Is this battery any use to me?

[Zapp]

I have acquired 8 of these from retired but still working UPS unit...

Could one of these be hooked up to my GOTO mount? If so what could I use to charge it?

I don't know much about electronics but I'm comfortable at soldering

[astromerlin]

If your mount is 12v then yes, although if it is a large mount that runs at 2amps or there abouts you'll only get 3 1/2 hours before it's dead. You could wire 2 batteries in parallel ie positive to positive and negative to negative. This would give you roughly 7 hours use. For charging the best method I found is to purchase a motorcycle charger with pulse charging and built in safety features. I have charged them on a standard car battery charger but you have to watch that you dont over charge them, they get very hot when over charged and could/will explode. Best use proper motorcycle charger.

[Brett]

Hi Zapp, what mount do you have ?

[Zapp]

Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Goto mount which is 12V. So I can literally find a plug with the correct polarity and solder it to the wires that come off the terminals?

I will have a look around maplins for a charger

[Bizibilder]

Zapp - You need a charger such as this one:

CTEK MULTI XS 3600 12V Charger and Conditioner - Battery Chargers - CTEK Battery Chargers

(You could well find it cheaper, this was the first site I found). Use one battery for the mount and another for extras like dew prevention - You will find threads about making your own (easy!) on the forum. It would be worth geting some "cigar lighter" plugs and sockets to do all your connections - Have a look at the link below for how to wire one up:

http://stargazerslounge.com/diy-astronomer/95646-105ah-powertank.html

Hope this helps.