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Battery packs or power tanks

DonFitzg

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DonFitzg

DonFitzg

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OK. I haven't looked through a telescope since I was a wee lad and my parents bought me what I thought was a great telescope for Christmas - about 14" long, but still made the moon look fairly cool..... That was about 45 years ago. I now live on Exmoor and, since we've been given Dark Sky status, and the night sky round here is little short of stunning, I thought I'd try this astronomy, particularly since I'm also into photography. I've bought a Skywatcher 130p with SynScan AZ (I'm a bit too old for learning the night sky from scratch). Anyway, very roundabout but finally to the point, I've been looking for a power source for those (non-rainy, clear, pleasantly warm) evenings outside, and am a bit gobsmacked to find out what a power tank will set me back. I've read conflicting opinions on the cheapie versions (e.g. Maplins) and was wondering - can you not simply use a 12v car battery to run the thing, or will this do something horrible to the electronics.

Advice gratefully received

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davefrance

davefrance

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Don't use a car battery (or in my opinion a car jump starter) for,as stated above, they are for quick short bursts. If you do not want to buy a Powerpack,  why not use a deep cyclic leisure battery which are designed for continuous use. You can buy them in various Ah. and are usually sealed GEL or AGM rather than standard lead/acid so not so prone to die if not charged regularly. I have one similar to this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/200785096894?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95 for powering my HEQ5. It's relatively light and works well. 

Make sure you get the polarity correct when connecting.

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mitchelln

mitchelln

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Hi.

I have a 22Ah Challenge jump start pack and it's been driving my 300P fine for over a year now. The key is to recharge straight after use. I actually had it before I got my scope, so it's an older model without all the extra compressor gubbins.

The other way to go is lamping batteries sold by sport and gun shops. I nearly bought a 14Ah one with a nice canvas bag with strap for around £60 last year. Even has a cigarette socket.

http://www.huntingsolutions.co.uk/battery-belt-pack-12v-14-amp-hr-1571?p=12_32

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jnb

jnb

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If you look for a leisure battery and charger from your favourite auction sites it will be cheaper than buying a powertank. If you add in something to package it and any connections and plugs you might want it probably won't be cheaper but you will get exactly the connections you want.

If I only wanted something small like 17Ah then I would probably just buy a power tank. For larger capacity I'd probably build my own from a leisure battery.

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brantuk

brantuk

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As above - car batteries not built for the job - Branded Powertanks ridiculously expensive. Maplins - mixed bag with good reports and bad - I've had a 17ah one for three years and it still takes me through the night driving RA/Dec only.

Best bets are a leisure battery for less than the cost of a power tank - typically £80 for 80ah or the Lucas Golf Trolley batteries at 22ah are good. I use Tayna - reasonable price, very quick, reliable, good advice, and warranties, and they do decent chargers too. http://www.tayna.co.uk/Leisure-Batteries-C45.html

As always - the life of a battery depends entirely on regular charging - once every two or three months when not in use will keep them in tip top condition. Recharge for 8hrs after each session, and recycle as recommended.

Don't forget to build in amp hours for dew control and driving a laptop - especially if imaging. Hth :)

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Mr Q

Mr Q

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   A word of caution about "Gel Cells". These are best suited for astro use as they are sealed and can be operated in any position as well as being charged indoors. But they are easily damaged when drawn down to below 11.1 volts. Even during storage (more than a couple of months) these will self-discharge and if not recharged before this level is reached, the life of the battery will decrease sharply as well as its normal discharge during use.

   Like the other post points out, add up all the power drain the battery will be expected to use (the total amp hour consumption), then double this value when selecting a battery for astro use.

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stevend

stevend

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I have been using an car jump starter to power my scope, also good for my mobile jet wash and jump starting my son's car, available for <£30.

Just check what your power requirements are, ie what are you using, how much current does it draw; scope, dew heater, etc etc and how long will you be using it to help you decide as even jump starters have varied specs.

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mitchelln

mitchelln

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I'm amazed how few people sell astro power tanks. Plus why do the two manufacturers that do stick dirty great lamps on them and FM radios? If I want searing white light I'll use a torch of some description. If I want to listen to the radio I'll stay in the car or pick another hobby. I guess they are trying to value-add to get sales. It strikes me that the gimmicks have exactly the opposite effect.

Battery, socket, perhaps these days USB power. Job done. But nobody sells them. The Deben ones seems to come closest (the lead acid ones, not the ludicrously priced Lithium ones).

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ChrisLX200

ChrisLX200

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My Halfords 34AH power pack is great, enough power for most setups, no unwanted compressors and the like, it has a small-ish LED light (which I covered in red cellophane) and also has a 5v USB charging outlet which is handy for phones etc. My old one had half the capacity and it's lasted many years - 6 years old now I think - and it's still good but I wanted a higher capacity so bought the new one. I always keep it plugged in and charged up.

ChrisH

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mitchelln

mitchelln

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My Halfords 34AH power pack is great, enough power for most setups, no unwanted compressors and the like, it has a small-ish LED light (which I covered in red cellophane) and also has a 5v USB charging outlet which is handy for phones etc. My old one had half the capacity and it's lasted many years - 6 years old now I think - and it's still good but I wanted a higher capacity so bought the new one. I always keep it plugged in and charged up.

ChrisH

Is that the one with the inverter in it?

Ta.

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MrFinster

MrFinster

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I started with a jump starter pack but had to get a second one for running two dew heater tapes. This was fine for a whle but having to cart round 2 of the things became a nuisance so I went for a deep cycle leisure battery from my local branch of outdoor equipment supplies. 

I'm no longer constantly checking the charge level on the pack to see how long my heater tapes will carry on working for, its well worth the extra weight. That is until this wet stuff set up shop overhead.

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DonFitzg

DonFitzg

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Thanks for all your help - I finally settled on a Halfords Phaze 4-in-1 pack, on the basis that it has standardised 12v cigarette style sockets, plus USB and a 17aH rating, all for £39 and free delivery. Still waiting for clear, dry skies, however....... May be waiting some time.

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lphilpot

lphilpot

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I'm amazed how few people sell astro power tanks. Plus why do the two manufacturers that do stick dirty great lamps on them and FM radios? If I want searing white light I'll use a torch of some description. If I want to listen to the radio I'll stay in the car or pick another hobby. I guess they are trying to value-add to get sales. It strikes me that the gimmicks have exactly the opposite effect.

That's because they're not really astro products - They just have the astro brand name on them.  :sad:  I've seen very simliar items in all kinds of non-astro catalogs and such.

I bought a Celestron-branded PowerTank 17 (apparently the same product as the [uS] Orion Dynamo, or whatever it's called) several years ago and it was ultimately junk. It had a halogen light, another flashing red light with a magnetic base and extension cord, a LOUD siren (just what every astronomer needs! :tongue:), AM/FM radio, dual cigarette lighter style jacks, several smaller barrel style outputs and a pair of automotive style battery clamps (to jump-start a car... yeah right!!). But, the worst part was the "charger" they included - Just a little AC/DC 'wall wart' transformer that at best took hours and hours to charge the unit. That is, until it burned out on the first attempt, which happed to at least three of the four replacement chargers I had to get from Celestron. I got to know a few of their support guys on a first-name basis. After the battery itself started dying, I just threw it away. It wasn't worth replacing the battery (basically a sealed motorcycle battery, best I could tell).

Part of my motivation for buying the PT17 was decidedly non-astronomical: I live in Louisiana (USA) and we had endured hurricanes Katrina and Rita a month apart, so we thought it might serve dual duty. I'm glad we never had to rely on it (much). The radio is useless - Trying to tune it via a non-geared tuner is an exercise in frustration and it apparently needs much in the way of shielding (it hummed ferociously all the time). The halogen light is waaaaaaayyy too bright to use indoors and sucks battery power, so what else do you do with it? I finally used it to charge another device, a little.

Anyway, rant over. :grin:   But for me, I'm done with such devices. I just bought a 12V wet-cell lawnmower battery and attached a dual output jack to it (salvaged from the PT17, actually). I use it run run my dew-zapper ("blow dryer") and if there's no mains power, I have a step-up DC transformer so I can run my laptop directly without having to resort to an inverter.

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bomberbaz

bomberbaz

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That's because they're not really astro products - They just have the astro brand name on them.  :sad:  I've seen very simliar items in all kinds of non-astro catalogs and such.

I bought a Celestron-branded PowerTank 17 (apparently the same product as the [uS] Orion Dynamo, or whatever it's called) several years ago and it was ultimately junk. It had a halogen light, another flashing red light with a magnetic base and extension cord, a LOUD siren (just what every astronomer needs! :tongue:), AM/FM radio, dual cigarette lighter style jacks, several smaller barrel style outputs and a pair of automotive style battery clamps (to jump-start a car... yeah right!!). But, the worst part was the "charger" they included - Just a little AC/DC 'wall wart' transformer that at best took hours and hours to charge the unit. That is, until it burned out on the first attempt, which happed to at least three of the four replacement chargers I had to get from Celestron. I got to know a few of their support guys on a first-name basis. After the battery itself started dying, I just threw it away. It wasn't worth replacing the battery (basically a sealed motorcycle battery, best I could tell).

Part of my motivation for buying the PT17 was decidedly non-astronomical: I live in Louisiana (USA) and we had endured hurricanes Katrina and Rita a month apart, so we thought it might serve dual duty. I'm glad we never had to rely on it (much). The radio is useless - Trying to tune it via a non-geared tuner is an exercise in frustration and it apparently needs much in the way of shielding (it hummed ferociously all the time). The halogen light is waaaaaaayyy too bright to use indoors and sucks battery power, so what else do you do with it? I finally used it to charge another device, a little.

Anyway, rant over. :grin:   But for me, I'm done with such devices. I just bought a 12V wet-cell lawnmower battery and attached a dual output jack to it (salvaged from the PT17, actually). I use it run run my dew-zapper ("blow dryer") and if there's no mains power, I have a step-up DC transformer so I can run my laptop directly without having to resort to an inverter.

afraid I agree with this, I bought one and the battery that came with it isnt the best, so I replaced mine with a Lucas 22ah battery (same size exactly), now i dont have issues with the goto. The other battery is in a neat lettle golfer battery bag where it is kept on trickle charge and will be used to run other things. (dew zappers, astrocam, laptop etc) 

My first charger also didnt work so i got a replacement which does work. It only charges at 0.5 amp per hour and so my thoughts are this constitutes trickle as i am clueless when it comes down to electrics.

Steve

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ChrisLX200

ChrisLX200

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My new power pack is 34Ah and presumably (I haven't looked inside) it contains a gel battery of some sort. The capacity is big enough to run all my gear all night, but possibly not the laptop as well. My mount has a built-in 12>18v voltage converter so just needs the 12v feed. The light on the power pack is LED, not too bright nor power-hungry, and I've just taped red cellophane over it for night use. The last one of these I bought, lower capacity, has lasted 6 years and still going so I expect this one to last equally well. It wasn't cheap but you get what you pay for generally.

DSC00210_zps20bb5a09.jpg

ChrisH

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