How to power a dew heater?

[Daz Type-R]

Hi all.

In the near future I am looking to purchase an Astrozap dual channel dew heater, like this one from FLO......

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-dual-channel-dew-heater-controller.html

It says it has a cigarette lighter adaptor on (to power it) but apart from the car's cigarette lighter, what would you plug this into? Is there a special power pack for this sort of thing, or would you just buy a power pack with enough oomph to power the dew heater for several hours with a cigarette lighter attachment?

If the latter is the case, any particular make/model?

I know people have power tanks to power eq scopes, goto's etc, do I just need the same thing or is that overkill?

I obviously would need it to be portable for when visiting dark sites miles from home, had a quick search on here but at a loss.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Daz.

[dmahon]

I have one of those - it's very well made and is a step up from the hitecastro unit.

I power mine from a mains adapter, 5A version from modern astronomy, then use a 2.1mm to cigar socket adapter. The Maplins cigar lighter PSUs work, but have a very annoying fan.

[dmahon]

Ps - got the adapter from Amazon.

[Daz Type-R]

I have one of those - it's very well made and is a step up from the hitecastro unit.

I power mine from a mains adapter, 5A version from modern astronomy, then use a 2.1mm to cigar socket adapter. The Maplins cigar lighter PSUs work, but have a very annoying fan.

So can't be used in the middle of a field?

I need it to be portable.

Cheers for the reply though.

[m.tweedy]

yes it can be used in the middle of the field with a 12v rechargeable battery. There are numerous threads about different types of batteries like the skywatcher one.

[Merlin66]

I use a collection of 12V 20Ah gel cell batteries to power my gear...including the dew heaters......I think the Sexy Powerpacks are a waste of money!

[Daz Type-R]

Ok, so all I need is a portable, rechargeable 12v battery. Will that come with a socket/lead that a cigarette lighter adapter will fit into, or will I need an adapter of some kind?

Sorry for what seems like a daft question, I just assumed there would be a power pack of some kind with all the bits needed from the likes of Skywatcher or Astrozap etc.

Serves me right for making an assumption.

[dmahon]

All the battery type power packs from Maplins come with a cigar socket. Just get one (or more) that has enough capacity to power it as long as you need. I'd suggest the cheapest and buy when they are on offer.

[dmahon]

Skywatcher do brand one, exactly the same, at double the price.

[Merlin66]

Astronomiser do all the necessary power connection cables, for all sorts of batteries...

Astronomiser - Automated Astronomy and AstroImaging Solutions

[Grunthos]

Ok, so all I need is a portable, rechargeable 12v battery. Will that come with a socket/lead that a cigarette lighter adapter will fit into, or will I need an adapter of some kind?

Sorry for what seems like a daft question, I just assumed there would be a power pack of some kind with all the bits needed from the likes of Skywatcher or Astrozap etc.

Serves me right for making an assumption.

Power tank (one of the smaller ones) is probably what you want. You can make your own kit up but might not be worth the faffing around?

Skywatcher 7aH might be a good start.

This SGL thread on power tanks started yesterday...

[Astronut1982]

If you're looking for a power pack then I would advise against the branded ones [i.e. Skywatcher & Celestron etc.] as they are grossly overpriced.

I originally bought a Skywatcher 17ah power pack & then later bought one almost exactly the same from Maplins for about half the price of the skywatcher one.:-

Heavy-Duty 5-in-1 Jump Starter : Jump Starters : Maplin Electronics

I also found it was much more reliable than the skywatcher one. Ignore the price on the above link as Maplins are always doing deals on these so you will get it cheaper.

The other route is buying a deep cell battery for a car/caravan/motorboat & then purchase a smart battery charger & this battery terminal to cigar lighter adaptor:-

Astronomiser - Automated Astronomy and AstroImaging Solutions.

A single charge lasts longer & these types of batteries seem to be better suited to our kind of use than the lead acid power tanks.

Jeff

[Daz Type-R]

Cheers for all the responses guys, I fully understand what i need now, found the below in Maplins for £39.99 which seems to tick all the boxes.

200W Portable Power Pack : Invertors : Maplin Electronics

Thanks for all your help.

[Astronut1982]

I would double check before buying the pack you have chosen.

I was originally going to purchase this very same one but when I looked closely I found it would only power my laptop for about 2 hours [The battery is only about 5ah].

I'm not sure of the power usage of the dew heaters you will be using but if you are planning to use them for several hours at a time then this unit will probably not be powerful enough.

Jeff

[Daz Type-R]

Damn, thanks for the heads up, is there a significant jump between 5ah and 7ah?

Sorry, my knowledge of batteries is limited.

[dmahon]

This is on offe at the minute:

5-in-1 Jumpstarter with Digital Air Compressor : Jump Starters : Maplin Electronics

I have this one (even cheaper):

3-in-1 Portable Jumpstarter : Jump Starters : Maplin Electronics

[Astronut1982]

I'd say the 5 in 1 would be pretty perfect Daz.

Get yourself one of those badboys while the goings good. With the branded ones you're only paying the extra £ for the name at the end of the day.

Also, with the money you save you can maybe treat yourself to something else as well!

Jeff

[glowjet]

Whatever battery you choose for your purpose, first calculate what amperage your system will consume, whether it be dew heaters or scope, lap top etc, divide this figure into the batteries ah spec eg : theoretically a 7 ah batt used with a 2amp discharge should give you 3 1/2 hours use, but a word of caution, these figures are only a guide, you will not get full power for the whole of that period, as the battery discharges so does its power handling capacity, so to be on the safe side it is best to go for a larger capacity battery than you need, this will also extend the batteries life, as it will not be flattened every 5 minutes HTH

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I got the Skywatcher 17Ah one, in part because I also need other voltages (9V in particular for my Vixen RA controller). This meant I would not have to faff around making a separate voltage converter (and having even more cables around the scope). It could even power my laptop for a decent stretch.

[Grunthos]

Further reading

Cloudy Nights have a Portable Power Primer which you may find useful.

They also have a Power Tank article which has some good advice.

Best one I've read to date is Jim Towers Zen and the Art of Astro Batteries (pdf) on Michael Swansons excellent Nexstar Resource site.

[Daz Type-R]

Cheers for all the replys guys, I am about to be given a free 17ah battery off another forum member so I'm set.

Result!