Leisure battery - OK to use as-is with clips?

[jonathan]

I saw my local Wilco are selling a moderately beefy looking leisure battery for about £70, it has a handle on it so should be easy enough to carry to and from the house, just wondering what the general advice would be for hooking it up.

I have various cables and could easily make my own with a pair of battery terminal clips, do others do this? Maybe I could acquire or build a wooden carry box with a big handle and space to keep the cable, but I'm not fussed about making an enclosed power unit.

[VigdisVZ]

Always good to insulate the box, like using a cooling box or something to keep the temps up if its cold outside.

Also any fuse in between the scope and the battery is good.

Got a guy in my club who just carries a battery and clamps up with no box however.

[jonathan]

Hmm, hadn't considered temperatures, could be a factor on freezing nights. Fuse is a good idea too, an in-line fuse unit should be easy to fit (Wilco will sell those too).

[steppenwolf]

I'd make up a more permanent connection solution as using clips in the dark is just asking for a little accident involving the wrong polarity! As a minimum, bolt on an inline cigar lighter on a flying lead with a spade fuseholder in line between the positive terminal of the battery and the cigar lighter socket.

A leisure battery is a great source of power for astronomy use. You can also buy a large battery box to keep the whole thing clean an safe.

[Carbon Brush]

Temporary connectons (clips) and exposed wiring have a habit of jumping off at the wrong time.

As for fusing. Well a fire extinguisher is the alternative.

[jonathan]

Well, it's looking like an enclosed box is safest so will probably end up doing that.

[NickK]

I have a big 100Ah battery in a big Stanley toolbox (with wheels and a lid). I made a distribution via quick connectors and it's great - slow thing now is waiting for the scopes to cool!

Works really nicely as a cable tidy too!

[Chris Rowland]

If it's a wet battery make sure it's got good ventilation. A fully changed battery produces Hydrogen and Oxygen gasses...

Chris

[jonathan]

I have a big 100Ah battery in a big Stanley toolbox (with wheels and a lid). I made a distribution via quick connectors and it's great - slow thing now is waiting for the scopes to cool!

Works really nicely as a cable tidy too!

Ah yes, I saw those in B&Q, will have to seriously consider that as an option as I hate carrying heavy things (he says, owning an NEQ6!)

[Andyfx]

Has anyone thought of using that expanding foam to insulate their battery box, its the stuff builders use that sets hard. Might work well to fill gaps....