Power packs

[Karlzburg]

Hi all
Just wondering if anyone uses jumbo starter power pack to power their goto mounts?

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/SCA-12V-Heavy-Duty-Jump-Starter-6-Cylinder/283447

I was looking at this one, any helps would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Karl

[gaseous]

Hi Karl,


I used one of these for a couple of years to power my goto scopes. I just noticed in the past few months that it starts to "beep" after about 4-5 hours of use, indicating low charge (even though the indicator button would suggest otherwise - I think it starts to beep at 60%). They tend to not like the cold, so I kept mine rugged up in a blanket to maximise performance. You should get a couple of years at least out of it before the performance starts to wane, and even then you should still get several hours out of it, depending on what you're running off it. I've upgraded to the bigger version, but it's substantially more bulky and heavy, and I might start to look at some of the compact Lithium Ion batteries that are getting about.

[LewisM]

I bought the 8-cylinder 2400 amp one. Apart from a dodgy initial charger (replaced gratis by Super Cheap), it has performed flawlessly (the prior charge would make it suffer the beep syndrome just as Patrick mentioned above after 4 to 5 hours). Since getting the replacement charger, it's been out in -4° frost and ice, and not a single issue all night.

I keep mine wrapped in a mylar blanket just to be sure.

My prior yellow 800 amp pack has begun it's death spiral after nearly 8 years solid work - I now use it to power my dewstraps.

[Merlin66]

It seems to contain a 24Ah battery.....

I think the golf cart/ mobility scooter Gel cell batteries, usually 20Ah together with a triple stage charger work extremely well for the amateur.
I have two which are now over ten years old and still as good as new.

[Karlzburg]

Thanks guys

[Zuts]

Hi,

I have 2 Gel 20 ah batteries, they still take a good charge after nearly 8 years and are quite compact. However they weigh around 9kg each.

I recently bought a new Fusion LiFeP04 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) rated at 30 ah at 12v. It's the same size/format as the gel battery but only weighs 2kg. It powered my AZEQ6 all night (plus a powered hub, starlight focusser and zwo camera) and only used around 20% charge. Unlike the Gel I can run it down to around 20% capacity and it supplies a full 12 volts all the way down.

Cheers
Paul

[fornax]

Yeah, I've also got a 30Ah LiFePO4 battery that has powered my CGEM mount (visual use) for a whole weekend away, with 3 solid nights of observing

[Zuts]

The 15ah/192wh ones are good as well. They are small and light enough to attach to the mount and can run all the other stuff, heaters, cameras etc

Cheers
Paul