Power Tank

[arg0naut]

Just popped into Maplin for cable ties, they are selling boosters/jump starts/power tanks for £24.99 and £29.99. Anyone any reviews - comments.

[arg0naut]

Hello, anyone out there?! Or have I just crashed the Maplin server?!

[matsey]

Helloooo !!

If you mean the 3-in-1 jumpstarter, then I've got one. Had it just over a month and use it to power my Celestron NextStar 6SE. Not had any problems with it at all, it works perfectly, very happy with it indeed

Matsey

[Rossco72]

Hi Arg,

Welcome to SGL. Any powertank that can deliver 12V DC Tip positive will power mounts and cameras etc. The next thing to look for is the Amh and the commercial astronomical powertanks are 7Amh and 17Amh but you can get tanks capable of much more but the more Amh the larger the battery tends to be.

Also if you are just using a mount then a smaller battery may do but once you start using cameras, dew heaters, guide cams, laptop etc. then you need a bigger beefier battery.

Cheers

[arg0naut]

I'll check again tomorrow, if its the heavy duty then I'm buying. Needs to power the cpc800 and no dew shield purchased yet.

How does the Baader filter perform by the milky way?

[matsey]

Baader filter... wish I knew !! Only had the filters for just over a week now and the clouds haven't cleared long enough for me to really use them properly

[arg0naut]

6se almost purchased new....a superb scope. Plumbed for secondhand cpc800 from Ed at Harrison Telescopes, Walton on Thames.

[Carbon Brush]

A cautionary note on the Maplin stuff.

A friend had one of these and at my suggestion checked the charger voltage. It output 19V off load. This means if you leave the charger on long term it will wreck the battery.

No problem if you charge only until you see about 13.8V on the battery, then switch off.

He was also given some advice by the shop about conditioning the battery. Absolute garbage for the lead acid battery that was in there!

But at thirty quid for the full kit...