can they just die?

[skye at night]

hello,

my aldi bought car charger type power tank seems to be dead!

shows a full battery, but no lights, power and therefore my hopes to get going with a motorised mount soon...

any ideas anybody or can they just go wrong?

Steve

[prbirdo]

they are lead batteries you need to keep them topped up, charge at least 2 times a month otherwise the reaction inside srews up. on the plus if you charge when full it does not damage the battery.

A deep charge may rescue you batt, do it as soon as you can, leave it on for 11hrs or so. (not in a fire catching area --just incase!)

[skye at night]

thanks

steve

[Psychobilly]

Problem is the weedy little charger that comes with it is incapable of doing the "deep" charge...

They did have them on offer again i think...

[arad85]

I've given up on powertanks and bought myself a 105Ah ultra deep cycle battery (£73) and electronic multi-stage battery charger (£90 - but the £45 would have done, just I wanted the extra power/flexibility for something else). Now just to knock up a plywood case to put it all in and Bob may or may not be your uncle... A bit pricey, but it'll run everything I have (scope, dew heaters, laptop, imaging rig) for several hours easily.

I haven't used the EQ6 for about 3 months as I'm worried the suddenly failing powertank (it works OK for a couple of hours then the voltage falls through the floor) will damage the handset/electronics on the mount.

[skye at night]

has anyone got any experience of the 'astrosource' astrotank???

price? reliability etc???

Steve

[beetlejuice]

They certainly do die. My 17Ah powertank will not hold a charge. It needs a deep recharge but frankly deep chargers are expensive and it's not cost effective unless I can find someone who will lend me one! So I'm planning to change to mains power once I've run a cable out to my summerhouse (aka 'warm room' but don't tell the wife!).

[steppenwolf]

These power tanks are all pretty much the same in that they use a Gel Battery pack and these need to be carefully looked after, they don't like deep discharge and often don't recover from this. They should always be kept topped up.

Yours may 'appear' to recover but if it has been deeply discharged, especially in the cold, it is unlikely to truly recover. With regards to one being better than another, not really, they all use the same technology.

[johninderby]

The biggest weakness of all the powertanks is the charging part. I went to using a separate gel cell with a good charger ages ago. Much more reliable.

Gel cells can actually can be stored for up to a year without recharging as long as they have been topped up first and are stored in a warm place. If stored in a cold place however, they can fully discharge in a month. So simply just store your gel cells indoors. If they are allowed to fully discharge they can short out internally and then it's had it.

Gel cells don't have any "memory effect" so there is no need to discharge them before charging.

John

[RobH]

I too had one and it died forever after being completely discharged.

Don't waste your time with one....get a big leisure battery and a battery charger and build a box for it.

Cheers

Rob

[barkis]

MikeP built his own power supplies. A couple of HD Leisure batteries in boxes with terminals on the exterior. One is a standby, but rarely needed I believe. Ideal solution. Those Power Tanks aren't up to it if they are feeding dew Controllers as well as other essential kit.

Ron.

[skye at night]

So ..

what.. maybe two decent 12v batteries in parallel? would need I suppose a panel made and wired with cigar slots or whatever connection is being used...

Trip to maplins (70 miles!!!) and local chandler maybe...

I would want some kind of charge indicator?

This is why I was asking re. the astrosource box... looks like it has all been done there, but cant get the specs regarding battery quality etc...

Steve

[Merlin66]

I've been using a collection of 20Ah Gel Cell batteries and an electronic 3 stage charger for the last three years. Never lost a battery yet.

I recommend this set-up over the power packs any day!!!

Ken

[Capricorn]

Do a search for "deep cycle" batteries, that is the type you need. Even the standard car/motor cycle type battery is a lead acid type and if discharged fully will get damaged.

[arad85]

I've just bought the 105Ah battery shown here: Leisure & Marine Batteries, Numax Sealed Leisure Batteries, Low Cost Battery

Next day delivery (although probably not Isle of Skye.... ) for £73. It is ultra deep cycle (search for it on otherpeoples sites and it's expected to last 500 deep discharge cycles). The charger I bought is the CTEK XS 7000 - the CTEK XS 3600 at half the price would have done though. Yes, then a couple of ciggy lighter sockets (Maplin do them at £5 each) a fuse box (var retailers) some wire, battery connectors, spade terminals and a box and you're done...

[Dangerous-Dave]

Ditto to what Rob H said. Aside from any discharging issues, the overall build quality is a problem for power tanks, especially 20 quid jump starters. At least with a leisure battery you go direct to the heart of the matter. I had a Max Power 17AH starter/tank which needed banging on the floor before it worked. Once the number of bangs got to double figures, I slung it out.

[ollypenrice]

I agree with Dangerous and Rob! The leisure batteries are also known as deep discharge and can be had at caravan and motorhome outlets. They run the caravan side of things and are designed to do what you want.

Olly