To earth a genset you get as long a piece of copper pipe as you can find, bang it into the ground with the top sticking up then either use a car jump lead between this and the metal frame of the genset or an earthing point if provided (some have them) or better get proper earthing clips that you can find in electrical goods shops.

I’ve had a look on some German reviews and the amp may be far less than 400W due to how audio power is measured. Can you get a scan or link to the instruction manual or upload a pic of the bit in German and I will see what I can work out from there. one of the reviewers claims that the mains trafo only is 60W power (so it would never get to 400W permanently or it would overheat) and that RMS power is far less than this as little as 2 x 12W.

Nun zum Gerät selbst:
Da der Verstärker nur über einen kleinen 60 Watt Trafo (immerhin ein Ringkerntrafo) verfügt, ist eine Ausgangsleistung von 400 Watt natürlich auf Dauer nicht zu halten. Die Bedienungsanleitung gibt zwar einen Wert von 2 x 180 W max. an; dieses kann aber zeitlich nur im µS-Bereich möglich sein. Daher steht dann schon in der nächsten Zeile ein RMS-Wert von 2 x 12 W,

I’ve also seen a pic of what appears to be the same amp with the covers off (but not a very hi res pic) and would say personally it looks capable of 100W maybe but certainly not 400W or 12W

The rest of the wattage figures seem OK. Provided the genset is a good stable voltage (don’t plug things in until it is run at correct speed) then everything should work. Especially if it is one of the newer small ones which are supposed to be “stable power for computers etc…” if you know how to do so I would check its output with a voltmeter before your party (be careful not to get a shock doing this!)

Also keep in mind to x3 every stated wattage that’s gonna be going through the genny to conclude the right amount for it to handle.

OK, PMPO rating is not the same as RMS.

I am guessing that “Leistung” (Performance) is the actual mains power drain, defined as 2 X 200W. So 400W at 240 Volts…

Should be fine. You have excess speaker wattage, which means you are unlikely to blow the speakers up. BUT, make sure all the knobs are turned down and the amp is switched off when you fire up the genny. Get the genny running smooth, then turn on the amp. Then slowly wind up the volume. Beware too of having the bass turned up full to begin with.

Reason I’m confident – the fuse (Sicherung) is defined as 2 Amps. 2 Amps at 240 Volts = maximum power use before the fuse pops is 480 Watts, which is nowhere near what the speakers can handle.

It’s still a bit iffy because you don’t have 3 times the generator capacity as the amp can handle, but if you are careful cranking up the amp, and none of the speaker leads get disconnected mid performance, should be OK.

Oversurge protector built into a mains 4 way gang might give you some peace of mind. Very common article like PC World, computer geeks generally have a 4 way gang with one built in.

It’s not perfect but it’s better than nothing. So long as you got 2 Amp fuses in each deck socket, that should take care of them. Very often the gear has got extra fuses built into the guts for the clever repair folk to change, like it’s miraculous magic or something.

Whole idea of a fuse is… the fuse blows before any damage gets caused.

Anyone think of anything better?

Christ it just seems so small to be using on a soundsystem, but i suppose you can’t really question mathematics.
You should get 2A man.

@Arsonistdj 539635 wrote:

is that a surge protector?

Usually has “surge protection” embossed on the plastic somewhere. It’s certainly got a switch and neon light, could not say for sure if has surge protection too.

Mind you, unless the genny goes completely batshit, shouldn’t be needed. Like I said, it’s more for peace of mind than anything else.

@Arsonistdj 539635 wrote:

is that a surge protector?

You can buy a surge protector with like £10000 insurance against damages for like £5!

Damage to equipment from generators is usually caused by the generator supplying too much voltage. Larger generators have a voltage regulation circuit built in that keeps the supply voltage constant, but unfortunately small petrol generators such as yours don’t, and tend to be the worst for it. Electrical loads that change over time (such as audio amplifiers, which draw more current on each bass drum hit) particularly can cause these supply voltage fluctuations. One trick you can do to counteract this effect is to plug in a constant load whilst your soundsystem is running, such as a powerful light, to keep the generator happy (bearing in mind not to overload the genny). Chances are your generator will be fine and not damage anything, but as GL suggested, if you want to do things properly then measure the supply voltage from the generator using a multimeter and see if it’s going above 240V (you can probably get a cheap one for a tenner).

The fuse in a plug is not designed to protect equipment from over-voltage; it is a safety device designed to prevent a fire in the event of the equipment developing a fault and drawing too much current. 3A is really the lowest you will see in a UK plug and there is no point downgrading from what the manufacturer recommends.

Surge protectors of the 4-way power bar type might be of limited use, but only if the generator is earthed, as they work by shunting any nasties down the earth wire.

And although your amp is underpowered for your speakers, try not to run it into the red as apart from sounding crap, it can still blow the drivers.

And remember some pics or vids from your successful night please!