Power Tank Charging (Synscan)

[scotty365]

Ive had my Power Tank on charge for 18 hours now and its less than 80% charged (1 red light) when I switch on it its at about 10V, I was wondering if this is normal or if its duffer as Ive never had anything take this long to and it had no charge atall when I took it out of the packaging and switched it on to check - Its always been my understanding that there should be a resonable charge in it at all times. :?

Thanks

Scotty

[geppetto]

Hmmm

Seems a long time Scotty :?

Just keep charging and see if it goes any higher than 80%

If it was totally discharged when you got it, it might take a few

charge/discharge cycles to get it to top condition

[FLO]

Its always been my understanding that there should be a resonable charge in it at all times. :?

Yes, if allowed to fully discharge, the internal plates could buckle which would render it useless.

The 80%/10V thing doesn't sound good. Which Power Tank is it - was it the one supplied with the mount?

[jcm]

Mine took about 3 days to reach full charge. Even though the instruction sheet said it needs only 14hrs. I had to wait quite a while before I could test that the mount worked OK. Thank goodness it did !

John

[scotty365]

Its always been my understanding that there should be a resonable charge in it at all times. :?

Yes, if allowed to fully discharge, the internal plates could buckle which would render it useless.

The 80%/10V thing doesn't sound good. Which Power Tank is it - was it the one supplied with the mount?

Its the one supplied with the synscan upgrade for HEQ5. Power Tank 17

EDIT: Just phoned Bern at Modern Astronomy (Nice bloke) and its normal to charge for 2 days and maybe more. They are shipped flat for safety reasons I'm told.

Scotty

[FLO]

I learn something new every day 8)

[Kai]

Reading this has got me thinking..

When i get my Heq5 Pro will the supplied power supply be able to supply a dew heater as well or am i best off getting a much larger power tank and using that.

I have seen power tanks in Halfords and i recon they would give a much better supply for both.

Am i thinking along the right lines or would a camping battery be even better ?

[FLO]

Have made some enquiries:

The supplied power-pack has one socket so you will need a splitter if you want to run a dew-heater. At 17Ah, it is considered (I am told) powerful enough to run a dew heater/mount together (I will know more when my own EQ6 arrives!).

Keep in mind the importance of not letting it run totally flat - a batt needs some charge for it to be able to re-charge.

Also, as Scotty has said, though the instructions state 48hrs to fully charge, 72hrs is often necessary.

[Kai]

Another thought :D

How long does it take to recharge after the initial charge ?

Ie if you flatten it one night,will you have time to recharge it before the next.

This has the big supposition that you will get two clear nights in a row?

[FLO]

I haven't used one of these Power-Packs but I guess if it is almost completely discharged, it will need another 2-3 days to fully charge.

[bern]

The Skywatcher power packs actually have two outlets (and a nifty light) so can supply a dew heater and the mount without a splitter. In practice the 17ah isn't enough for longer sessions if feeding more than just the mount.

bern

[FLO]

The Skywatcher power packs actually have two outlets...

So much for my asking the importers :|

Thanks Bern

[daz]

I have two 17's - one for the mount, one for the dew heaters and stick both on charge after a session. The 2nd one I got from Lidl's for about £15 I think.

IIRC they like to be kept on charge when not in use, although this memory could be flawed :?

[bern]

The Skywatcher power packs actually have two outlets...

So much for my asking the importers :|

Thanks Bern

I don't think they often see what's inside those boxes Steve

bern

[FLO]

The Skywatcher power packs actually have two outlets...

So much for my asking the importers :|

Thanks Bern

I don't think they often see what's inside those boxes Steve

bern

I am beginning to realise that.

Its one of the reasons I am buying myself an EQ6, to gain practical experience

Thanks again

[Albireo380]

The powertank you get with the EQ6 or HEQ5 is carp - they can take 3 days or more to fully charge (if they ever do). They also lose charge very quickly and prefer a full recharge every time they are used. I spoke to Ian King about them and he suggested to me that I bin mine and get a proper 17ah power tank. Idid (£30) and it works just fine - recharged regularly, but holds its charge well. I use it for an HEQ5 - no problems.

Tom

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Just for info chaps, I use the same tank for either mount (HEQ5 or EQ6) and the big mount uses much more juice. After three hours the tank is flat with the 6 but still going strong with the 5. There seems to be a significant difference between the amperage of the two.

And I can confirm that the Skywatcher supplied tank has two outlets.

Captain Chaos