I have a bowens gemini 500r mono strobe light. It is discontinued so Im trying to make my own battery pack for mobile use. The light is 600w and I have a 1000w pure sine wave inverter and a 12v 32a battery to go with it. Prob is the light trips the inverter signaling theres too much power. Now im thinking that there is less power that runs thru the dedicated port for a battery. This port is a 15pin port almost exactly like a vga monitor cord. So Im wondering, why would 1000w inverter not be strong enough for a 600w strobe light, and if theres less power running thru the dedicated port, how can I diy my own 15 pin connector to my inverter? Any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you all in advanced.

 

According to the specs, it is 500 Ws at full power. Watt-seconds is a measurement of energy the unit is outputting per flash. That does not mean it draws 500W power from the power supply. Since these units have to charge up their capacitors, I'm guessing they draw a large initial current then exponentially decreases. This initial current may exceed the 1000W rating of the inverter.

If you must use that inverter, try adding a resistor in series to the 120V output of the inverter. This limits the maximum current. Try between 5 to 15 ohm. This of course slows down the charge rate, and reduces efficiency because the resistor uses energy. A better solution is to try a larger inverter.

The 15 pin connector is probably proprietary. Someone would have to reverse engineer it to figure out the wiring.

 

ok i am considering a bigger inverter. thank you so much for your help.

 

You would be much better reverse engineering the battery system rather than use an inverter.
A 32A battery is nowhere near big enough to run the inverter to anywhere near it's rated output.

 

that isnt encouraging lol. I dont think id be able to do that. I have an electrician friend but hes a busy guy. I just dont think thats gonna be in my cards even though id love to do it. I am able to us it on a low setting seems max at 2 out of 5 with 1k inverter and 32a. Any other suggestions? maybe the resistor is a better path rather then going bigger with the inverter?

 

On second thought, the resistor idea may or may not work. The voltage drop on the resistor may be so high that the stobe's internal circuits stop working.

You could consider buying used power pak.

Or post this question in a photography lighting forum. Maybe there are other solutions.