Heq 5 Pro Weight Capacity

[Romancefield]

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this has been asked before, just wondering what the ideal weight that the Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Mount can take for astrophotography. I'm looking at getting the William Optics 91, and note the OTA is 4.5kg. When adding imaging gear it adds a few kgs, just wondering if this is realistic or I should upgrade my mount?
For example Bintel notes that the HEQ 5 Pro payload weight can go up to 13.5kg, however I think thats just for visual. What realistically is the ideal weight for accuracy and no strain on the mount.

Thanks in advance!

D

[astroametuer]

I would normally minus 30% of the maximum payload of the mount.
E.g. 13.5kg - 30% = ~9.5kg.

Thanks
Jay

[Merlin66]

I use the HEQ5 pro for solar imaging.
8 to 10Kg is ok, above that only small sized scopes and good balance.

[raymo]

There is really no such thing as a max payload for astrophotography for any mount. You will get many opinions. It depends mostly upon what guiding accuracy you require from your mount. Some people obsess about getting guiding figures that gain them nothing, because their present figures are already providing round stars. Some people err on the side of caution, afraid that they might overload their mount, which is mechanically difficult to do, the limiting factor on most mounts is the motors. Your HEQ5 will take your Williams Optics 91 plus all the required ancilliary equipment with no problems.
One well known APer is using a 12"Newt on his HEQ5. The notion that moving
up to an EQ6 for example, will reduce the effect that the wind has on your scope is debatable. If you have an 8" Newt on your mount, you'd need an EQ8
to markedly reduce wind induced vibrations.
I've been in this hobby for over 70 yrs, and have seen people using all sorts
of seemingly preposterous setups, some more successfully than others.
raymo

[Startrek]

I use to carry 9kg on my HEQ5
As Raymo mentioned you can load 15 to 20kg on a HEQ5 , but you would want to make sure your balance is absolutely perfect, your focal length is under 1500mm and your atmospheric conditions are reasonably stable with a good signal to noise ratio on your Guide Star as backlash on these stock HEQ5’s would give you grief with super heavy payload which definitely will result in bloated or eggy stars.
These EQ5 , HEQ5, EQ6 , NEQ6 and E6-R mounts are relatively cheap lower end mounts ( in comparison to what’s available out there ) so if you have a heavier than “normal” payload , why place you and your mount under unnecessary performance expectations or limitations by running a heavy payload that a larger belt driven mount is designed to easily accomodate and will perform significantly better.
Personally I wouldn’t load anymore than 10kg on the stock HEQ5
I sold my stock HEQ5 which was a workhorse for my first 3 years of AP and now use EQ6-R mounts ( 2 off them ) excellent mounts for the price range
My 2 cents ....

NB: “Normal” payload for Astrophotography based on general rule of thumb is between 60 and 65% of the stated maximum ( visual ) payload of the mount

[raymo]

Daniel's payload should come in under 9kg, so he should be fine.
raymo

[astroametuer]

12" Newtonian is crazily heavy! I assume that he has a pier than the standard supplied tripod.

Jay

[echocae]

I am using heq5 that recently undergo Hypertuning as I used em for Astrophotos

I can vouch.. hypertuning is great not only great guiding, it is able to utilised its payload to the MAX ( and can over the stated limit , I used em to around 15-17kg fully loaded).

200PDS is nothing with hypertuning , only down side is 200pds focusser may be not so good to handle heavy gear (camera, filter, oag, etc....)

[metalage]

I have about 10kg on mine which is mainly used for deep sky astro. With a Rowan belt upgrade and sitting on a pier, I'd get anywhere between 0.6 and 1 RMS error guiding depending on conditions. Probably averaged 0.75 RMS. Where I notice it the most is when any small gust of wind comes along and nudges it ever so slightly.

It is a great mount and would recommend it. If you want to future proof yourself for large scopes (mine is 8"), I'd suggest going that little bit more with the NEQ6 Pro. If not, go your hardest with the HEQ5 Pro.

[Tr0y]

The Rowan Belt Mod is really worth doing I'd say.

[cciss]

Could you tell me Starpoint Australis contact details and approx cost of your tune

[echocae]

PM You

[raymo]

Why are you PMing the contact details etc? they would likely be useful to other members.
raymo

[echocae]

Might get flag as advert.... unless the admin said is ok.... if u want i can sent u pm too

[raymo]

That never occurred to me.
cheers raymo