Must Read How to Guides - Heater, Generator etc - Abacus Marquee Hire

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How to Guides for Your Marquee

We highly advise you familiarise yourself with such items you likely haven’t come across before.

These guides will show you how some of our special appliances work so you can get the very best out of your event.

We have some handy how to guides, as well as some troubleshooting ifformation.

Our emergency weekend contact numbers are below.

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBER

If you are still having issues with any of your marquee please call our emergency mobile contact numbers (Mark – 07969 600033) or (Adam – 07458 048761)

If you have any questions and it is a weekday please contact 01462 026012, option 2

DIESEL HEATER

Our smaller marquees have overhead electric heaters (below does not apply). The diesel heater is a red tubular heater placed outside of the marquee. Applies to 6m, 9m and 12m wide marquees only (first dimension of your marquee you have booked). E.g 6m x 3m

Like any diesel mechanical engine – there are certain ways in how to operate this heater in order for it to work successfully.

If the heater is operated outside of these conditions there is a likelihood for it to not work correctly or at all – this webpage is to help you know how to use our diesel heater correctly and troubleshoot if you are having problems.

VIEW HOW TO GUIDE BELOW

Diesel heater information (Read all instructions before your event!)

1) Thermostatically Controlled

Your heater controls the temperature of your marquee via a thermostat – much like the heating in your own home. The thermostat is a small grey box with a black dial on it, which will be placed on a wall at chest height in your marquee (it may be hidden under the lining walls on the inside of your marquee)

This thermostat tells the heater to turn off and on automatically and will regulate the marquee to whatever temperature you desire. Please note degrees C are the numbers on the inside circle of the dial.

There is a rocker switch on the back of the heater. This needs to be set to position 2 (II) for it go be on “thermostat mode”. Mode I is continuous heat and that will burn fuel way faster. Our team will leave it on position II and we advise not to change that.

Your thermostat will look similar this grey box with a black dial on it.

Placed at chest height fixed to one of the legs of the marquee. It may be hidden under one of the lining walls, placed within 8m of the heater itself.

When to turn your heater on and off

2) When to Turn Your Heater On

These powerful heaters will heat marquees up to an ambient temperature in 10-15 minutes – even during the coldest of winter months. There’s no need to pre heat the marquee hours before guests arrive which will use up fuel you need to last for your event.

It’s advised not to turn the heater on before your event starts (if you’re setting anything up beforehand just put a jumper on!)

These heaters have a limited fuel tank and have enough fuel in them for (8-10 hours depending on usage) . Running them out of diesel completely can cause issues getting it fired back up again.

3) Switch OFF When Not in Use

The heater has enough fuel in it to run for 8-10 hours. We would advise to not turn the heater on when setting up your marquee in the run up to the event to ensure you have enough diesel to last your event.

Please ensure the heater is powered OFF in the days running up to the event. It has been known for the thermostat to kick in and turn itself on overnight when temperatures hit near freezing and the thermostat is set to zero. We don’t want the heater to run out of fuel before the event.

You can refill it with diesel but sometimes it isn’t a 5 minute process if it’s ran dry. It’s like running a diesel car out of fuel and you get air locks in the system and is not a good thing for the engine.

How to SAFELY turn your heater off (fire risk)

4) Turning Your Heater Off when Finished

**FIRE RISK – VERY IMPORTANT** Please don’t just cut the power off when you are finished with your event and want to turn the heater off.

Set the thermostat to zero – you will hear a fan running for another 90 seconds and then it will switch off completely. This function cools the engine down safety so it isn’t a fire risk as the internal chamber is extremely hot.

Turning off the power without the 90 second fan cooling prevents this safety process from happening – so please wait until the fan has cooled the engine down to a safe temperature and then switch the power off.

If you run out of diesel

5) Running Out of Diesel

Should the unlikely event that your heater runs out of fuel we may have provided you another 20l jerry can of diesel – if this is used there is a charge of £50 however it does provide you a back up.

This 20l jerry can provides another 4-5 hours of fuel. Here’s what to do if you need to top up your heater with more fuel.

If you need to obtain more diesel – any diesel from a fuel station will be fine. Red diesel also works.

1) Make sure the heater is POWERED OFF

2) There is a black fuel cap at the bottom of the heater where the black plastic fuel tank is. Please pour the diesel carefully in there without getting anything dirty in there which may block the filters.

3) We would always advise to put a plastic sheet or cardboard underneath the heater when pouring, as diesel can sometimes discolour patios and kills grass. Also wear gloves too. It’s not a corrosive substance but the smell takes a few hand-washes to get rid of!

4) Put the black cap back on and turn power on the heater.

If the heater has run out of fuel completely you may have to refer to resetting the heater below.

Fuel Usage:

20l Jerry can | 4-5 hours of heating

40l Jerry can (internal tank capacity is 40l) | 8-10 hours of heating

Resetting the diesel heater

6) Resetting Your Deisel Heater

There is a clear button at the back of the heater which should be green when running operationally – but may flash red if there is a fault.

When the heater runs out of fuel completely it will more than likely need to be reset – this is a simple process.

The reset button is on the back of the heater which if it needs to be reset will be flashing red. A single press will reset the heater. If the heater has been run dry of fuel it may need to be reset up to 10 times to push the air l

On back of heater make sure the rocket switch is in the 2 (II) position and thermostat inside marquee is set to a temperature you would desire.
At the back of the heater, where the fan is, is a black panel. There will be a clear plastic button that usually is green when operational. If it needs to be reset it will be flashing red. If the heater runs out of fuel, fill the heater back up with diesel then turn the heater back on and single press the red flashing button.
The heater will turn itself on again however running diesel engines until they’re empty usually creates an airlock in the fuel system. The heater may turn itself off quite quickly as it thinks there is still no fuel in the system. Repeat step 1 by single pressing the red button (which might have to be repeated up to 10x times) until the airlock leaves the system and the heater has pulled the fuel through. This may take up to 10 resets to do. So don’t run it out of fuel!

ELECTRIC OVERHEAD HEATER

Our smaller marquees have overhead electric heaters.

If your marquee size starts with a “3m”, “4m” you are likely to have electric infrared heaters. Eg 4m x 10m

This guide below shows you how to operate your electric heaters safely and how to turn some of them off (you will likely be too warm when guests start arriving!)

VIEW HOW TO GUIDE BELOW

When to turn ON your Electric Heaters

When to turn ON your Electric Heaters

The overhead heaters create their heat via infrared. Therefore they heat the person and not the air.

*DO NOT RUN YOUR ELECTRIC HEATERS FOR HOURS BEFORE YOUR EVENT*

Therefore it is pointless running these heaters for hours before your event is due to start.

These heaters cost around £1 per hour to run – you won’t be increasing your heat inside the marquee, just your energy bill!

You will also put stress on the 13A fuse in the plug if running for hours on end, to then run another 4-6 hours for the event.

It has been known the fuse will trip, or the plug melts because the heaters have been running pointlessly for hours before the event. Please do not do this!

If we have to come out to fix a melted plug because of this you will be charged £60+VAT per hour callout.

Turn your heaters on 15 minutes before the event

Leading Up to Your Event

2) When to Turn Your Heater On

During winter months keep all walls shut for as long as possible and reduce the amount of openings that are open.

Because the electric heaters are infrared there is no need to have the heaters on for hours beforehand.

Your marquee is well insulated with a hard floor, carpet & roof lining.

The heaters provide an infrared radiant heat which you can instantly feel when standing near the heaters.

You will be surprised once your guests arrive how effectively insulated your marquee is and it will be likely you will turn off the heaters due to the body heat of your guests.

3) Switch OFF When Not in Use

The heater has enough fuel in it to run for 8-10 hours. We would advise to not turn the heater on when setting up your marquee in the run up to the event to ensure you have enough diesel to last your event.

Please ensure the heater is powered OFF in the days running up to the event. It has been known for the thermostat to kick in and turn itself on overnight when temperatures hit near freezing and the thermostat is set to zero. We don’t want the heater to run out of fuel before the event.

You can refill it with diesel but sometimes it isn’t a 5 minute process if it’s ran dry. It’s like running a diesel car out of fuel and you get air locks in the system and is not a good thing for the engine.

Turning Off Your Heaters in Isolation

Isolating Your Heaters (Turning them off)

Once your guests arrive into the marquee you will be surprised how quickly it warms up inside due to the body heat of your guests and how well insulated the marquee is.

You may want to turn off some heaters in isolation. Here’s how

The heaters have a blue plug and can be disconnected by pulling the plug out of the 3 way socket (see opposite images what to look out for)

2) The 3 way socket will likely be hidden behind the lining at just above head height (follow the incoming power leads that are providing the power from your house/outside socket)

3) The 3 way socket has a spring loaded cap above each plug (prevents them from being pulled out). Lift the clip out of the way and firmly pulled the plug out of it’s socket to isolate the power to that heater

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

If more than on of your heaters are not working it is likely there is a power issue with the incoming power on that circuit. (Likely the fuse has gone in the mains extension lead that is powering the heaters)

Heat over the Power troubleshooting section below.

POWER TROUBLESHOOTING

If your marquee is getting its power from your house/building please see below a troubleshooting guide for any electrical issues.

If your marquee is powered by a diesel generator please look at troubleshooting under the Diesel Generator section.

⚠️ Please do not plug anything else into our sockets without prior consent to the office or our on the day install team ⚠️

Your marquee power is balanced through power cables which have been worked out below the max power tolerances to avoid any electrical overloading. Adding any items into our existing electrical circuits may overload your electrical system/blow fuses in our extension leads.

Please follow the advice of our installation team regarding plugging anything else in addition (such as speakers, tea urns or a photobooth etc)

If Some of Your Electrical Components aren't Working

If a series of items are not working

For example if your lighting & some/all of your electric heaters are not working it is likely the fuse has blown on the extension lead that provides power to those appliances.

It is easy to replace a fuse on our starter extension leads. Our leads have a spare fuse wrapped in tape around the plug end (that’s powered into your socket). If that has been used, the extension leads requires a 13A fuse.

Follow the video here to replace this fuse to restore power back to that extension lead.

If Some of Your LED Uplighters aren't working

If some of your LED uplighters are not working

If some of your LED uplighters are working and some are not, it is highly likely one of the power leads between them have come loose.

These floor uplighters are daisy chained together. Check between the last uplighter that is working, and the first uplighter that isn’t working the cables are fully inserted into the uplighter

DIESEL GENERATOR

If you have hired in a diesel generator for your event, here are the how to guides to safely operate the generator during your hire.

We want to ensure you know how it operates and also being aware you have a finite amount of fuel and not to run the generator too long before the event!

VIEW HOW TO GUIDE BELOW

Generator Fuel Capacity

Fuel Capacity

Your generator has a 250l fuel tank capacity. Your price for your generator includes 125l, with the remaining 125l as a backup reserve fuel.

Any fuel used after 125l will be charged after the event at the standard pump price rate. You shouldn’t need to use any of the reserve fuel if you stick to our guidelines, but it’s handy to know you have backup fuel.

Typically a generator which is powering a marquee, band, catering tent, toilets etc will use 100l of diesel and last for around 10-12 hours.

For weddings etc where the generator will likely be running for 10-12 hours, we advise not to switch on the generator in the days leading up to the wedding and the morning of the wedding for too long as you will eat into the reserve fuel.

For a typical wedding where guests will be arriving from 2pm, please inform your caterer/event planner to only turn on the generator as late as possible so it is not running unnecessarily

For long term hires we may have installed a 1000l fuel cube which will provide you extended range.

Turning Your Generator On (Video)

Turning on your generator is simple. Please follow the steps/video below:

At the side of the generator, open up the door to reveal the engine & battery
Turn the battery switch to ON
This will power on the control panel
Go to the control panel which is at the opposite end of the tow bar
Open the hatch door where you will see the control panel screen
Turn the key to the ON position and wait for it to boot up
On certian generators which has a white hand button, press this first before going to the next step to press the green on button
Press the green ON button
Generator will fire up within 10 seconds to provide power

Turning Your Generator Off

Simply Reverse the steps you done to turn on the generator as below:

Go to the control panel which is at the opposite end of the tow bar
Press the red OFF button
When the generator has stopped, turn the ignition key to OFF
At the side of the generator, open up the door to reveal the engine & battery
WARNING: Engine will be hot. Do not touch
Turn the battery switch to OFF

IMPORTANT!

Forgetting to turn the battery to OFF when not in use may mean your generator will not have the power to turn on for your event.

If we have to replace a dead generator battery as this hasn’t been completed a £400+VAT charge will be added to your final invoice.

Troubleshooting & How to turn off circuits in your marquee & Distribution board

Turning Off Circuits & Distribution Board

You will have a distribution board outside of your marquee (likely near generator)

This large cube is effectively a fuse board like you have in your own home.

It’s designed to protect your electrical circuit and if there is an appliance which trips the circuit, you do not lose all of your power, just the power to the problematic circuit.

If a certain circuit isn’t working (e.g lighting, LED bar etc) please check the distribution board fuse switches are turned on.

We may have labelled up on the distribution board which cable is powering what circuit so you can easily pull out a blue plug if you would like to turn off that circuit.

For example you may want to turn off the chandeliers during the evening event to make your marquee darker & more atmospheric

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBER

If you are still having issues with your marquee please call our emergency mobile contact numbers (Mark – 07969 600033) or (Adam – 07458 048761)