[raymo]

My Skywatcher 8" f/5 Newt is 9.5kg. I have a payload for imaging of
around 11.5-12kg inc camera, electric focuser, finder, etc, and my
HEQ5 handles it just fine.
It is actually not easier to get good results with a refractor. Unless you buy a MONSTER refractor[ many many thousands of dollars]
you will need FAR longer exposures to get the same results, which means accurate guiding is more important. A coma corrector is a
one off purchase, and collimation is a brief simple operation once done a few times. The 8" Newt has much better resolution too, and
no amount of exposure time can compensate for that. If you need to use the screen on your camera, and don't have a moveable one,
then refractors can be a pain in the rear end when aimed higher than about 30degrees. My Newt rotates, so wherever in the sky it is
pointing, I can always find a comfortable viewing position. Finally, even a decent 80mm refractor is quite a lot more expensive than an 8" Newt with coma corrector.

raymo