Powering dew control accessories

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Bataleon
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Powering dew control accessories

#1

Post by Bataleon »


So, I'm currently able to get a very good deal on either size of the Celestron power tanks (the carry handle style, not the li-ion) but now I'm thinking of what my power consumption will be like with my setup. I'm going to be using an Astrozap heated dew shield, eyepiece heater and 2 channel controller as well as slewing a CPC 800. I typically spend 2-4 hours observing if I'm lugging this piece out. So far, my little lithium power tank has been fine for powering just the mount, but heated dew control is new territory for me. Any insight folks? I'm leaning toward the bigger of the two tanks, the 17aH but if it's overkill, I'll probably go with the 7aH.
Scopes: Celestron CPC 800 GPS SCT, Celestron NexStar 102 SLT refractor on VX mount/tripod, Sky Watcher Virtuoso 90mm Mak on SLT for astro use
Eyepieces: 2": Meade 5000 82° UWA 20mm, ES 82 series 34mm 1.25": Meade 5000 82° UWA in 8.8mm and 14mm x2, WO 20mm 66° plossls x2, GSO 32mm plossl, GSO 12mm plossl
Other accessories: William Optics binoviewer with 1.6x barlow cell, Baader 2.25x 1.25" barlow, GSO 2x barlow in both 1.25 and 2", ES 2" 99% on the SCT, WO durabright in 1.25 and 2" on the 90 mak, frac respectively, Celestron 9x50 illuminated RACI/Star Pointer pro on SCT, SPP on 102 SLT, Orion 6x30 RACI on mak, Astrozap flexheat dew shield and controller, Dew Not eyepiece heaters
Binoculars: Steiner Observer 25x80, Bushnell Engage 12x50, Nikon Action Extreme in 10x50, 12x50, and 16x50, Nikon Prostaff 3s 10x42, Steiner P830, Leica Trinovid 8x32, Steiner Firebird 12x40, Vortex Diamondback 8x42
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Richard South Africa
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Re: Powering dew control accessories

#2

Post by Richard »


Go with the 17ah the 7 will drain quickly
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Re: Powering dew control accessories

#3

Post by Lady Fraktor »


What brand of dew heaters are you using? They normally list the power consumption.
Total all of the amperage draw then multiply by the average session hours.
Multiply that number by two for a safety margin and that is the minimum Ah battery you will need to power everything and not overdraw the battery capacity.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Bataleon
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Re: Powering dew control accessories

#4

Post by Bataleon »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 4:58 pm What brand of dew heaters are you using? They normally list the power consumption.
Total all of the amperage draw then multiply by the average session hours.
Multiply that number by two for a safety margin and that is the minimum Ah battery you will need to power everything and not overdraw the battery capacity.
Took me a minute to actually find the specs on my equipment, but I was able to find them after some digging. I'm using an Astrozap 7"/8" Mak/SCT flexheat for 1.18 amp, and dew not eyepiece bands. The 1.25 draws a quarter amp and the 2" is .35.Looks like the dew shield and eyepiece band will draw about 1.25-1.5a depending on eyepiece size and intensity of heat. If I'm at star parties, I generally slew to about a dozen different items over the course of the evening. So, with that in mind plus let's assume maximum heat output, sounds like I'd probably get at least 2 or 3 nights to a charge with the 17aH tank yeah?
Scopes: Celestron CPC 800 GPS SCT, Celestron NexStar 102 SLT refractor on VX mount/tripod, Sky Watcher Virtuoso 90mm Mak on SLT for astro use
Eyepieces: 2": Meade 5000 82° UWA 20mm, ES 82 series 34mm 1.25": Meade 5000 82° UWA in 8.8mm and 14mm x2, WO 20mm 66° plossls x2, GSO 32mm plossl, GSO 12mm plossl
Other accessories: William Optics binoviewer with 1.6x barlow cell, Baader 2.25x 1.25" barlow, GSO 2x barlow in both 1.25 and 2", ES 2" 99% on the SCT, WO durabright in 1.25 and 2" on the 90 mak, frac respectively, Celestron 9x50 illuminated RACI/Star Pointer pro on SCT, SPP on 102 SLT, Orion 6x30 RACI on mak, Astrozap flexheat dew shield and controller, Dew Not eyepiece heaters
Binoculars: Steiner Observer 25x80, Bushnell Engage 12x50, Nikon Action Extreme in 10x50, 12x50, and 16x50, Nikon Prostaff 3s 10x42, Steiner P830, Leica Trinovid 8x32, Steiner Firebird 12x40, Vortex Diamondback 8x42
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Re: Powering dew control accessories

#5

Post by Lady Fraktor »


yes and no :lol:
After adding everything up it comes to 12.75A over a 4 hour session. Now if you double this to not draw your battery below 50% capacity you would need a 25.5Ah battery.
This may seem high as you never run everything at 100% BUT battery capacity is very affected by cold conditions and being drawn down to far in use.
A 33Ah gel battery from a motorcycle, lawnmower or electric assist chair would work very well.
I use one of this size to power my Vixen SXP and SLT mount at the same time along with multiple dew heaters and the battery is around 10 years old now.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Re: Powering dew control accessories

#6

Post by Ozman »


You will want the 17aH at the least. I always power dew strips on a separate battery from that of the scope.
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Bataleon
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Re: Powering dew control accessories

#7

Post by Bataleon »


Well, worst case scenario I can plug the mount into my lithium power tank and use the 17a for the dew accessories. I already know the lithium tank will last me a good while on a single charge if just slewing.
Scopes: Celestron CPC 800 GPS SCT, Celestron NexStar 102 SLT refractor on VX mount/tripod, Sky Watcher Virtuoso 90mm Mak on SLT for astro use
Eyepieces: 2": Meade 5000 82° UWA 20mm, ES 82 series 34mm 1.25": Meade 5000 82° UWA in 8.8mm and 14mm x2, WO 20mm 66° plossls x2, GSO 32mm plossl, GSO 12mm plossl
Other accessories: William Optics binoviewer with 1.6x barlow cell, Baader 2.25x 1.25" barlow, GSO 2x barlow in both 1.25 and 2", ES 2" 99% on the SCT, WO durabright in 1.25 and 2" on the 90 mak, frac respectively, Celestron 9x50 illuminated RACI/Star Pointer pro on SCT, SPP on 102 SLT, Orion 6x30 RACI on mak, Astrozap flexheat dew shield and controller, Dew Not eyepiece heaters
Binoculars: Steiner Observer 25x80, Bushnell Engage 12x50, Nikon Action Extreme in 10x50, 12x50, and 16x50, Nikon Prostaff 3s 10x42, Steiner P830, Leica Trinovid 8x32, Steiner Firebird 12x40, Vortex Diamondback 8x42
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