I purchased a Ryobi RYi2000 2000 watt inverter generator from Home Depot the other day. I just set it up and tested it using a single White Lighting X1600 strobe light.
Summary: Won't power a White Lighting X1600 at full power
Using the White Lighting X1600 in quarter power mode I was able to fire the strobe and use the modeling light.
Using the strobe in full power mode without the modeling light would cause the generator to indicate an overload condition. Only way to fix this issue was to power the generator off and power it back on. Generator was never able to charge the strobe light. As soon as I pushed the button to switch from quarter power to full power the generator would indicate overload and no longer provide power.
So even though this generator has an attractive price point of $599 it doesn't work for my purposes. So I will be returning the generator and likely spend the $899 for a Honda EU2000i.
I guess one option would be to use a Vagabond II in between the generator and the strobe light, though I did not try that configuration. So not sure if that would work.
Get the VML unless you need to run a fog machine outdoors. If I see you again at a local shoot, you can try mine to see how to like it
$900 = 3-4 VMLs...
