Guest speed Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Hi just wondered what members are running their scopes and accessories off ? I have a jump starter device at the moment which is great for powering the mount but I want to rum a dew controller as well Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kheldar Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 110Ah leisure battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Most people use a 12v leisure battery something like a 110Ah one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Snap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I used to use a 20amp hour halfords jump starter, but now have a 75amp hour leisure battery (but not used it yet) as i use a mains supply at home. Jd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 110 ah leisure battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest speed Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thanks for that ....would an 80ah one be OK or should I go for the 110ah ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I use an 80ah one and it runs my mount, cooling fan and dew heater bands fine. I've yet to try an inverter and my laptop on it but that is my next plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 80Ah would be fine as long as it's a leisure battery as it's deep cycle, will last longer then a normal car battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kheldar Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I use an 80ah one and it runs my mount, cooling fan and dew heater bands fine. I've yet to try an inverter and my laptop on it but that is my next plan. Don't buy the inverter Felix, get a car adaptor for your laptop and run it straight from 12V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyboy1970 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't buy the inverter Felix, get a car adaptor for your laptop and run it straight from 12V Yep, thats what I do too. Maplins, amazon or ebay sell 12v laptop supplies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't buy the inverter Felix, get a car adaptor for your laptop and run it straight from 12V Will it not drain the battery really quickly? I am sure someone said that to me once-can't think who though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xanthic Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Not if it's a decent DC-DC boost converter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I use an 80ah one and it runs my mount, cooling fan and dew heater bands fine. I've yet to try an inverter and my laptop on it but that is my next plan. i have already tried that, waste of time and money got quite an expensive one but really was not a success. I run mine from battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kheldar Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Will it not drain the battery really quickly? I am sure someone said that to me once-can't think who though. First up, £10 cables vs expensive invertor Secondly as per Perky's comment above, she's tried at least three "good" ones in the field and they just don't seem to be happy I'm sure there's arguments for, but see point 1 Your laptop power cable converts AC to DC to start with anyway (the brick) so why make a simple thing complicated? As to battery drain, no, a DC power cable will not drain the battery faster. Handy hint, take the battery out the laptop when you go out for the night Edited January 26, 2014 by Kheldar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Man I am lost Stephen! So do you have any recommendations/links to a suitable cable please? Then I know which one you are talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kheldar Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Man I am lost Stephen! So do you have any recommendations/links to a suitable cable please? Then I know which one you are talking about Google "YOUR MAKE OF LAPTOP HERE" then "YOUR MODEL OF LAPTOP HERE" then "car adaptor" Here's one for a random HP G6 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PSU-In-Car-Charger-ADAPTOR-for-fits-Laptop-HP-PAVILLION-HP-G6-1359EA-/320960733781 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 As to battery drain, no, a DC power cable will not drain the battery faster. Handy hint, take the battery out the laptop when you go out for the night I didn't mean that it drains the laptop battery quicker I meant someone told me that plugging my laptop into the 80ah battery will drain the 80ah battery too quickly and that's why they were suggesting the inverter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kheldar Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) I didn't mean that it drains the laptop battery quicker I meant someone told me that plugging my laptop into the 80ah battery will drain the 80ah battery too quickly and that's why they were suggesting the inverter. I call balls on that one but I'm not a sparky The invertor takes 12V DC steps it up to 240V AC (this creating heat and noise = energy use = drain on battery) and then outputs it. Your laptop (AC) power cable then converts that 240V AC back down to 12V DC (or 14V or whatever your laptop needs) (this creates heat, put your hand on the power cable brick = energy use) ... so my argument is an invertor uses MORE battery than the regular DC cable Edited January 26, 2014 by Kheldar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 correct i had 3 inverters from work.... one at 300w, was not enough and would not power battery, one at 600w, i think that one blew up, the 1000w did work but you might need a mortgage to buy that one. And there was is a big drain on battery. If you would like to try its still chucked in the cupboard here..... would not recommend it thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thanks guys or your help I have jut bought a 12v one for my laptop for £17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xanthic Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 correct i had 3 inverters from work.... one at 300w, was not enough and would not power battery, one at 600w, i think that one blew up, the 1000w did work but you might need a mortgage to buy that one. And there was is a big drain on battery. If you would like to try its still chucked in the cupboard here..... would not recommend it thought I completely agree. I'd be surprised if 12 v > 240 v > laptop voltage was 80% efficient. Some of the new boost converters are around 95% efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Inverters generate quite a bit of heat, most have cooling fans. This is just a waste of energy, plus you are messing about with 240v, which has no earth. Get it damp and your'e asking for trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I have purchased a 12v car charger designed for my model of laptop now, thanks for the advice guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi David Power in the field all depends on what scope and accessories you want to run and for how long. Those with 110ah packs are running tons of things off them, mount, camera, dew bands, lappy etc etc. But batteries that size tend to be a bit heavy. However if you are just running a mountplus say one dew band for a vouple of hours a bog standard 17ah -20ah jump starter will be ok and will save you some back ache. I ran a Celestron Cge mount, with c11 on top, plus 2 dew bands from a 17.5ah pack for years and provided it was charged up before each session I was good for an all nighter. If you can though its always best to get something with a bit of reserve, say 20plus ah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now