Best value power tank?

[Physopto]

Addendum to above,

YOU CANNOT USE A LEAD ACID BATTERY CHARGER FOR A LiFePo or LiPo battery!!!!!

It Will probably explode.

Derek

[Twisted Lip]

Hi Will,

No-ish, bought a 22 Ah tracer battery at Kielder from The Widescreen Center at the Saturday event. Trouble was that the young lad who sold it did not understand exactly what he was selling and did not let me know that the charger was only 1.65 Ah. It also could not be charged at the same time as being used. After talking to Simon on the telephone we agreed that it should be returned and exchanged for a 40 Ah unit in a Pelicase with 10 Ah charger. I stipulated at that time that it should be capable of being charged at the same time as being used. I had previously checked with Deben that this was possible. Unfortunately some one did not listen properly! I received a battery direct from Deben without the extra  charging connection. This was returned after talking to Simon. I then received the correct Item eventually. Simon stated on the telephone that he had been informed that all these batteries would in future include a second connection. But I definitely would check this if ordering one up. So in answer to your query not quite!

Still al that ends well

Derek

Thanks Derek. Unfortunately I've has a couple of issues with the Widescreen Centre too but Simon knows his stuff so I'm glad you got it sorted. I might have a look at Astrofest this year and see if its worth the investment. Nothing I've used so far comes close so I suspect it will!

Cheers

Will

[DoctorD]

Hi 

I just go myself one of these 70Ah Leisure batteries from Halfords - Handy carry handle that also covers the terminals to reduce the chance of accidentally shorting it out.

http://www.halfords.com/car-seats-travel-equipment/camping-caravanning/caravanning/halfords-leisure-battery-70-ah

Originally I was planning on putting it into a case, however I now plan on building a distribution board with a USB hub, 12->5V convertor, dew heater controllers and multiple 12V fused outputs in a smaller plastic case with a single lead back to the battery.

HTH

Paul

[AlistairHowie]

Hi Alistair,

I would check the price you have seen. It is not correct as I see it. 40 Ah in Pelicase with the correct (LiFePo) 10 Ah charger ~£650. Not £790. You may be looking at a bare 80 Ah I don't know. It's a while since I looked at the site. If you are correct, it maybe because they are fitting the extra connection. If so a stupid increase. They will loose business. To get their 2 year guarantee it had to be done by them, so it was supplied all done. Just a note here though! The batteries from them all come with a small protection circuit. This protects against over heating etc., Lithium batteries of this size can be a bomb if not looked after properly, they are really nasty when provoked!!! That is why I bought from a well known firm with a reputation to protect. I really did not fancy one from some unknown Chinese import.

regards,

 Derek

Unfortunately, the price is right.  £659 EX VAT, but £790 INC VAT.  Either you are VAT registered, they made a mistake or they've just increased their prices by 20%!

EDIT: Actually it's available here http://www.sure24.co.uk/tracer-rdcbat-lp40-tracer-12v-40ah-lifepo4-battery-pack-in-peli for £654 inc. VAT, although the case dimensions look a little different from the Deben site.  Either way, if anybody wants one, you probably have a small window to buy at this (potentially old) price.

[Davey-T]

The 40ah one I purchased a while back is now £454.00 inc VAT for just the battery, don't know why you need a Pelicase to put it in.

Dave

[Physopto]

The 40ah one I purchased a while back is now £454.00 inc VAT for just the battery, don't know why you need a Pelicase to put it in.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I wanted  it in a Pelicase because it is just too expensive to get damaged and is also supposed to be waterproof. ( for some daft reason Deben used xlr connectors not the ones on their website e.g. not waterproof). If it does go on fire I also may have the time to throw it to a safe distance from my caravan. I have had to fight fires in confined spaces before and it is not easy even with the correct gear. I have other cases but none are as tough as a Pelicase. It's just a matter of common sense to me, others may do it differently.

Regards,

Derek

[Physopto]

Unfortunately, the price is right.  £659 EX VAT, but £790 INC VAT.  Either you are VAT registered, they made a mistake or they've just increased their prices by 20%!

EDIT: Actually it's available here http://www.sure24.co.uk/tracer-rdcbat-lp40-tracer-12v-40ah-lifepo4-battery-pack-in-peli for £654 inc. VAT, although the case dimensions look a little different from the Deben site.  Either way, if anybody wants one, you probably have a small window to buy at this (potentially old) price.

Yikesd!!

[Physopto]

Yikesd!!

Yes, just checked they have put up the prices. They are now offering the second connector. (Neutrik Speakon Connections). Just not worth it now. They are being greedy!!!

Derek

[Physopto]

Those Deben batteries have shot up in price since I bought one, got the best of both worlds Maplin power pack chucked out all the innards and fitted Deben battery, easily runs everything all night in middle of winter and can carry it in one hand

Dave

Power-pack.jpg

Dave,

Just a thought. Is the charger in the Powertank the original that was for the Lead Acid battery? If it is you will damage the new LiFePo battery pack. LiFePo batteries require a totally different method of charging. Please check on line if you don't believe me. A very costly thing to goose.

Regards

Derek

[Davey-T]

Dave,

Just a thought. Is the charger in the Powertank the original that was for the Lead Acid battery? If it is you will damage the new LiFePo battery pack. LiFePo batteries require a totally different method of charging. Please check on line if you don't believe me. A very costly thing to goose.

Regards

Derek

No bought the charger with the battery,10ah, also expensive

Dave

[Physopto]

No bought the charger with the battery,10ah, also expensive

Dave

Thank goodness for that! I was a bit worried when I thought about it.

Cheers,

 Derek

[andy-w-h]

I'm a little lost by the talk of £600 battery packs .. A 17AH from Halfords is sub £50 and runs a mount and a couple of dew heaters overnight but then maybe takes 36 hours to recharge. How often are you guys away from mains power?

BTW an old computer PSU makes a very nice stable 12v supply when mounted in a water resistant tool box.

[Davey-T]

Why do some people have an EQ1 and some have a 10 Micron ? just what they can afford / justify

I had a 17ah car jumper power pack that lasted about 12 months before slowly dying, probably from neglect on my part, as I have an obs'y with mains power I  only need the power pack when in a field somewhere and I don't want to carry a large lead acid battery about when I can carry a 40ah L,ion one in one hand.

Dave

[lensman57]

Hi everyone,

I need to get myself a power tank do I can go out to a dark sky site with my heq5. I will need to power the mount and a dew heater, so 2-4 cigar lighter socket ports. I've heard the maplins ones are good. Anyone got any good ideas?

Thanks

Cam

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Forget the power tanks, these use batteries that are unsuitable for trickle or low wattage steady output such as you'd need to power a mount and camera etc. I have a couple of these maplin ones and an SW 7Ah tank and they are hopeless. There are two solutions depending on how you want to power the gear. You can buy a high capacity deep cycle leisure battery, about 100Ah will do for what you want, these can be reasonable or pricy depending on the make but they are very heavy around the 20 kg and need a proper special charger that adds another £50.00 to £60.00 to the price. I have a tracer 22Ah lithium polymer battery that powers the mount or the CCD and the heaters for about 4 hours without any problem. It is expensive @ £220.00 but it only weights just over a Kilo and comes with its own charger. I am thinking of adding a 14Ah one . So here are your choices. Tracer also have a line of lithium ion battery packs called the LifePo4 series that can be charged up to 1400 times ( or a life time ) but the 24Ah costs about £300.00.http://www.deben.com/tracer-battery-packs/lifepo4-12v-16ah-battery-pack.html.

and for leisurehttp://www.tayna.co.uk/EX110AGM-Enduroline-AGM-LeisureMarine-Battery-P8777.html.

Regards,

A.G

[Physopto]

Hi,

Reading A.G. s input I completely agree.

If you can get away with it the tracer 22Ah battery is OK. The standard charger that come with it is 1.65 Ah if I remember. Unfortunately for me it was no use as took too long to recharge at such a low rate and cannot be charged at the same time. There is a larger capacity charger that they sell but still at too low a rate. The 22 ah tracers also will not last as long (recharge wise) as the LiFePo4 types. I need up to 10 Ah at times, not all the time but still it takes smaller batteries out of the picture. I don't like lead acid as once the charger goes over about 13.6 volts the lead acid type start to vent Hydrogen gas. I was on the receiving end of a 110 Ah battery when it blew up a few years ago. Luckily for me it blew the top off the battery right in front of me without  a direct hit,  bar ricocheting parts and being coverd in acid (new clothes needed). But I lost some hearing in my left ear. I then tried a Gel cell battery. Very good but expensive for a 55Ah job and very heavy (20 Kilos). Definitely needs to be charged all the time or I only get a about 3 hours before the voltage drop causes problems. If you read some of the CCD camera instructions they inform us that low voltages can cause component failure outside of warranty. I recently had a low voltage on the Kendrick dew heater. The readout was the first indication I got (missed the little ping on the computer cause of , you guessed it deafness). Wondered why the led readout as only partly working? So I think I just caught it before failure.

A battery correctly matched to the equipment to me is vitally important. I cannot afford to loose expensive equipment through ignoring the makers instructions.

It Is to every  individuals choice as to what they do. Being careful a sea and in the research environment saved my life several times and I always stick to my own methods.

Every one to their own.

Derek

[Davey-T]

I think it's cheaper to buy the bare battery and a jump starter from Halfords chuck out the tyre pump, jump leads etc and keep the sockets which is what I did plus a few other mods, you then have a LIPO battery in a protective case with a nice carrying handle.

Dave

[Physopto]

Hi Dave,

I think it's cheaper to buy the bare battery and a jump starter from Halfords chuck out the tyre pump, jump leads etc and keep the sockets which is what I did plus a few other mods, you then have a LIPO battery in a protective case with a nice carrying handle.

Dave

I guess you are right about the cost for sure. I would have gotten a cheaper case of the type I normally use, but really wanted the 2 year guarantee and toughness etc,. If anything goes wrong I can point the finger. At least I seem to have gotten the battery before the price went completely ballistic. There always seems to be a tipping point and I think they just went well past it.

Derek