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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
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