Alternative Power Tank?

[Shibby]

I noticed a 7Ah power tank costs around £50...

I'm wondering if this would do as an alternative?? It's £30 and has a 9Ah battery.

[Cornelius Varley]

For the same price you can get this one from maplins 17Ah 3-in-1 Portable Jumpstarter : In-Car Battery Chargers and Compressors : Maplin

Peter

[Merlin66]

Guys,

I have a problem here...

These powertanks are NBG....

IMHO it's far better in the long run to buy a decent battery and charger which will last three or four times as long and continue to do the job!

As has been said on other threads, buy the biggest battery you can safely handle and get a good triple stage charger.

I use a collection of 20Ah gel cells ( easy to carry and move around) and a good electronic charger..... three years and still going strong..........

Ken

[arad85]

I'm with Ken having destroyed my "PowerTank" the first night out with the EQ6 I think...

[Shibby]

Ok, thanks for the advice.

With regards to mains power, I found this: Switch-Mode DC power supply, 12V, 1000mA max.: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

It's a regulated 12V 1A power supply, seems to have a 2.1mm jack. Will this do the job for my Skywatcher Alt-Az mount? Is 1A enough?

[Shibby]

I also found this 2A adapter: AC/DC 12V DC 2AMP 24W POWER SUPPLY REGULATED PSU CCTV on eBay (end time 11-Mar-10 13:47:37 GMT)

[Ogri]

What you have to bear in mind with power supplies, is start up load with things like motors, and reduced performance when hot. Things get hot when cables aren't fat enough to get the amperage down them. The hotter they get, the less amps they can carry, the hotter they get.

TBH this is why I have started the Powertank Project in the Beginners Help and Advice section.

Decent size battery (whatever size you can lift safely and manage comfortably), decent spec sockets (15 amp), easy access fuses, decent basic wiring (2mm, 17.5 amp spec), and simple expandability with no useless radios or power sucking lights.

Stick to 5 amp drain per socket with that, and it will last and last. If you need heavier draw per socket, up the wiring spec to 3mm and go with 10 amps draw per socket. Overspec, in other words.

Build it yourself, and you will have no problem maintaining it yourself.

It's going to be a few weeks before I can get all the stuff built and photographed for the basic unit (sorry limited wallet with buying the 'scope, but we'll get there), then I will add some other hopefully useful stuff over time.