Power Supply , way to improve? Skywatcher power tank runs out fast

[feras281]

Hello I was wondering if anyone else had this problem too, 

at the momement my Skywatcher power tank seems to finish quite quickly, the Eq3-2 mount seems to be eating the power quick, It lasts around 3hours maximum and it does take me 30 minutes sometimes to get going so my observing session with my telescope is quite short  (then it takes 16hrs to charge), also it means I can not really go on to develop astrophotography in the future

Does anyone else use these skywatcher tanks or is there a better way, is there a way to link a car battery from halfords to do it? I had a look and it seems that the sockets are different?

[Jonk]

How old is the power tank?

Chances are the battery is starting to fail.

[feras281]

its around one year old , maybe I should just get a new one again...   :-( 

[Alien 13]

It would be better to get hold of a mobility scooter/golf cart battery of a similar size and fit into the power tank, they are much more tolerant on deep discharging and continious current delivery.

Alan

[Davey-T]

You can chuck the LA battery out of the SW power tank and fit a Tracer LiPo one in it, still got all your plugs etc then.

Dave

[chrisg18]

are you running the 7 or 17 amp powertank?

[brantuk]

Yes that would be my question too - 17ah or 7ah? I would expect the smaller one to last no more than three or four hours, especially on a cold night with a lot of slewing in both axes. The 17ah on the other hand would last all night just  tracking in the warm with not too many full slews.

Even then the batteries can vary in quality and won't all last exactly the same length of time each. Are you running any dew control bands as well? They will sap power very quick. It also depends on maintenance - after a four hour session it only takes 8hrs to top up a 17ah - so long as it's done immediately after each session.

It's also not a good idea to leave power tanks a long time between charges. Recharge every ten to twelve weeks when not using and recharging a few times each week. You may be able to get a bit more use out of the current one if you give it a "deep charge" which recycles the battery several times. Otherwise, a new battery may be required. Hth

[feras281]

I had a look at it , its the 7Ah version , i dont use anyother devices with it,probably i will need to upgrade again then to the higher version

[brantuk]

It would be more cost effective to just buy a new battery for it - I use Tayna website. Or if you want a longer lasting battery get an 85ah leisure battery - much cheaper and lasts lots longer. The branded power tanks are very expensive for what they are.

[Owmuchonomy]

Follow the advice above and lose the powertank. They are hopeless, well my original one was for sure.

[jfulcher]

For what it's worth, way back it was suggested that one of the best battery's to use was one for an invalid carriage.  As there was a shop in town(at the time), I bought one which fits inside the original-which is yellow/voltmeter/small light and a few years old now-looked on web but nothing similar-infinitely better.  Recommend

John F

LX200ACF

[feras281]

It would be more cost effective to just buy a new battery for it - I use Tayna website. Or if you want a longer lasting battery get an 85ah leisure battery - much cheaper and lasts lots longer. The branded power tanks are very expensive for what they are.

Thanks for your advice , I had a look at the battery, I can see two attachments on it, positive and negative cant see how you charge it, did you have to get special cables to adapt the power supply to the synscan socket and charge it up or did you make them yourself somehow?

[Davey-T]

Take the powertank apart and get a battery the same size and fit it in the powertank, then you have all your original sockets.

Dave