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Power Tank?

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GB-UK

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My new scope arrived today and was wondering about power supply for the mount. It will probably eat its way through AA batteries so have been looking at the Sky-Watcher Rechargeable Power Tank. Are these a good buy? Which one should I go for and about how long does a charge last?

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philsail1

philsail1

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Hello "GB-UK"

As will now know, there are several Powertanks on the market.

They start from around £21.00 (LIDL specials), up to perhaps £100.

I bought one from "Argos" for £39.00. (Mainly because I'd been given some vouchers for Christmas!

It is called a "Challenge Engine Starter"; and would have cost £39.00.

It powers my Celestron CG5 "Goto"; Mount OK.

Don't know how long it will last but I am going to do a review on it soon.

Regards,

philsail1 Attached Thumbnails attachment.php?attachmentid=18934&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1234703432

attachment.php?attachmentid=18935&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1234703432

Orion (UK) Europa 200mm (f4.5) Newtonian Reflector

Celestron C8i (f10) Schmitt Cassegrain.

Skywatcher 90mm Maksutov.

Opticron 8x42 Binoculars.

Canon A570IS Digital Camera.

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progress.gifedit.gif

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jgs001

jgs001

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I found that my maplins powertank was showing signs of usage (battery capacity probably about 40-50% remaining) after about 4 hours with the HEQ5. My little NexStar would probably have run several nights on the trot without causing any issues, so a lot will depend on what you are driving from it as to the most suitable for you.

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Greg

Greg

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Why not go for a 60ah diesel car battery?? Will last longer than a power tank..

Or a 110ah leisure battery, one of those will last you all night and longer..More than enough for dew weaters and a laptop..

if running the mount from home you'd be better running it from the mains with one of these..

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=231

Greg

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philsail1

philsail1

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My Argos Powertank has a cigarette lighter plug.

Before I bought it I used to power my HEQ5 mount from the 8 "D" size batteries, and these used to power it for several weeks of reasonable nightly use.

However, I think if you were doing a lot of searching (powered slewing) for different objects perhaps they might not last as long.

I only bought the "Powertank" due to me having bought a Celestron CG5 "GoTo" computerised mount, which because it would be moving the scope around the sky all night, will use much more power than I did using the HEQ5 in "Star Hopping" mode!

If your mount is battery powered, perhaps you can try them first and see how you go - before shelling out a lot of money on a "Powertank."

Regards,

philsail1

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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The only thing I would suggest is you need to add up the power consumption of each device you want to connect.

If you go for the power tank with 17aH running an EQ6 which uses 2A then it will last 8 1/2 hours (without excessive slewing).

aH/Total load current= Usage time.

If you buy the mains power supply make sure the Amp rating is high enough. I have a 3A rated one and this is not enough to run lots of devices, causes problems with a filter wheel I have (with 3 other devices connected comes close to the 3A when the filter wheel moves it sometimes goes above).

Also the amount you discharge the battery before recharging affects the battery life (I would have to check) that discharging to 30% of power before recharging would lessen the battery life more than going to 50%.

For me I am running everything apart from the EQ6 off of the power tank and the EQ6 off of a 3A rated power supply.

To be honest the Power tank would be fine for a nights imaging and the one I got was cheap enough that however long it lasts it will be worth it.

regards

Neil C

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Doc

Doc

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Make yourself one thats what I'm going to do.

Getting myself a 110ah marine battery and connecting 4 cigarette lighter sockets in series to the battery. Place a fuse in everyone and hey presto your own power tank.

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GB-UK

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Hello "GB-UK"

As will now know, there are several Powertanks on the market.

They start from around £21.00 (LIDL specials), up to perhaps £100.

I bought one from "Argos" for £39.00. (Mainly because I'd been given some vouchers for Christmas!

It is called a "Challenge Engine Starter"; and would have cost £39.00.

It powers my Celestron CG5 "Goto"; Mount OK.

Don't know how long it will last but I am going to do a review on it soon.

Regards,

philsail1 Attached Thumbnails attachment.php?attachmentid=18934&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1234703432

attachment.php?attachmentid=18935&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1234703432

report.gif

progress.gifedit.gif

So if I read you right I would get one of these and a cigarette adapter with the right connection on the other end and that will power the scope? The cigarette lighter end plugs into the engine starter? Sorry for all the questions but I want to make sure I get it right!

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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Posted

You have a cigarette lighter socket on the Power tank and you can get a lead with Cigarette lighter plug on one end and the small connector for the telescope power on the other. It is really that simple. If you want to add more devices then you can get an adapter to split the one cigarette lighter socket on the power tank into 3 sockets. I have this and then each of my cameras and the filter wheel is connected from this.

If you want I could post some close up pictures of each bit to completely remove any possible error.

Neil C

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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I think Doc has the best idea, if you want more power buy a separate marine deep cycle battery. I have seen people mount them in a little box on wheels and mount the required sockets on the box.

You will then get the duration you want and it will last longer than the cheap power tanks (I really doubt they are deep cycle for that price).

NC

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johninderby

johninderby

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I stopped using power tanks a long time ago. The biggest problem is that the little charger/charging circuit that comes with them is so poor that you never get a full charge. For example I found that a 7ah gel cell that had been charged with a good charger could often outlast a 17ah power tank.

Fortunately I already had a fully automatic gel cell charger that is both current and temperature compensated and gets the absolute maximum charge. Only downside is that it cost about £90.00.

However there is cheaper alternative. Look out for a golf buggy gel cell and the auto charger that goes with it. Half price golf equipment sales are common so you may be able to pick one up at a good price.

One note on the care of gel cells is that they must always be charged before putting then away. If stored "flat" the polarity in some of the cells can reverse ruining the battery, sometimes in only a few weeks particularly if stored in a cold place. If stored charged they're usually good for a year without recharging.

John

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GB-UK

GB-UK

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I want to power my SkyMax-127 SupaTrak AUTO (f/1500) 5 inch (127mm) Motorised Maksutov–Cassegrain with Auto–tracking, it comes with an 8 AA battery pack which plugs into the system. But I don't hold up much hope for the batteries lasting very long, hence my search for an alternative power supply.

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  • 2 years later...
countvonaltibar

countvonaltibar

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I've just got my Maplins £29.99 cheapy power tank up and running. There's a distinct humming noise coming from the motors only after I've actually performed an alignment. Doesn't occur with the AA batteries or mains powers. Haven't managed to do any observing as yet with it to check if there's any vibration being caused but will do so when some clear skies arrive. Other than that, the whole set up was relatively simple & I think the power tank is the way to go!

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ScubaMike

ScubaMike

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I am in the process of building one.

Will have 3x cigar power outlets (could potentially have 7) - each individually switched, running off an 85aH battery, all neatly housed in a box strong enough to be stood/sat on which will also have storage for the voltage step up for the laptop and the various power leads.

Will be posting details of build, where I got the items, and total cost.

Rough costing is around £100 mark (but I have over-engineered it when picking materials).

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