Need help finding this battery

Hey kids-

When I was a kid (and "way" into astronomy) I noticed that astronomers with a bigger budget than me were using these portable batteries to run their telescope drives in the field.

It was a simple battery pack with a handle that said "Carefree" on it and had a single cigar lighter type outlet on it. Output is 12 volts, what was inside was probably an SLA battery. I'm trying to find these packs but either it doesn't exist or I'm not Googling the right terms. SLAs are easy to find, but one with a compact outer housing and integral handle is the hard part!

Of if anyone else knows of a similar concept for a store-bought portable battery please let me know, and the simpler the better, I don't want the air compressor, "flashlight," jump starting terminals, etc.

Thanks!!

This the sort of thing you're after;

http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?CatID=51&ProdID=371

Or it's smaller, simpler stablemate;

http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?CatID=51&ProdID=370


Rob

How about this: http://www.batteryjunction.com/wagan-2045.html

This looks really close to what you are looking for.
http://www.powerstream.com/BP-23.htm

and here is another product to take a look at:

http://www.powerstream.com/BP-60.htm

I use one of these Jaycar Electronics simple zippered bag with a lighter socket, you supply the battery, I use one myself, fits a 7AH SLA.
If you want one I can order it and post to you, it comes flat packed so postage shouldn't be too expensive.
PM me if you want to go this way.
Norm

That Jaycar bag was my first thought also.

Check out the PowerPort 73 on this page:
http://www.powerportstore.com/dc_power.htm

Some others on the same page might be of interest as well.

Lead acid is destroyed if you regularly use more than 50% of the capacity or you let it sit for more than a day or two without fully charging.

What about something like this? You can also look for li-ion based universal external battery pack, but they're costlier.
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=166

Wow! Thanks to all for the replies, especially Norm for offering to ship something for me (I know it can be a pain to ship international).

I really appreciate it.

The "universal laptop battery" intrigues me, but for a different project than what I originally posted for, specifically for use as a stand-by pack for my ham radios!

The number of charge/discharge cycles of Lead Acid batteries is significantly reduced if you discharge below 40% Depth of Discharge. They can, however, sit for moderately long periods of time without being charged and still work fine and last for quite a while. I had a couple of 110 amp AGM deep cycle batteries that powered my tank lights. I would charge them up after use and then not charge them for 1 to 2 months or just before using the lights. Their capacity did not suffer at all over a near two-year period.

BVH said:

The number of charge/discharge cycles of Lead Acid batteries is significantly reduced if you discharge below 40% Depth of Discharge. They can, however, sit for moderately long periods of time without being charged and still work fine and last for quite a while. I had a couple of 110 amp AGM deep cycle batteries that powered my tank lights. I would charge them up after use and then not charge them for 1 to 2 months or just before using the lights. Their capacity did not suffer at all over a near two-year period.

Click to expand...

Unlike NiMH though, if you do let them self discharge too far, they're damaged beyond all use.

UPS batteries are regularly damaged when it's decommissioned for one reason or another, then put back in service a year later, because they sat in the storage room w/o any top offs.