The electric requirements would stop you from putting it in your backyard.
The motor is 3 Phase around 150A. Residential areas are generally not wired to be able to offer 3P power to customers. You would likely need to rent some commercial space to be able to get the electric hookup.
If you didn’t run the lights, it’s only 33kW motor, less in newer Starships
Assuming you had 208V 3ph, that’s under 100A. Much less if you are in commercial area with 240V 3ph
If you don’t plan to spin 48 people, you could replace motor with a 120V single phase motor 5hp and remove a lot of weight from the ride (cut holes in every other fiberglass panel)
A decently small generator (relative to a full trailer carnival ride)… could power this. There are many tow behind 50kVA diesel generators. (Another $8k)
BTW the reason these UFO/gravs are for sale is because they are all rotting, the fiberglass panels that hold it together are like paper now and too expensive to repair.
Look what I really pay them for is for them to know and for me not having to. They say 3p, 3p it is, whatever gets the monkeyfunkin’ GRAVITRON spinning!!
I don’t know much anything about electric motors but could you use the same motor and just spin the thing up more slowly? Or would you need a different motor for that?
Usually it’s the meter and the cabling that needs changing, like an extra phase needs to be introduced but it should be available at street level if any commercial place is around.
Your shop might have had the cables already and just needed the meter change.
VFDs are definitely the way to go, that’s what most enthusiasts used. When we did SirenCon over at Camp Tesumas in Wisconsin, we had a giant generator that we had to use to run the bigger sirens, especially the Cyclone 125 which has a 50 horsepower motor. It nearly killed the generator!
Or you just have 3 phase power at home (laughs in Germany).
aside from running carney rides, and maybe a shed with a gigantic cnc or end mill - what are the reasons for pushing 3p to the domicile level? I have no doubt there must be, DE knows engineering so…
Seriously. If this guy thinks his neighbors would be cool with his COLLECTION of sirens that operate on three-phase power, he’s got a wad of expanded polyethylene foam where his brain ought to reside.
I’ll have to take your word for it. The way I figure it, there’s a neighbor-to-neighbor noise spectrum on which everybody is constantly, even unconsciously evaluating everyone who lives around them.
On one end of the spectrum is the concept of “I don’t want to be that guy who calls the cops about this fucking noise, but I LITERALLY HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP FOR THREE DAYS.” I suppose the other end of the spectrum would be something like “all these fellows have been so quiet and considerate that they could give their collectible sirens a couple of good blasts, and I’d be happy for the break in the near-oppressive silence.”
See, the thing is, everywhere I’ve ever lived, I have been just about a notch and a half below the “I’m going to call the fucking cops” end of the spectrum. Always. The whole time.
Here’s a non-exhaustive (but certainly exhausting) set of examples, off the top of my head: dogs barking over and over and over, kids screaming, people deciding they just HAVE to mow the lawn at 6:00 AM on a Saturday, people with speaker systems that literally count as earthquake simulation machines, people who think it’s hilarious to illegally modify their muscle cars’ exhaust systems to basically have no muffler, people running their wood jointer machine for so long that I can only imagine they’re operating an illegal, untaxed lumber supply racket, people interminably screaming at their spouses and significant enemies in their driveways and on the sidewalks, etc, on and on.
It’s just a ceaseless and endlessly varied cacophony of fucking sound, from these rude motherfuckers. If any one of the shitheads who has lived near me over the last 40-something years had ever started collecting sirens, I would have lost my mind in the same arguably constructive way that young Bruce Wayne lost his marbles. There would be some guy called “Decibel Dude” stalking the streets, pouring sugar in leafblower gas tanks, muzzling dogs, removing chains from chainsaws and blades from lawnmowers, and whatever else I could think of to FINALLY MAKE PEOPLE JUST A LITTLE FUCKING QUIETER, FOR FUCK’S SAKE.
I’m just saying. Your world of “we’re all respectfully quiet, around here” is an utterly alien utopia, from where I’m sitting.
It’s illegal for us to set the sirens off willy nilly in most places, as it would cause a panic. Most of us (myself included) wait until the city tests their main sirens to set ours off, or on special occasions like New Years and Fourth of July/Canada Day. We’re very aware of how our hobby affects others and those who don’t learn very quickly when the neighbours get pissed.
I can only imagine they’re operating an illegal, untaxed lumber supply racket
my wife is a woodworker. she thought it ‘wasn’t that noisy for the neighbors if the garage door was closed’ lololol
that and neighborhood kids running around blasting bluetooth speakers at 2 in the fucking morning (like, 10 year olds!) I’m right there with you man, I want a quiet street and the world is conspiring against it.
And re: the vroom vroom fuckwits - oh my fucking god. About a half mile from my house is a main thoroughfare and some nights the fuckwits all try to see who can dump the most unburned gas out of their turbocharged shitmobiles generating 100+db because at my house it’s still fucking ear-splitting and they’re all the way over there with half a subdivision between.
meanwhile the world burns more each day, vroom vroom
The vroom vroom motherfuckers are absolutely the worst. Years ago, a feral cat had her kittens on our back porch. I was present to witness the litter of kittens emerging from the nest the mother cat had made, behind an outdoor shelving unit and a garden hose. These little fuckers had NEVER SEEN THE WORLD OUTSIDE THAT SPACE. They were all emerging at once, six little innocent balls of fluff, cuter than anyone could adequately describe. They had made it about ten inches into the outside world when some shithead started blasting his fucking engine, on the road past my fence.
The poor little fuckers jumped in unison and squeezed themselves back into the den, in a complete state of panic. They didn’t come out again for another day, at least.
So yeah, Mr. Big Masculine High Displacement Fuckoff Engine, out there…was he pulling chicks with that shit? Was he impressing ANYONE, at all, of any species? Nah. What he was doing was scaring the shit out of 14-day-old kittens. Fucking congratulations to his ass.
Within 20 years I bet we’ll have small fusion reactors that just sit onsite and generate all the power you want. If we survive WW3 that is. A toaster-sized generator will be able to run a gravitron no problem.
The electric requirements would stop you from putting it in your backyard.
The motor is 3 Phase around 150A. Residential areas are generally not wired to be able to offer 3P power to customers. You would likely need to rent some commercial space to be able to get the electric hookup.
If you didn’t run the lights, it’s only 33kW motor, less in newer Starships
Assuming you had 208V 3ph, that’s under 100A. Much less if you are in commercial area with 240V 3ph
If you don’t plan to spin 48 people, you could replace motor with a 120V single phase motor 5hp and remove a lot of weight from the ride (cut holes in every other fiberglass panel)
A decently small generator (relative to a full trailer carnival ride)… could power this. There are many tow behind 50kVA diesel generators. (Another $8k)
BTW the reason these UFO/gravs are for sale is because they are all rotting, the fiberglass panels that hold it together are like paper now and too expensive to repair.
nods knowingly
Indeed. 3p.
Look what I really pay them for is for them to know and for me not having to. They say 3p, 3p it is, whatever gets the monkeyfunkin’ GRAVITRON spinning!!
Where I’m from that’s enough for your ice lollies, your entry into the picture house, with enough left over for the bus home!
How many belt onions?
Wasn’t the style at the time.
Three penis. It’s a type of electricity with three penises.
I mean if you’re going tonreplace the motor just put in a small car or motorbike engine at that point.
I don’t know much anything about electric motors but could you use the same motor and just spin the thing up more slowly? Or would you need a different motor for that?
Shut up, nerd! Let me have my gravitron
Yeah four-eyes! We want results, not complaints! Now get back in the HOLE!
I mean a residential area home isn’t gonna have room anywhere for the thing in the first place.
which is why I had mine installed out back behind the stables, that we me and the livestock can all enjoy it.
Better still, buy an empty lot and it is your residential home
THIS IS MY OWN PRIVATE DOMICILE AND I WILL NOT BE HARASSED…BITCH!
seems like it would make cooking… exciting. I say go for it.
Mmmmmmmm, Milkshakes…
His milkshakes brings all the boys to the yard.
And they’re like, it’s gravitron.
Damn right, it’s gravitron.
I could teach you, but it’s five tickets to get on.
Nothing that a couple of cat batteries hooked up in parallel can’t fix.
Sounds like an innovative, potentially disruptive technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk3xBhqcjqY
Power company asked if I wanted a three phase meter when I was checking power requirements for wiring my shop up.
I just needed a different meter.
Usually it’s the meter and the cabling that needs changing, like an extra phase needs to be introduced but it should be available at street level if any commercial place is around.
Your shop might have had the cables already and just needed the meter change.
You’d also need a buddy to be the operator for it to work
Cheap timer clock from the dollar store you say?
Nah, just get a Bluetooth power button that you strap to your wrist.
Ooooh. I could hook this up outside my uncle’s store.
I hear him talking about his setup all the time when something goes wrong and I regularly hear “it’s 3 phase”.
Good thing my house backs up to a funfair! Place in garden, unplug the nearest fair ride… et voilà! New income stream for me!
Could be done with a large enough rotary phase converter assuming the electronics can tolerate the funky power
The problem would be feeding it enough power
Three phase motors are the bane of every siren enthusiasts’ existence for this reason. Anything with a motor over 5 hp is likely three phase.
Nowadays VFDs have gotten cheap enough that you can just use one of them to create 3 phases.
Or you just have 3 phase power at home (laughs in Germany).
(I actually dont right now, but my house is one of the last ones not to, and its all already prepared for it)
VFDs are definitely the way to go, that’s what most enthusiasts used. When we did SirenCon over at Camp Tesumas in Wisconsin, we had a giant generator that we had to use to run the bigger sirens, especially the Cyclone 125 which has a 50 horsepower motor. It nearly killed the generator!
jesus I saw people in the 2023 vid w/o hearing protection - like… neat event, but do you have minimal hearing protection at all?
you can’t control idiots but… perhaps… you could make them stand at a safe distance?
not personal criticism just damn… got my hearing loss in the army, it’s not fun.
Some of them seem to think they’re immune to hearing damage, which bewilders me. Smart enthusiasts have proper hearing protection.
aside from running carney rides, and maybe a shed with a gigantic cnc or end mill - what are the reasons for pushing 3p to the domicile level? I have no doubt there must be, DE knows engineering so…
Usually, there is a 3 phase outlet in the kitchen for electric stoves
ty.
It reduces the thickness of the cables and improves the balance of loads over all 3 phases.
There are some good zoning laws I guess
Seriously. If this guy thinks his neighbors would be cool with his COLLECTION of sirens that operate on three-phase power, he’s got a wad of expanded polyethylene foam where his brain ought to reside.
You’d be surprised when you’re respectful about it and/or live in the middle of nowhere. We don’t just set them off willy nilly.
I’ll have to take your word for it. The way I figure it, there’s a neighbor-to-neighbor noise spectrum on which everybody is constantly, even unconsciously evaluating everyone who lives around them.
On one end of the spectrum is the concept of “I don’t want to be that guy who calls the cops about this fucking noise, but I LITERALLY HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP FOR THREE DAYS.” I suppose the other end of the spectrum would be something like “all these fellows have been so quiet and considerate that they could give their collectible sirens a couple of good blasts, and I’d be happy for the break in the near-oppressive silence.”
See, the thing is, everywhere I’ve ever lived, I have been just about a notch and a half below the “I’m going to call the fucking cops” end of the spectrum. Always. The whole time.
Here’s a non-exhaustive (but certainly exhausting) set of examples, off the top of my head: dogs barking over and over and over, kids screaming, people deciding they just HAVE to mow the lawn at 6:00 AM on a Saturday, people with speaker systems that literally count as earthquake simulation machines, people who think it’s hilarious to illegally modify their muscle cars’ exhaust systems to basically have no muffler, people running their wood jointer machine for so long that I can only imagine they’re operating an illegal, untaxed lumber supply racket, people interminably screaming at their spouses and significant enemies in their driveways and on the sidewalks, etc, on and on.
It’s just a ceaseless and endlessly varied cacophony of fucking sound, from these rude motherfuckers. If any one of the shitheads who has lived near me over the last 40-something years had ever started collecting sirens, I would have lost my mind in the same arguably constructive way that young Bruce Wayne lost his marbles. There would be some guy called “Decibel Dude” stalking the streets, pouring sugar in leafblower gas tanks, muzzling dogs, removing chains from chainsaws and blades from lawnmowers, and whatever else I could think of to FINALLY MAKE PEOPLE JUST A LITTLE FUCKING QUIETER, FOR FUCK’S SAKE.
I’m just saying. Your world of “we’re all respectfully quiet, around here” is an utterly alien utopia, from where I’m sitting.
It’s illegal for us to set the sirens off willy nilly in most places, as it would cause a panic. Most of us (myself included) wait until the city tests their main sirens to set ours off, or on special occasions like New Years and Fourth of July/Canada Day. We’re very aware of how our hobby affects others and those who don’t learn very quickly when the neighbours get pissed.
Well, it’s legitimately good to hear (pun intended) that y’all are responsible siren owners.
Honestly, I didn’t even vaguely suspect that siren collecting was a thing until I had this conversation.
Haha, people are always surprised when they find out the hobby exists. It’s certainly niche!
my wife is a woodworker. she thought it ‘wasn’t that noisy for the neighbors if the garage door was closed’ lololol
that and neighborhood kids running around blasting bluetooth speakers at 2 in the fucking morning (like, 10 year olds!) I’m right there with you man, I want a quiet street and the world is conspiring against it.
And re: the vroom vroom fuckwits - oh my fucking god. About a half mile from my house is a main thoroughfare and some nights the fuckwits all try to see who can dump the most unburned gas out of their turbocharged shitmobiles generating 100+db because at my house it’s still fucking ear-splitting and they’re all the way over there with half a subdivision between.
meanwhile the world burns more each day, vroom vroom
The vroom vroom motherfuckers are absolutely the worst. Years ago, a feral cat had her kittens on our back porch. I was present to witness the litter of kittens emerging from the nest the mother cat had made, behind an outdoor shelving unit and a garden hose. These little fuckers had NEVER SEEN THE WORLD OUTSIDE THAT SPACE. They were all emerging at once, six little innocent balls of fluff, cuter than anyone could adequately describe. They had made it about ten inches into the outside world when some shithead started blasting his fucking engine, on the road past my fence.
The poor little fuckers jumped in unison and squeezed themselves back into the den, in a complete state of panic. They didn’t come out again for another day, at least.
So yeah, Mr. Big Masculine High Displacement Fuckoff Engine, out there…was he pulling chicks with that shit? Was he impressing ANYONE, at all, of any species? Nah. What he was doing was scaring the shit out of 14-day-old kittens. Fucking congratulations to his ass.
Could get a large dedicated panel and rotary converter.
Two words. Diesel generator.
Within 20 years I bet we’ll have small fusion reactors that just sit onsite and generate all the power you want. If we survive WW3 that is. A toaster-sized generator will be able to run a gravitron no problem.