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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: Protecting equipment during prolonged power failure
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 12-08-2018 03:06 PM
I don't know how much power the gas-fired boiler needs to operate, but my guess is that it only needs electricity to run the control board and pump. If so, a relatively small and cheap genny would at least keep your heat going, assuming that the gas supply isn't affected. This happened in my mother's house during the very cold snap in December 2010: although she had gas central heating, the boiler needed electricity to operate, and her local substation was knocked out in a snowstorm.
I bought a 400w generator for around GBP100 (this was before I'd left the UK), and hooked it directly to the boiler. It was easily enough to power the boiler, two or three LED-powered lamps around the house and the Internet router. That made the difference between the house being habitable while they fixed the substation, and having to go to a hotel.
Obviously, you need long enough mains cables to enable you to put the genny far enough away from the house that the exhaust emissions cannot cause a monoxide hazard inside it. The model I bought was only able to be run for four hours at a time before you had to shut it off for an hour, to prevent overheating, and it consumed about a gallon of gas during that time (so you need a gas station to be open nearby for this to work as an emergency plan). It was also effing noisy - neighbor complaints would have been very likely under normal circumstances.
In your case, I'd guess that even being able to get the heat on for a few hours a day might make the difference between equipment damage and not. I'd further guess that humidity is likely to be the bigger problem than absolute temperature (especially if condensation forms on the envelope of a xenon bulb). For that reason, I wouldn't want to power up any projection or sound equipment following a prolonged loss of power until after the booth has been heated for long enough period to dry it out thoroughly.
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Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God
Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004
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posted 12-22-2018 11:25 AM
quote: Justin Hamaker
The actually took swaps of our equipment to see if there is any particulate which will be dangerous to electronic components. I don't know how long the test results will take, but this seems reasonable when you're looking at a potential claim for a few hundred thousand dollars for replacement equipment.
Justin, first off I am sincerely glad that you are OK and your theatre survived the fire. I have friends from the area who lost everything.
But I am gonna say that, what the insurance agency did is IMHO a way to try to avoid paying you for replacement equipment, so don't be surprised if they come back trying to say that what they found is "not harmful." When it comes to electronics, ANY fire residue particulate IS very harmful. It may work for a short time, but combustion particulate is electrically conductive and will cause problems. (At the very least, degraded performance.) Unlike optical stuff, carpets, seats, walls, etc. you cannot economically thoroughly clean electronics exposed to a fire. (Some would say you could use solvents, which might work for things like amplifiers and the processors, but who in their right mind would try that with a projector?)
If they try to deny the claim for replacement of ALL of your electronics...fight it. Hire a lawyer if necessary. (Especially if you've been with that company for a long time with no major claims in the past.)
Case in point: a relative has a small kitchen fire that spread smoke through the entire house. Even the master bedroom TV, which saw very light smoke, no heat and no water, was damaged beyond repair, as were all of the light dimmers and motion switches. (The fire started from grease, no electrical factors were involved.) All of the house (except the kitchen) was cleanable and mostly undamaged, but the smell took forever to go away.
quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
In cases of areas that had the fire issues and will be closed a long time, your insurance might pay for a generator to keep the basic building alive and allow equipment to be cycled on an off every couple of weeks. Its a lot cheaper than insurance paying for all new IMB's and or ICP's. Not to mention the importance of keeping air flow and pumps running to mold and mildew don't occur.
Yes it is an excellent idea except for the part about cycling the equipment. Who knows what the smoke residue has affected? Why risk powering it up without being absolutely positive that no damage will result?
And who cares if the insurance has to pay for new IMB's or ICP's? (or whole projectors for that matter.) Things like this are WHY you pay insurance in the first place. For the reasons I mentioned to Justin above, in the cases of fire/smoke exposure (with the MAYBE exception of the amps and processors, which it is possible, though costly, to solvent clean them) the only safe option is full replacement. (As for the projector, the lens is one component that could very likely be cleaned and saved, but the rest would be replaced.)
Another thought: the screen(s). Most of them claim to be cleanable, but again the labor would probably cost more than replacement, with cleaning it not being a guaranteed success.
Thankfully the speakers will not be affected, other than retaining the smell.
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