Yet another battery thread, ugh

[Akarsh Simha]

Hello folks

I apologize for starting a battery thread, but technology is continually evolving as are products. I'm afraid of Lithium batteries given the amount of energy density they pack. I've heard LiFePO4 batteries are generally safe. I'm looking for a recommendation for an affordable 12V 200Ah lithium ion battery (could also be two 100Ah) with all the battery monitoring system bells and whistles, but most importantly it should handle safety at low and high temperatures because it will live in the canopy of my truck where it can get both very cold and very hot. I'm trying to lean on other people's research here.

What I'm looking for is a brand / online shopping link / model number recommendation with which I will not go up in flames along with my telescope and truck. Any other relevant advice is also appreciated, but I know battery threads have a tendency to wander all over the place, hence anchoring the subject here.

Clear Skies and Safe Energy Densities,

Akarsh

[John Pierce]

I'm very happy with the SOK Battery 12V 206AH LFP batteries, I have two of them in my camper.   Mine do not have the heater, or the bluetooth option, but they do have a BMS that shuts off charging below freezing as well as prevent overcharging or discharging.  I think the BMS on my older version is limited to sustained 100A output or charge. 

for monitoring, I added a Victron SmartShunt.

[Arvind K]

I'd look into these if you're after an off the shelf solution that can also help as a power backup.

https://www.jackery.com/collections/portable-power-stations?itemIds=d3481d4d-9acc-4c6f-b7a3-6a3bf548c017&sort_by=Popularity

In case the deeplink doesn't work, i filtered for LiFePO4. I've had good experience with their products so far.

--
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAJnkzXJ_xeAXZ%3DuTTTym5Gqvtfu2ofD-Jesa2dV2b6W_TkdENQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ted Hauter]

Akarsh,

Don't worry about a Celestron PowerTank Lithium Pro. Worry about the price! I should have bought a stack of these when they upgraded them 10 years ago.

Could also purchase heavy duty case, auto 12v battery, an inverter at Harbor Freight and a Genius charger to leave it trickle charging. Carry it all in the case.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BrYWU%2BKLTQriuc05LyTz8hD%2B7yPF5dW1QEA1mAH88X1mjviOA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Aris Pope]

Check out Dr. Prepare. 

I've been using their 100AH power station for a few years now with no issues. I just ordered the 300AH because I want more power for my fridge. They even have the 100AH mini now. 

Aris

--
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2B9k5tzH10q1sAX3HqF0zqGTV%2BN7ZSNfwCkQBzC-VGK_o5F_JA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ted Hauter]

Actually I think the price on those tanks stabilized or went down on quantity. They were like approaching $300! I think I got all mine 6 years ago when the upgrade came out..

I paid for all that Celestron sourcing the best supplier and manufacturing available. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAP5wcXmmy0_zVaTEfZxhdLieyGcz0cqiOtsqYzRHW%2BG6hnphcw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Peter Santangeli]

I've had very good luck with these:

https://batteryevo.com/rv/

Available in different sizes (I have 320AH of Owl's in my RV). Built like a tank. The Youtube teardown reviews were very good (they were sold by BigBattery at that time, but it turns out they were just a reseller).

pete

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAL-cFaG8VQW244ObPwvaib8UGi2-ZyGk6EK-WZpcWd%3D93HTDhA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Aris Pope]

I forgot to include the link. There is a sale going on for Labor Day 

https://drprepare.com/

Aris

On Mon, Sep 8, 2025, 7:04 AM Aris Pope <arispo...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Tan usa1]

All well known Chinese Brands like LiTime, DrPrepare, WattCycle etc., are okay - But here are a few caveats

1. Smart Batteries - If you are going to do parallel battery connections, most smart Batteries have issues where one battery will discharge, instead of together and suddenly you get massive current as the non discharged battery goes and charges the discharged one. 

2. Hot/Cold - Hot is okay, cold limits Charging. Can be an issue, or cannot be an issue depending upon how long you sit in the cold

3. Complete system - What do you intend to do with it. Run a Laptop - Or make popcorn in a microwave like I do. Next time I can give you a rundown of my system. If its just a laptop and some coffee making, just go for a 2KWh system for about 800$. Yes 200A battery costs 400$ only, but remember a 2KW Pure sine wave inverter costs atleast 350$ for good quality and you also need to budget in connectors and stuff. Advantage with DIY is you can fix individual parts though. 

DIY with Will Prowse is a good youtube videos for capacity test and all. 

And don't forget your grounds.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAP5wcXmHQO2%2Bc4S3fEr-uxsPTZUdj%3DUxdhaYYhs8%3D%2BfrMRvd6w%40mail.gmail.com.

[Mark Scrivener]

There are a few youtubers who do tear downs of these batteries, esp the Chinese ones. And while there are some lemons, most of the batteries are actually pretty good. I have several Power Queen branded 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 batteries that have served me well. They are quite affordable, about $200 or so.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2Y7C887?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

And yes, the chemistry of LiFePO4 makes them much safer and less prone to self combusting. Though any high amperage battery can start an external fire if you have a faulty circuit without a proper fuse or circuit breaker.

Mark

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY8315AMt4a0skZpPL5EKfHj44R8KO4jOhg2zeLKJLs8im6w%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ted Hauter]

Only the Celestron max out the carry-on luggage rules. Plus usb hubs red light white light, phone charger, strap to hold it and more importantly other items. Amazing in heat, good in cold. Get em while you can.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAFv1_F2oXASxnPCm6ifjBmN%3DCE4OH%3Dabf_N8owz-wBFvooG0zA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Akarsh Simha]

Thanks a ton for all the advice, I’ll munge it once I’m home and pick a battery.

Also want to say I am looking for a battery with terminals, not a power bank with built in inverter and ports. BMS, heater, temp protection are all awesome. Bluetooth connectivity is good but I can fork out for a Victron shunt if needed

Regards

Akarsh

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY8315AMt4a0skZpPL5EKfHj44R8KO4jOhg2zeLKJLs8im6w%40mail.gmail.com.

[Tan usa1]

If you are getting one battery only then smart LiTime is fine. What do you intend to run with it?

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2B9k5tyLfPfSDy6GM%2BNdkdxxyn%2B%3Dq9bPD5TSP8DqzEowqR7EGA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Akshay Subramaniam]

I’ve been ising a LiTime 100A batter for almost a year now and been pretty happy with it. Heat is generally not too much of an issue for these lifepo4 batteries but cold is when you want to charge it. Some batteries have an integrated battery heater to heat up the battery so you can charge it in the cold but the minimum you should look for I think is to at least have a cold protection circuit which won’t allow you to charge below safe temps. If you want to have multiple batteries in parallel, then some sort of charge controller would be ideal

[Akarsh Simha]

On Mon, Sep 8, 2025 at 23:05 Tan usa1 <tanveer...@gmail.com> wrote:

If you are getting one battery only then smart LiTime is fine. What do you intend to run with it?

1. Recharging a battery on the telescope

2. Laptop and full size LCD monitor for work

3. Maybe a small refrigerator in the future

4. Some lights

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY830sp9nKaCQXzvtnYT7AcboQFAz-0UsEZy_ZC0jbzGnkQA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Akshay Subramaniam]

Of those, the LCD monitor is probably the most power hungry. A decent monitor would consume around 30W during use, you’d get 40h of use with a 100Ah battery assuming no efficiency losses. A fridge would be around 16W. Seems like a single battery paired with a 200 W solar panel should be enough to run those for a long time especially considering engagement in this hobby is biased towards clear skies.

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/sf-bay-tac/rdrWYDJdf2A/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2B9k5tz%3DNyyaz0ioMaKfujW9xydmv%2BMWoGuoBN%3DhHtz8OBuvFw%40mail.gmail.com.

[John Pierce]

fridge power consumption varies widely with the DC compressor fridge.   my 6.3 cubic foot  Norcold N2175 in my RV claims to use 560 WH per 24 hours average.   My Dometic CFX3 75DZ portable cooler, uses up to 9 amps at 12V running but averages *way* less.    sorry, don't have the average numbers handy.

my camper has 2 x 206AH lithiums, and with NO solar, I can dry camp a week+ with the fridge/freezer running full in warm/hot weather, plus use of the ventilation fan, camper's water pump, and lighting. 

[Tan usa1]

30A dc dc charger. Renogy is good and has bluetooth

500w pure sine wave inverter

200ah battery with heating.  Litime makes one 

6awg cables from battery to charger. 6awg from charger to battery. Shunt if your battery is not smart to monitor charge

12 panel with usb-c pd port - dime a dozen on Amazon 

Dc dc charger will not charge when vehicle is off. If you have smart alternator use acc cable using fuse tap. I use it in tundra as mine has smart alternator

Those with normal alternators do not need acc cable. 

Total cost will be around 800$

Same as a all in one 2kw unit like Opus Mega 2 or similar

Litime makes a cheaper 40A dc dc you can get that.frankly for your use an all in one makes more sense.

You could make a hybrid one like mine

100ah smart heated battery

600w capable power station using battery as reserve charge

30A dc dc charger

This is a setup similar to what I run

My setup is

EcoFlow delta 2 - 400$

Battery 2*100Ah - 200ah is 400$ now

Renogy charger - 180$ litime is 140$

Delta 2 runs my microwave and kettle and costs as much as a 2000w pure sine wave inverter

You can go for

Oupes exodus 600w or similar - 150$ or less

100ah heated battery - 250$ 

Or 150$ non heated battery with diy heater - 20$ - I use diy heater coil 20w

Litime charger 40A - 150$

Make combinations and calculate

600w pure sine wave inverter costs 120-150$ 

Power station means you can pick up and place outside on table whenever you want

Buy a cheap 600wh one and use 100ah battery for reserve power 

On Tue, Sep 9, 2025 at 11:51 John Pierce <jhn.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

fridge power consumption varies widely with the DC compressor fridge.   my 6.3 cubic foot  Norcold N2175 in my RV claims to use 560 WH per 24 hours average.   My Dometic CFX3 75DZ portable cooler, uses up to 9 amps at 12V running but averages *way* less.    sorry, don't have the average numbers handy.

my camper has 2 x 206AH lithiums, and with NO solar, I can dry camp a week+ with the fridge/freezer running full in warm/hot weather, plus use of the ventilation fan, camper's water pump, and lighting. 

--

Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAJnkzXLKis0fbD5LncS1hetRdPSLEnk1fEL9L_Gd4C4O-F4zRA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Akarsh Simha]

Oh BTW I have no intention to use an inverter for most of this equipment (including the display). I don’t like the idea of first turning something that’s DC into AC, and then turning it back into DC when there are switching mode DC-DC converters aplenty today in the market. Even if this is cheaper (think using an AC inverter and an AC wall charger to charge the battery), it just feels principally wrong and I don’t know why :-P

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY830zkAu_TFrV%3DSjxyVB82HSx%2BTem3C0VG%3D9h-t4t-o3NLQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Mark Scrivener]

I've run my entire imaging rig off a 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery for years now (and AGM batteries before that). I have a single 100W solar panel and a charge controller that I use to recharge during the day, and it has served me well for multi night star parties with no issues. Mounts, laptop, cameras, dew heaters, flip flat, GPS, SQM, etc, running all night (automated runs), with plenty of juice left in the morning and easily recharges during the day with my single solar panel. Everything is direct 12V, no inverter.

The trick is to make sure the laptop display turns off after inactivity. Leaving the display illuminated all night will kill the battery. 

My Travel Trailer has two AGM batteries (200Ah total), and about 400 Watts of solar. I have used it weeks at a time off grid and never had a battery go flat. The fridge is propane, but fans for heat (and cool), lights, water pump, etc are all electric. I also use it to recharge cell phones, a 2nd laptop, etc.

Bottom line, I think 100 Ah will be fine to start. If you add the 12V fridge then a 2nd 100 Ah battery would be needed. Skip the "power bank" style batteries and just get a 12V battery, much more cost effective. You can get them in all sorts of capacities, but I find the 100Ah size (with multiple if needed) to be a handy "unit" size - plenty of capacity, reasonable cost, and easy to carry and move around.

Cheers,

Mark

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2B9k5tyBQcWYF29d0Xm56pPT6-D733n0cFm2k4drmoG%2BCeJTzA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Aris Pope]

I just bought the Renogy Rego for my Tundra.

RENOGY 12V/24V IP67 50A DC-DC Battery Charger with MPPT | Renogy US https://share.google/wdkibC3cY7PKmzSz2

Aris

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY830zkAu_TFrV%3DSjxyVB82HSx%2BTem3C0VG%3D9h-t4t-o3NLQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Tan usa1]

If you are doing dc only it means portable monitor

Then all you need is a dc-dc charger and a 12v panel with a heated battery or normal battery with low temp protection and diy 12 heating pads

Heated 200ah batteries are around 550$ - eg Renogy smart heater 200ah is 529$ 

Is you have the 120A alternator 30A dc dc charger is a good option. If Tacoma has 160A then 50A dc dc will work fine too

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAP5wcXkoeEy%2ByV8N40DHrygE8dy6SNio_dV9MWMqbymT00Y%2Bgw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Daniel Vancura]

I’d second EcoFlow. Not so sure about the operating temperature but according to their website it does have a decent temperature range to work with. My imaging battery for all-night power is a River 2 Pro, paired with a solar panel for camping. I got the 160W panel but to be on the safer side with wiggle room for a little less sunny days if I were to do it again, I’d probably get this combo: https://us.ecoflow.com/products/river-2-pro-portable-power-station?variant=41757166403657

[Aris Pope]

EcoFlow is good I know a few people that use them. However he did mention earlier in this thread that he was "looking for a battery with terminals, not a power bank with built in inverter and ports"

Aris

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/6e0414f8-9897-4d61-b273-f8ac271b43f6n%40googlegroups.com.

[Daniel Vancura]

Oh, missed that part 🙂

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CAP5wcXkq1VMWkDDwujfJmO2viyBWpy9UzpXSJRAnw926pKsMbQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Aris Pope]

Tan what do you mean by portable monitor? The Renogy Rego I bought has a built-in app so I can control through my phone. It's really nice because I can control the amp that it pulls off of the alternator. You can set the total combined amp between the alternator charging and solar and then you can set the solar cutoff amperage.

You can set the alternator charging anywhere from 10 to 50 amps which is really useful if 50 amps is too much for your alternator. With the solar cut off I will have mine set at 5 amps so that when the solar is pulling in less than 5 amps it will automatically pull from the alternator.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY832n%2Bxi2vpvr52FR7_cTxC5G%2Bt_fheVttEBNPZRBhFtm2g%40mail.gmail.com.

Aris

[Brad Templeton]

You should be able to run all-DC, and without a ton of battery, depending how many hours you want to run.  It can also make sense to plug into your car some or all of the time, especially if you have an electric car.

Most things can run 12v, but some mini-PCs and laptops want 19v.    12v to 19v and 12v to USB-PD adapters are plentiful.  In ordinary operation most PCs are only 10-15 watts.   Mounts tend to be under 10 watts.   Cooled cameras may take 20w.   Dew heaters will take more if you need that.   I have a powered USB hub which takes 12v which runs all the other gear, not much power.

So get a 12v battery with maybe 300w-h, and if you need to run all night, charge it from your car once during the night to top it up.    No need to carry a lot of heavy gear.    Plus it all plugs into a cheap 12v 10a power supply at home.

[Tan usa1]

It stops charging when temp drops below freezing. I have one and it does not have internal heaters. But using the microwave usually heats up the battery enough for it to start charging again 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/6e0414f8-9897-4d61-b273-f8ac271b43f6n%40googlegroups.com.

[Jamie Dillon, DDK]

Checked my battery supply, yep a couple of CR 2032 disks, and a couple of fresh 9-volts. Simple, huh?

All for making little red lights. The former for the red-dot finder and the laser collimator, and the latter for the two different red lights, one from Marko and one from Crazy Ed Erbeck, long ago.

[Akarsh Simha]

Thank you all, I used this list of brands as a guide. LiTime was very expensive, but Power Queen and Eco Worthy were well-priced.

The calculations of my consumption are well-appreciated. You’re right that a 100Ah battery will suffice for my needs as of now. However, I haven’t yet figured out if and when I want solar panels and how I might mount solar panels without interfering with the ladder and stuff that goes on the roof. I think it’s possible, but so I have a workable solution without that complexity of solar that’ll run all these devices for 2–3 winter nights, I chose to go with a 300Ah EcoWorthy battery that was being sold at a lower price. It may take several days of driving the truck to recharge the battery after but that’s okay.

The batteries are alleged to last 10 years — is this true? If so, I can imagine being able to add on more electronics as time progresses and I have solar.

On Thu, Sep 11, 2025 at 13:07 Jamie Dillon, DDK <ngc1...@gmail.com> wrote:

Checked my battery supply, yep a couple of CR 2032 disks, and a couple of fresh 9-volts. Simple, huh?

All for making little red lights. The former for the red-dot finder and the laser collimator, and the latter for the two different red lights, one from Marko and one from Crazy Ed Erbeck, long ago.

--

Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/0b3eaee3-9f30-459d-9def-c6c2122f45efn%40googlegroups.com.

[Tan usa1]

Yes batteries last a long time. With 300ah not charging when cold is fine. Unless you start living in the North Pole lol. Anyways if you need links to 20$ heating pads lemme know. I use them as heated batteries are expensive.

What dc dc charger did you settle for eventually 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2B9k5txgKgRmEgkGu5L4csK3nqK5h8tD0XXfcc9-3WmOLA3NgQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Akarsh Simha]

I had purchased a Victron 220W DC-DC isolated charger as I found a refurbished unit at a very good price. At only 18A of current, it’ll take approximately 17 hours to fully charge the battery, but this will work because I’ll be driving that much between multi-night observing runs. I already have a 4AWG cable coming in from the main battery to the back of my truck to drive the winch, I just plan to tap into that for the charging circuit.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2BvY831r4FkKZ8nJqvkg-pbWkHX_x3O8i5i1RJ_12GGF8T8JYA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Tan usa1]

Why are you getting isolated? Do a common ground non isolated 

Renogy 30a is 180$ litime 40a is 150$

Renogy can take in solar panels too later 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/CA%2B9k5tw0%2BUGFUWijxWCbrKFQifoxdxhbj5ft39PyqXDH54-fPA%40mail.gmail.com.