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Power tank advice

brrttpaul

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brrttpaul

brrttpaul

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Hi guys me again, Now that I got the HEQ mount I have been looking at powertanks , there are two in FLO one is £55 ther other £99, my question is would the £55 one be sufficant for me? there will be the mount, a castro focuser and hopefully a laptop, Also how woul I attach these to the power tank as at the moment they are on a standard plug

Cheers

Paul

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gkec

gkec

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Hi guys me again, Now that I got the HEQ mount I have been looking at powertanks , there are two in FLO one is £55 ther other £99, my question is would the £55 one be sufficant for me? there will be the mount, a castro focuser and hopefully a laptop, Also how woul I attach these to the power tank as at the moment they are on a standard plug

Cheers

Paul

A cheaper, better and immediately accessible alternative to the Celestron power tanks are Maplin power tanks such as this one:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/heavy-duty-jump-starter-700a-100psi-compressor-n26nc

It is good enough to get you going and then you can investigate other solutions such as leisure batteries.

The Celestron power tanks are not good value for money compared to the Maplin power tanks.  You can also use it to start you car and pump up your tyres.

A standard 12V cigarette lighter adapter like you would use in your car for your laptop would work but usually specialist Lion batteries are better.

It is very easy to kill the battery in both the Celestron and Maplin power tanks. However all you need to do is buy a replacement battery for about £25.

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Owmuchonomy

Owmuchonomy

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I'll be honest, my powertank that I purchased with my HEQ5 pro was a terrible investment. It never gave me more than an hour tops. Look on here for alternative portable power supplies that folk purchase or fabricate.

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Dave In Vermont

Dave In Vermont

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I recently got this:

http://uk.telescope.com/Accessories/Power-Supplies-Cables/Orion-Dynamo-Pro-17Ah-Rechargeable-12V-DC-Power-Station/pc/-1/c/1308/sc/1381/p/109814.uts

It will power my Meade LX90ACF 12", my laptop, my mallinCam VideoCam, my monitor, an HDMI-box, and fry eggs for breakfast. And jump-start a car. It works.

To plug things in, you need some of these type things, and a hub with several plug-in ports. Just run one from the Power-Supply jack to the hub and away you go:

post-38438-0-69530100-1429316409.jpg

Check the website for your telescope.They should offer the correct adaptor for your scope. I got mine from Meade. And do the same for your laptop. And so on.

Clear Skies & Shocking-Conclusions,

Dave

P.S. This Power-Supply runs all night before needing a recharge.

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Tiny Small

Tiny Small

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I built my own using a Stanley tool chest on sale for £25 at Homebase, a 70 or 80 Ah car battery (can't remember exactly which) from eurocarparts and a few bits from Maplins. Total spend of about £100 and not only does it give days upon days of power, I can also store all of the accessories and cables in there and it has four accessory plugs.

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brrttpaul

brrttpaul

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Just been looking and weighing things up with a leisure battery and inverter? I came across this http://www.amazon.co.uk/BESTEK%C2%AE-inverter-charger-MRI3013BU-socket/dp/B00INW611Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429351780&sr=8-1&keywords=inverter

 So couldnt I connect this to any car battery even the car I,m driving? just wondering

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nigelbeaumont

nigelbeaumont

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If you use an inverter to go from 12VDC to 240VAC, then you should look for a pure sine wave one. More pricey than a standard one, but much better for powering sensitive electronics such as laptops and mount motherboards. I got mine from a boat electrics supplier, about £90 for a 180W rated one

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nigelbeaumont

nigelbeaumont

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Also the received wisdom from my electrical friends is that standard car batteries don't like being significantly drained (shortens their life), and a deep cycle or leisure battery is better - the type used on golf buggies and motability scooters

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nigelbeaumont

nigelbeaumont

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brrttpaul, yes I think the amazon inverter should be suitable plus a leisure battery. I bought a Victron model, as they got good write-ups as reliable units - the other place to look is suppliers of solar panels, as I think they produce 12VDC which needs to be boosted to 240VAC for the grid

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A-N-Y

A-N-Y

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Just been looking and weighing things up with a leisure battery and inverter? I came across this http://www.amazon.co.uk/BESTEK%C2%AE-inverter-charger-MRI3013BU-socket/dp/B00INW611Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429351780&sr=8-1&keywords=inverter

 So couldnt I connect this to any car battery even the car I,m driving? just wondering

if you intend to use a DC/AC converter plugged in you cigarette car outlet, then why not just buy a suitable car adapter for your equipment, and a cigarette lighter socket splitter (with USB ports if required). But have in mind that some cars sockets are fused between 10 and 13 amps , i.e. at 12v it can only holds between (120-160 watts).

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gtis

gtis

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A cheaper, better and immediately accessible alternative to the Celestron power tanks are Maplin power tanks such as this one:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/heavy-duty-jump-starter-700a-100psi-compressor-n26nc

It is good enough to get you going and then you can investigate other solutions such as leisure batteries.

The Celestron power tanks are not good value for money compared to the Maplin power tanks.  You can also use it to start you car and pump up your tyres.

A standard 12V cigarette lighter adapter like you would use in your car for your laptop would work but usually specialist Lion batteries are better.

It is very easy to kill the battery in both the Celestron and Maplin power tanks. However all you need to do is buy a replacement battery for about £25.

Hi just been in B M store and they are selling car power tanks with 12 volt 17ah output

For £29.99 a lot cheaper than celestron and maplins

Neil

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Peje

Peje

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If you use an inverter to go from 12VDC to 240VAC, then you should look for a pure sine wave one. More pricey than a standard one, but much better for powering sensitive electronics such as laptops and mount motherboards. I got mine from a boat electrics supplier, about £90 for a 180W rated one

I would avoid inverters if you're laptop is (most are) 12v. Essentially you'd be converting 12vdc to 240vac then back to 12vdc. Even with high quality electronics you will have inefficiency and therefore wasted power.

Being a mechanical engineer I'd opt for door number 3, small petrol powered generator would give hours of power.

Pete

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