I Need an EQ6 Battery Pack

[fo.manush]

Hi Guys,

I need to get a Battery Pack solution that can meet the following requirements:

1) Supply EQ6 motor for the whole night (10 hours).
2) Be capable of supporting Camera Equipment/ Laptop in addition to the normal motor load.
3) Be portable. I must be able to carry it!

What I seek, is for someone with an EQ6 setup to simply recommend one. Please provide the following:

1) Brand
2) Purchase location/ Shop/ Retailer (Brisbane or Online preferred)
3) Price

This will help me in isolating a specific range of battery packs and then I can decide which Amp Hour rating I want.

Thanks

Dewang

Ps. I don't know what the real difference between the Jump Starter/ Deep cycle batteries are.

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

Many will tell you that a jump pack is great, but if you want to do it ONCE and do it properly then get yourself a 100 - 120 amp-hour battery. it will last you for 2 days imaging with a EQ6 pro mount, eeepc laptop (running though an inverter 12v-240v) and charging 40d batteries. your cost for the battery should be about 300-350 depnding on brand and add another 100 dollars for the correct charger (cheaper ones can be had but don't do the job as well). all in all if you get something like that and charge it correctly your battery should last for years and years with one friend of mine saying that his should last for 6-7 years before showing signs of loosing capacity! 400 dollars devided by that amount of time is a decent amount.

Things you need to look for.

Deep cycle battery.
Case for the battery.
Connections so you can plug everything in to the battery case!

the batteries are about 25-30kgs. and you will not have to worry at all about if you will run out of power. any other method and you have the worry of running out of juice mid flight! as for dealers, just look though your local yellow pages. you will find battery suppliers as they are not specialty items.!

[DavidU (Dave)]

Marine suppliers specialise in deep cycle battery's.They are heavy !

[MrB (Simon)]

The difference between a jump starter and a deep cycle battery? Minimal.
The starters have a deep cycle battery in them, most use a 7Ah SLA(Sealed Lead Acid) or AGM(Absorbtive Glass Mat) battery, some more expensive ones use a 12Ah or 18Ah one.
As Brendan said, you're better off in the long run buying a decent SLA/AGM battery and a proper multistage charger for it.

The bigger the battery you buy, the longer it will last.
This is due to DOD, or Depth Of Discharge... the less you discharge it, the less it has to work.
Regularly taking a SLA past 50% DOD(12v measured under load) will shorten its life considerably.
Also, Lead Acid batteries like to be maintained at full charge... so get a decent(computer) charger and leave it connected whenever the battery is being stored, 'floating' the battery.
If it is stored for extended periods partially charged, the battery will 'sulphate', at which point you may as well get rid of it.

Basically, Lead Acid batteries like to sit around and do nothing but eat(electrons from the charger) their whole life.

If you would like to learn more about Lead Acid batteries, there is a very good write-up here: http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm

[h0ughy (David)]

I have 4 110 AH deep cycle batteries - one for dew, one for the cooled camera, one for the mount and one for the laptop, at full tilt i manage to get two full nights of imaging from dusk till dawn using my eq6. all batteries are fully sealed maintenance free