Sky-Watcher 17Ah Rechargeable Power Tank

Bought for powering a telescope guidance system but I've also used it to start my son's small car when the car battery was flat. Very useful all around.

Will get the job done, just ignore the pointless extras.The picture belies the size and weight of this thing, it's not something you'll be tucking into a kitchen drawer, and you should probably take care of your back when lifting it. General first impressions are that it's cheap and cheerful. The fit of the plastic panels isn't great, and little fit-and-finish things like the on/off switch cover and the sliding covers for the 12V sockets are tacky and poorly-done. That said, provided you don't abuse it I'd say it's sturdy enough for domestic use.All the cables tuck neatly away under a hatch on the side, so they're unlikely to get lost.Apart from the core function of providing power from a big battery there are a selection of rather cheap & nasty feeling extras: * The white "torch" and the red lamp are both functional although I wouldn't expect them to be very durable. This thing is way too heavy for you to want to wave it around like a torch, however it is on a hinge so you can angle it (seemingly it's designed to stand on its hind end). The red lamp comes out on a 2m-ish length of cable and has a magnet on the back, it can be set to flash or "solid on". Both are lit with traditional incandescent bulbs which is a shame; LEDs would be much more durable, not get so hot, and consume less power to boot. * The jump leads can't be used to start a car directly, just to boost the vehicle's battery with a long-ish charge. * The radio seemed like an especially odd addition, but it works OK.I would rather the designer had resisted the temptation to shoe-horn torches and a radio in there, and instead gone for either a smaller, cheaper, unit, or better quality on the basic battery function, eg a voltage meter.A single A4 sheet explains when and how to charge it, and how to replace the various fuses and bulbs. There are indicator LEDs to let you know what's going on, and it's clear enough.As far as I can tell this is exactly the same bit of kit as the Celestron Power Tank, bar some different printing on the side. Save yourself £50 and get this one.

The Power Tank came well packed and quickly. On opening the box, I was immediately struck with the fact that it looked different to the image shown on Amazon: different text on the side, no cables (red and black auto 'booster' cables) and... NO row of three different voltage output sockets! So, what do I have instead? It appears that I have a newer, updated version. The same basic case, but with several updates to the features. Gone are those rather thin looking auto 'jump start' cables, replaced by a warning in the instruction leaflet that the Power Tank should NOT be used as a replacement for a flat car battery! I suspect one or two users may have melted those cables doing just that. Next the missing low voltage outlets: these have been replaced by TWO 5v 1.5A USB outlets - ideal for mobile phone chargers and many other USB powered devices. A criticism of the earlier version was the filament-bulb 'flashlight' on the front. That has been replaced with an amply powerful LED head - lower power consumption, more eco-friendly etc (can 'eco-friendly' apply to a rechargeable item?!) - just a pity that the removeable/retractable red night vision torchlight wasn't also replaced with an LED equivalent. The gimmicky extras remain: the radio that's about as good as a 1960's single-tranny pocket radio and the emergency siren that wouldn't wake a sleeping fox more than 3 metres away. It is still really just an expensive lead-acid battery, but it does have the 2 cigar-lighter sockets (and the 2 USBs) as well as a pair of very 'chunky' screw terminals, some useful status indicator LEDs and a carrying handle as well as a universal charger kit. Definitely a better buy than it's Celestron branded twin. Yeah sure it's plastic'y, yeah OK so it's not exactly pretty either... but it will do nicely for powering my 8" 'GoTo' Telescope! After all, in the dark .... who cares what it looks like!

My Skywatcher 17Ah Power Tank was fine for about 18 months, then it started discharging, in use or in storage. Sometimes the supplied little power supply unit just would not recharge it. Fortunately, I spotted the large terminals hidden under the flap and attached my CTEK intelligent car battery refurbisher and charger. That has brought the battery back to life (quickly in fact) but it still runs down faster than it should when powering my kit. I can see that a new battery is going to be needed. This is not altogether surprising as I have another of these 'golf buggy' sized batteries in my ride-on lawnmower. They last around three years on average and cost around £60 to replace. So, in summary, this tank hasn't been a lot worse than equivalent products but one may as well buy something cheaper because what's under the hood is no different.

No more being chained to running power lines down the bottom of the garden. Lasts all night running 4se and 9.25 sct on go-to mounts. Has its own charger and power leads. Heavy, but manageable. White light is LED's - very bright ! Red lamp detachable on wire and is enough to see by without being annoying. Various power outlets; 3v, 6v, 9v and x2 12v cigar lighter sickets. Radio / siren. 2 big 'jump leads' on rear. Power supply cables are nicely stored in compartment above 'jump leads'. Leave on charge overnight before first use and after 'all night' sessions. Have scope will travel ! ! :)

Edit: it will no longer charge at all. given 5 days it will not charger.What can I say, fully charged the mount grinds to a halt in Go-To mode while way within its load. Wall powers does not.Cheap tattery plastic, old weird radio, bigger than it needs to be.Tried to return to Carmarthen but they asked for postage so it's just sitting in the corner.

I purchased this power tank in 2013. I still use it today! No idea how many times I have recharged it.Has been used to power a telescope, as a radio, to jump start my car, a powerfull torch etc, etc. Highly recommended

A rendu de bons services pendant environ un an. Puis, progressivement, l'appareil chargeait de moins en moins vite jusqu'à ne quasiment plus charger, même après 72 heures en tension :(

Vitre du projecteur cassée au déballage qui a été signalé et montré au transporteur.Mais l'accu fonctionne bien après la première charge.