What do you think of this power station

[PlanetGazer]

What do you guys think of this power station. I would buy one for my current telescope or any other in the future.

 

Reason I'm thinking of this one, as it's the only site that'll ship internationally.

 

https://www.rockpals.com/collections/portable-power-station/products/250-watt-portable-generator-rechargeable-solar-generator-with-110v-ac-outlet

 

https://www.amazon.com/Rockpals-250-Watt-Generator-Rechargeable-Emergency/dp/B075SSMR6K

Edited November 1, 2019 by PlanetGazer

[joe aguiar]

I have never used any power tanks at all even having 12 inch meade sct lx90 for at least 10 years maybe more.lxd75,8se and the nexstar8 that came out in 2000.

And I have never ran out of power using rechargeable batteries. I used best they 3000 mah back then it maybe was2200 may

Joejaguar 

[Cosmic Geoff]

A more conventional choice would be a Celestron or Sky-watcher telescope power tank, or one of those car booster/12v cigar socket outlet devices from a car accessory shop. I have one of each, plus a 12v 7AH sealed lead-acid battery I wired up myself.

[PlanetGazer]

9 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

A more conventional choice would be a Celestron or Sky-watcher telescope power tank, or one of those car booster/12v cigar socket outlet devices from a car accessory shop. I have one of each, plus a 12v 7AH sealed lead-acid battery I wired up myself.

I tried buying the SW or Celestron power tanks from multiple sites, US and UK. but non would ship internationally. For safety reasons

[DaveL59]

does seem pricey but may well do the job, has mains inverter output which is likely why, do you really need that?

so long as it doesn't auto-shutdown with a low-drain load it could work, tho using the AC outlet will reduce runtime quite a bit I expect. I have a LiPo car jump-start pack that's smaller but similar rated power and use the Cig socket adaptor to hook up to a Buck converter to deliver 12v out to the SynScan, seems to work just fine and cost around £65 all in. Just be sure you check the DC output  voltage before you hook up the scope as  they can be a lot more than you'd see off a regular 12v lead battery, mine showed 16v which is more than the 15v max for the goto, hence the buck converter.

[PlanetGazer]

17 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

does seem pricey but may well do the job, has mains inverter output which is likely why, do you really need that?

so long as it doesn't auto-shutdown with a low-drain load it could work, tho using the AC outlet will reduce runtime quite a bit I expect. I have a LiPo car jump-start pack that's smaller but similar rated power and use the Cig socket adaptor to hook up to a Buck converter to deliver 12v out to the SynScan, seems to work just fine and cost around £65 all in. Just be sure you check the DC output  voltage before you hook up the scope as  they can be a lot more than you'd see off a regular 12v lead battery, mine showed 16v which is more than the 15v max for the goto, hence the buck converter.

I do need a power tank as most of my observing sessions are remote. I live in a flat with restricted outdoor space. the power tank is expensive, but the cheapest available power tank that can be shipped to my location.

 

Regarding voltage, the manufacturer states it has a " 4* 12V DC for car powered device under 60W" which I think means 4 outlets that you can connect to a cable with negative car socket adapter. The mains outlets are 2 and are 120V AC (300 Watt Surge)

[DaveL59]

could be fine then 🙂 It is a problem now for shipping LiPo cells, being they can be quite "volatile" so can imaging it's not so easy to source if there are no local suppliers around.

[Cosmic Geoff]

You could buy a car jump starter instead of an astro power tank.

Something like this: https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/battery-chargers-jump-starters/4-in-1-jump-starter

You just need to make sure it has a suitable +12v outlet.  There are lots of makes and models of these things and I'd be amazed if you can't find one locally.

[PlanetGazer]

On 02/11/2019 at 21:07, Cosmic Geoff said:

You could buy a car jump starter instead of an astro power tank.

Something like this: https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/battery-chargers-jump-starters/4-in-1-jump-starter

You just need to make sure it has a suitable +12v outlet.  There are lots of makes and models of these things and I'd be amazed if you can't find one locally.

 

That's a great price!

I did find similar car jump starters, but they are either small cheaply made lithium batteries, which is a safety concern for me;

or a lead acid battery that's over priced (equivalent to £ 100 after discount link). So maybe buying a proper safe lithium battery with double the life-span (theoretically), could be the best value.