Charging my Celestron LiFePo battery without a charger...

[Captain Scarlet]

My observing session last night was cut short by everything suddenly going dead: my big Celestron double Lithium powertank had run out of juice mid-session. Oh well, I had at least got some observing done, and packed up. I'll charge it up tomorrpw, I thought.

Tomorrow was today, and could I find the charger? No. The charger lead plugs into the same socket as the output supply to the scope, except the DC input is 16V for charging, as opposed to the scope outlet at 12V.

I had an idea. I have a benchtop power supply which gives 13.8V, but is less convenient to use outside, so while I have the battery, it gathers dust. I wondered if that, 13.8V, would be enough as an input to the the battery to allow it to charge. I called a friend who works in electronics and he thought it may well work. It turns out that it did!

Magnus