another story...just my .05 cents.
 
Humm...my reaction would be to say..Dont Do It!!.. But after all the above I guess my instinct is WAY off. Ive done countless outdoor shows doing intelligent lighting and those "rental" type gas "genies" are prone for spikes that can and have totally destroyed my gear. Now a larger diesel genie that you tow in is another story...just my .05 cents.

That's my 2 cents to I'm a electrician and with generators some times the frequency can flutter also as the load changes like when you hear the motor surging or bogging down the voltage is changing with it. I use them to test or when I had my storage shed to sell something but I would be careful plugging in something that is rare or hard to get repaired just in case.
 
here's a list of some fairly common games and the power they consume-

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=46009&highlight=arcade+power+usage

I'd say that 200 watts per 19" raster game is a safe estimate.
So, a 6500 watt generator should power 32+ games.
As far as amperage per games goes, your looking at less than 2 amps each.
If your running 11 games right now on a 15 amp circuit (1800 watt circuit) thats approximately 165 watts per game, which is pretty standard for 19" raster games, but doesn't leave much for overhead and accessories. I'm running 11 games as well, but lucky for me each wall is on a seperate circuit.
At any rate, a 2500 watt inverter would power a bunch of games. My concern would be the inverters duty cycle rating - as in how long you can actually use it maxed out for every hour of use. I don't think you'd hurt the games, but you might very well overheat and fry the inverter.

165 watts is very high for a standard 19" raster vid. Most 19" standard res raster's run about 90-100 watts. Hell, 19" X/Y B&W vids run about 160-180 watts...
 
165 watts is very high for a standard 19" raster vid. Most 19" standard res raster's run about 90-100 watts. Hell, 19" X/Y B&W vids run about 160-180 watts...


I know, i was just using his example of a 15 amp circuit powering 11 games and not being able to handle more, just to give a decent frame of reference to how many games he could power with an X watt inverter or gennie, without overloading anything.
 
Yeah power conditioning would be my big worry, I have your typical construction type generator with a 10 horse engine I think. I wanna say 3000 or 4000 watts which is pretty good - prob provide more juice than what I have available. I also have a big 2500 watt inverter that I could in theory run off my car if I had to, and I could just segment a handful of games to it. I'd trust the inverter before the generator.

As far as my power consumption, believe it or not thats not truely maxing out the breaker, but I'm going any farther with it considering the house hasn't had any electrical upgrades in eons. I actually replaced a 40 amp breaker for her AC because it literally wore out. I think the most I've tried pulling was 13 amps and it seemed ok, didn't feel any wires getting warm but there's another room I can't get to where I haven't seen the wiring yet.
 
That's my 2 cents to I'm a electrician and with generators some times the frequency can flutter also as the load changes like when you hear the motor surging or bogging down the voltage is changing with it. I use them to test or when I had my storage shed to sell something but I would be careful plugging in something that is rare or hard to get repaired just in case.

Now that's something I hadn't thought of - I just sort of assumed that modern generators were properly filtering their outputs. I certainly didn't know they spiked!

This can be dealt with by using power conditioners on the generator's outputs, but that adds another layer of stuff to fool with.

On the other hand, once you power up an arcade machine, it's load shouldn't change much while running, so it may not be much of a problem.
 
Id be worried about spikes off a generator.

if your just doing it a couple times a year how about running a 12 gauge extension cord from a different circuit in the house? You could use a power strip on it and move several games to that line
 
Id be worried about spikes off a generator.

if your just doing it a couple times a year how about running a 12 gauge extension cord from a different circuit in the house? You could use a power strip on it and move several games to that line

I think this is the best alternative. I had an old rental house that wouldn't handle my air compressor on the garage circuit, so I ran a huge extension cord from the house out to the garage when I needed the compressor. It was a pain, but I wasn't there for long, so it worked short term.
 
Most people fail to realize that most devices pull more amperage on startup then less amperage afterwards. I use one for camping and I've calculated what each device pulls for amperage on startup. If I need to use multiple items at once I know what needs to be started first "or last" in order to stay within operating range. I'd have to assume it's no different with games.
 
Now that's something I hadn't thought of - I just sort of assumed that modern generators were properly filtering their outputs. I certainly didn't know they spiked!

This can be dealt with by using power conditioners on the generator's outputs, but that adds another layer of stuff to fool with.

On the other hand, once you power up an arcade machine, it's load shouldn't change much while running, so it may not be much of a problem.

Newer higher-end generators are Inverter Generators which condition the power nicely... older style "workplace" gens don't.
 
If you do go the battery/inverter route, I would recommend using deep cycle batteries instead of car batteries. Car batteries are designed to mainly deliver high amperage in short bursts (like what your car starter needs) but not to deliver lower steady power over time. Deep cycle batteries are designed for this purpose as they are used in solar power systems, backup power supplies for sump pumps and the such. A car battery will work but prolonged use of it like that could damage it. The big extension cord from another part of the home is what I would go with.

Good Luck.
 
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