Can 'insufficient' power damage a modern amp?

[Jakester]

A follow on to an earlier thread where I inquired about estimating the power needs for amps and PA for use with a borrowed portable battery, I've now been told that 'we're going to give it a go' with our (i.e. read my) usual PA and amps etc. 

 

I'm a little nervous about putting all of my fairly expensive equipment in the hands of someone who doesn't really know anything about the portable battery we're going to be using. 

 

My main concern is obviously the risk of damage to my amp and PA equipment. Could an inadequate power supply cause damage to a class D head and modern PA speakers and a digital mixer? By inadequate I mean it can't supply the level of power needed i.e. it runs out/down whilst in use.

[Mottlefeeder]

We've recently been using a battery pack to power a Yamaha 500+500w one box mixer/amp, and my Ashdown MyBass 500w head and when the battery runs down, the mains goes off and the amps shut down - no fuss and no damage.

One thing I would look out for is any small power supplies that are not switched-mode. Small transformers, e.g. in older fx pedal supplies, can get fried by the harmonics generated by cheap inverters, but with modern gear, that issue is becoming less common.

David

Edited September 12 by Mottlefeeder
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[NickA]

Battery power eg from a Jackery Explorer works just fine.  I've been using one for outdoor gigs and at work we use the big ones instead of petrol generators for powering scientific equipment ( £200k worth )

 

One thing to remember is that your amp draws average power off the mains and a 500W amp only outputs 500W peak when you play really loud.  My 450W pjb rig draws a continuous 45W or so.  So the amp doesn't suddenly want 450W and overload the battery.  If the battery did die, then it's no different from someone pulling the plug out.

 

It'll be fine.