Battery for Astrophotography from Remote Site

[Andyb90]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a battery to power astrophotography gear from a remote site. I think I need around 30ah.

I've ordered an ASI Air Plus for my setup and plan to use it to power the camera cooler and dew heater bands. So I think I only need one 12v DC output on the battery to connect to the ASI Air.

My mount will have a separate power supply.

So far I found the Jackery Explorer 500:

https://uk.jackery.com/products/explorer-500w-portable-power-station

Are there any other options I should be considering with a good brand reputation?

Regards,

Andy.

[OK Apricot]

I bought the Anker 251 which has been excellent. It has managed my rig for 7hrs+ so far on a single charge only dropping to around 35% having slewed to a couple targets with an EQ6-R, camera cooling at 60% and dew straps at 50%. A decent option for the money. 

[Andyb90]

6 hours ago, OK Apricot said:

I bought the Anker 251 which has been excellent. It has managed my rig for 7hrs+ so far on a single charge only dropping to around 35% having slewed to a couple targets with an EQ6-R, camera cooling at 60% and dew straps at 50%. A decent option for the money. 

Thanks for the info. Maybe I’ve over estimated my power needs. My setup will be similar to yours. I see the Anker is 256wh or 21ah @ 12v.

 

[Andyb90]

After a fair bit of research I ended up going with this power station:

https://bluettipower.co.uk/products/bluetti-eb55-portable-power-station

Its probably a bit overkill, but if I'm out at a remote site and have an issue like a breakdown then I'll have plenty of juice for things like plugging in a heater to keep warm etc.

[Mandy D]

30 minutes ago, Andyb90 said:

After a fair bit of research I ended up going with this power station:

https://bluettipower.co.uk/products/bluetti-eb55-portable-power-station

Its probably a bit overkill, but if I'm out at a remote site and have an issue like a breakdown then I'll have plenty of juice for things like plugging in a heater to keep warm etc.

This looks like a nice, professional product, made in USA and distributed by a company not far from me in Bolsover. The company offers bigger systems too that should be capable of running an off-grid home. Do you know if the output is pure sine-wave as they shy away from discussing this on the site or in the instruction manual, which I find slightly concerning. They also do not state the output frequency in the manual, but note that you can change it in the settings. They explain what frequency means and state that it is usually 50/60 Hz. I wonder if it is a binary choice or a continuous range?

[Andyb90]

21 hours ago, Mandy D said:

This looks like a nice, professional product, made in USA and distributed by a company not far from me in Bolsover. The company offers bigger systems too that should be capable of running an off-grid home. Do you know if the output is pure sine-wave as they shy away from discussing this on the site or in the instruction manual, which I find slightly concerning. They also do not state the output frequency in the manual, but note that you can change it in the settings. They explain what frequency means and state that it is usually 50/60 Hz. I wonder if it is a binary choice or a continuous range?

Got the unit today. The description says '700W AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter (1,400W Surge)', but I'm not completely sure how that would be checked/tested. I did see a few Youtube videos testing other Bluetti power stations and they appear to feature some kind of device that has a graphical output, which I think they were using to show the Sine Wave shape.

The power supply unit for the power station even has its own fan 🙂

From what I understand the cigarette type socket is regulated 12v, but the other 2 x 12v DC ouputs are not regulated.

I purchased a couple of AC to DC power supplies to try with the 2 AC outputs. I've never had a power bank/battery with AC outputs before.

[Mandy D]

1 hour ago, Andyb90 said:

Got the unit today. The description says '700W AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter (1,400W Surge)', but I'm not completely sure how that would be checked/tested. I did see a few Youtube videos testing other Bluetti power stations and they appear to feature some kind of device that has a graphical output, which I think they were using to show the Sine Wave shape.

The power supply unit for the power station even has its own fan 🙂

From what I understand the cigarette type socket is regulated 12v, but the other 2 x 12v DC ouputs are not regulated.

I purchased a couple of AC to DC power supplies to try with the 2 AC outputs. I've never had a power bank/battery with AC outputs before.

That is all good to know. From the blurb on their website they seem very professional, but it could have just been marketing spiel. I don't understand why they are not pushing the pure sine wave bit, as that is most important and highly desirable. To check the output waveshape you would need an oscilloscope or harmonic analyser. I would not rely on any inbuilt display for that, as it is so easily faked.

I did notice that many of the "photos" on their site are actually computer generated graphics and not images of real product, which is what made me ask all the questions. If a company has product, why use anything other than genuine photographs?

I'm planning to build a mobile "observatory", so something like that unit could work well for me. Thanks.