Advice from suppliers on heating and powering your temporary structures
Advice from: Andy Wallis, general manager, Thermobile UK
Specialism: Space heating
Contact: 02476 357960 / andy@thermobile.co.uk / www.thermobile.co.uk
What advice could you give an event organiser on heating temporary structures?
Heating structures for winter events makes good economical sense for a variety of reasons. The cost of comfort cannot be underestimated – you need to keep guests happy and (if you are running a fair or market inside a temporary structure) traders from freezing while manning their stands. As well as comfort, heating marquees will also get the air moving and prevent condensation.
If you have a large space I would recommend using two smaller heaters rather than a large one. The advantage here is much more equal heat distribution throughout the structure.
What are the advantages of your indirect oil fired heaters?
Indirect heaters deliver clean, warm air into a space, with all the products of combustion exiting via a flu or chimney. They are sited outside of a temporary structure and warm air is provided by flexible ducting and various diffusers.
Thermobile heaters are Dutch made and manufactured to an extremely high quality. They are 90% efficient, which means that 90% of the fuel burned goes as heat into the room and only 10% via the flu. This is a very high efficiency in comparison to other heaters on the market.
The Thermobile ITA range is ideal for heating marquees and other temporary structures. It comprises small, mobile units with a 5-10m range for ducting and integral fuel tanks. The larger IMA units require a separate fuel tank and can be ducted up to 40m.
What should an organiser budget per week?
Heaters are available from hire companies and, depending on the size you need to heat your structure, will likely cost from £80-£300/week. The total cost really depends on how much fuel you are burning, and that has a lot to do with the ambient temperature and time of year. Thermobile heaters can be set to take either red diesel or kerosene and are thermostatically controlled. When positioning your remote thermostat it is important to find the location within the structure where the average temperature is the most consistent.
Many hire companies use Thermobile heaters, and they are available from Andrew Sykes, Aggreko, Rapid Climate Control and Polygon Rental. Long term, a venue that is holding a lot of events throughout the winter might decide it is more economical to purchase its own heaters. If so, a smaller unit will cost around £1,200 with the large units costing up to £7,000. All Thermobile heaters are portable and quick and easy to install.
Please mention where one of your IMA range has been used in a marquee event
To be honest, Thermobile heaters have been used everywhere – from marquee wedding events right up to the Game of Thrones set! We have also supplied to Pinewood Studios, Lego Land, safari parks, and Kenilworth Castle.
Advice from: Richard Denholm, sales director, Morris Site Machinery
Specialism: Generators and tower lighting
Contact: 0345 409 0280 / www.morrismachinery.co.uk
What advice could you give an organiser on powering winter events?
Winter can come with a lot of problems, so prevention is better than the cure. My first top tip is to ensure that batteries are in good condition and fully charged on any engine driven machinery. Anti-freeze in the radiator should also be tested to make sure that the strength of the mix is in line with manufacturer’s recommendations. Finally, remember to check that all power cable connections are raised out of any lying water or dampness, and if it’s really cold, add diesel additives to the fuel to stop ‘waxing’ and ensure proper fuel viscosity.
What are the particular advantages of each of your event generator brands?
All our generators are designed to work in high and low ambient temperatures, and have a preheat function. Our Denyo diesel generators range from 6kVA to 100kVA and have highly efficient engines, reducing fuel consumption while offering up to 26 hours of uninterrupted operation. The main advantages of the Eventa and Renta ranges are that they are super silent and road towable.
Our robust and compact 24-hour run Inmesol generators allow operators to transport up to twice as many generators on a flatbed lorry, reducing carbon emissions. A great advantage of these generators is that they have the Deep Sea control panel with telemetry options available, which allow users remote control.
What should an organiser budget per week for a generator?
Generally speaking, the larger the generator the higher the price, and if you want ‘really quiet’ you can pay a higher premium because the capital cost of a super silent generator is significantly more. For example, to hire a Super Silent Eventa 60kVA, the hire rate will be £240 per week plus the transport and a full tank of fuel. The generators use red diesel so the fuel cost is considerably less than the prices for white diesel at the pumps.
Please mention a case study where one of your range has been used in a marquee event situation
Power and Pyro were approached by Gill Bridger of the Event Hire Association (EHA) for a generator for her son’s wedding. They selected the Eventa range because it is so quiet and allows for the positioning of the generator to be much closer to the action.
They connected an Eventa 37kVA to a Power and Pyro 32A 3 phase distribution box which has nine individual RCBO protected outlets – 6x 16A and 3x 32A. This meant they could connect trailered toilets, dance barn, music/PA, two food areas, the bar and the main barn.
The generator ran without fault for the whole wedding and only used 72 litres of fuel.
