Battery for powering the HEQ5 Pro

[FarAndBeyond]

So im sure this battery topic has been discussed before, but i´m a bit confused about what type of battery is most suitable for powering the HEQ5 Pro mount. I mean what type of lead acid battery is to be used. Ive seen different ones, some using for example AGM, and others GEL based batteries, etc. 

So which of these different lead acid battery technologies does handle the most charge cycles and handles deep charges the best, i.e. the things that are important and suitable for our purposes?

Since some of these batteries are good for only short bursts of many amps, i.e. starting a car, while others are more suited to slowly discharge.  Ive seen people talk about leisure batteries, but what technology do they use?

[Grant]

I've given up on lead acid batteries - to much hassle and to many that have stopped charging properly over the years, I now use:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/celestron-lithium-lifepo4-powertank.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/celestron-lithium-lifepo4-powertank-pro.html

Depending on what I am powering. A little more expensive up front but, no maintenance issues, a predictable discharge curve (i.e. flat!) and they are much, much lighter too.

Just a thought...

[ejp1684]

I've been using a Leisure battery 20ah for a couple of years now with no issues. Cost £35. After 6 hours observing, including a small heater for the guide scope, it rarely goes below 50% charge when it's still pushing out 12.4v. Built a box for it and secure connections. Key to using it effectively is the electronic charger.

[Carbon Brush]

If you choose to carry a big heavy lead acid battery (the cheapest solution) then the type is relatively unimportant.

In an evening of running a mount you are not going to eat into much of the capacity. So if you have a grotty old battery that won't start the car on a cold morning, or won't hold up the headlights beyond half an hour, it is probably good enough to run a mount. This statement assumes a battery with a general loss of performance through age and sulphate. If an individual cell has failed, that is a different story.

If weight is of interest, or you are going to have to pay full price for a battery, then you are far better spending on something with a lithium battery.
Excellent life expectancy. Superb cold performance. Inbuilt charge and discharge monitors prevent you from doing harm to the battery.

If you want to run a mount, and lots of dew heaters, and a camera, and other things, then you ought to get the calculator out to ensure a small capacity lithium package is going to be good enough.

Just my take on battery power - not necessarily everyone agrees!

Hope this helps, David.

[hornedreaper33]

Good morning @FarAndBeyond. While I am a noobie myself, I have been using one of these since I first started:

https://www.tracerpower.com/12v-8ah-lithium-polymer-battery-pack.html

Very small, light and capable. When I moved to Canada they even sent me the NA power adaptor for free. I haven't ventured into the all night imaging sessions yet so I can't say how the 8Ah will last for that. Otherwise I have been very pleased with it.

[Aldebaran5]

if you do the maths, you can work out what you require. A 10amp hour battery will run for 10 hours on one amp. If your unit has a drain of half an amp then it should last for 20 hours, so work out the equivilent usage of all your pieces to obtain the amperage in use. 16 amps will run approx. 3600 watts.

Keith

[Luna-tic]

On ‎30‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 07:26, ejp1684 said:

I've been using a Leisure battery 20ah for a couple of years now with no issues. Cost £35. After 6 hours observing, including a small heater for the guide scope, it rarely goes below 50% charge when it's still pushing out 12.4v. Built a box for it and secure connections. Key to using it effectively is the electronic charger.

Very nicely done power supply, looks great and nicely laid out.. I just finished mine, will deliver 12VDC or 115VAC with included inverter. I'm using a 96 amp/hr deep cycle wet cell lead-acid battery.

On ‎30‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 08:49, Carbon Brush said:

If you choose to carry a big heavy lead acid battery (the cheapest solution) then the type is relatively unimportant.

In an evening of running a mount you are not going to eat into much of the capacity. So if you have a grotty old battery that won't start the car on a cold morning, or won't hold up the headlights beyond half an hour, it is probably good enough to run a mount. This statement assumes a battery with a general loss of performance through age and sulphate. If an individual cell has failed, that is a different story.

If weight is of interest, or you are going to have to pay full price for a battery, then you are far better spending on something with a lithium battery.
Excellent life expectancy. Superb cold performance. Inbuilt charge and discharge monitors prevent you from doing harm to the battery.

If you want to run a mount, and lots of dew heaters, and a camera, and other things, then you ought to get the calculator out to ensure a small capacity lithium package is going to be good enough.

Just my take on battery power - not necessarily everyone agrees!

Hope this helps, David.

Very true. Generally, the heavier and more basic a battery is, the less it costs per amp/hr. capacity. As you go up in capacity,  up in technology (AGM or Lithium)or down in weight, the prices climb correspondingly. Choose your priorities in weight, technology and capacity, then look at what's out there.

On ‎02‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 04:48, Aldebaran5 said:

if you do the maths, you can work out what you require. A 10amp hour battery will run for 10 hours on one amp. If your unit has a drain of half an amp then it should last for 20 hours, so work out the equivilent usage of all your pieces to obtain the amperage in use. 16 amps will run approx. 3600 watts.

Keith

As a very broad rule of thumb, you can figure it that way, but you can only count on about 80% of the total capacity to be useful, and that depends on several conditions. A 12 volt battery delivering 16 amps only gives you 192 watts, according to Ohm's Law, and that is at 0.75 ohms. You'd get 3600 total watts over 18.75 hours at that voltage and load.    Now, if you were at 220VAC and drawing 16 amps, you be using pretty close to 3600 watts.

A telescope mount of moderate size will draw anywhere from 0.25 to 0.75 amps during tracking. At full speed slew that will increase to 3-6 amps. If that is all you have to power, you can run most of the night on a 20 amp-hr. battery doing observation. I can run a dew heater at full power, my mount, a laptop and two cameras at less than 7 amps total continuous draw. So, for 6 hours, I'd use about 42 amp/hrs. Realistically, it would be longer than that, because the 7 amps is maximum, (during slewing) and drops about 2.5 amps during tracking. Part of the draw is from the inefficiency  in converting 12VDC to 115VAC through an inverter, which part of my gear runs through.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Luna-tic

[cletrac1922]

I use a car jump start battery

Have used it for over a week continuously at Astro festivals

 

 

[greeno76]

Sorry for dragging up an old thread...can you just connect the battery terminals to the scope mount power socket (via appropriate wires) or does it need regulating to 12V?  A fully charged Pb acid is ~14.4V is it not?

We're off camping this weekend so I'd like to take the scope if possible.

 

Many thanks,

 

Jason

 

 

[Carbon Brush]

The voltage range on lead acid, from full charge to well discharged, is well within the capbility of telescope electronics.

You will find a fully charged 12V battery will be around 13.5V shortly after removal from the charger.
If in use it gets down to 10.8V (1.8V/cell) stop using it and get it on charge in the next few hours. Definitely don't wait days or weeks before recharge.

David.

[greeno76]

18 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

The voltage range on lead acid, from full charge to well discharged, is well within the capbility of telescope electronics.

You will find a fully charged 12V battery will be around 13.5V shortly after removal from the charger.
If in use it gets down to 10.8V (1.8V/cell) stop using it and get it on charge in the next few hours. Definitely don't wait days or weeks before recharge.

David.

Good news. Many thanks for your reply, David. I'll give it a try this evening  👍

Best wishes,

jason

[rockinrome]

Hi @FarAndBeyond

I have recently created my own battery box that holds 10x1.2V 4000mAh rechargable C type batteries.
All it needed was a bit of soldering to get them in series and the power adapter end.
Drawing maximum current (approx. 3A) it should last about 1.5 hours on full charge.

All the best.
MJ.

[Ships and Stars]

Yuasa YBX 70Ah Leisure Battery. £62, Tanya Battery UK. More than enough for the mount for several nights on the trot, a 12V hairdryer (my dew prevention system) and maybe even a stereo and some disco lights if the clouds roll in...👍

Edited November 4, 2019 by Ships and Stars

[Ships and Stars]

Oh no, is this another year old post! It's resurfaced...