Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
- Radon86
- Almost There...
- Posts: 779
- Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:05 pm
- Has thanked: 745 times
- Been thanked: 660 times
Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
Hi all!
For those of us who do not have the facilities like Pedro (with his domed observatory) or Marty (MalveauX) with his roll off roof etc, how do we protect our equipment in boiling heat ?
Its very tempting to keep your tripod and mount setup in your garden/patio etc during the hot weather, but I worry that the very high temps next week (in UK at least) from 30 to 35 for almost 7 days at least...could lead to damage from heating - exposure all day in the sun.
I am going to try initially for some reflective material (the aluminium surface reflecting cloths for car shading) and some other stuff, but apart from complete climate control, how do you ensure your mount and stuff does not get overheated and damaged ?
Any advice or suggestions would be welcome?
(otherwise, dismantle mount in morning after imaging the sun, and setup each time you wish to use it (no accurate polar alignment then, unless set up again in the night after 3am).
[apologies if this has been discussed in the past]
Thanks
Magnus
For those of us who do not have the facilities like Pedro (with his domed observatory) or Marty (MalveauX) with his roll off roof etc, how do we protect our equipment in boiling heat ?
Its very tempting to keep your tripod and mount setup in your garden/patio etc during the hot weather, but I worry that the very high temps next week (in UK at least) from 30 to 35 for almost 7 days at least...could lead to damage from heating - exposure all day in the sun.
I am going to try initially for some reflective material (the aluminium surface reflecting cloths for car shading) and some other stuff, but apart from complete climate control, how do you ensure your mount and stuff does not get overheated and damaged ?
Any advice or suggestions would be welcome?
(otherwise, dismantle mount in morning after imaging the sun, and setup each time you wish to use it (no accurate polar alignment then, unless set up again in the night after 3am).
[apologies if this has been discussed in the past]
Thanks
Magnus
- DeepSolar64
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 18728
- Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:19 am
- Location: Lowndesville S.C.
- Has thanked: 17458 times
- Been thanked: 16560 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
I have a small plastic shed like those intended for garden tools, trash cans etc on my back deck to store my Losmandy AZ8 in when not in use. It stands tall enough to walk into and is about 30-36 inches deep and 4 feet or so wide and watertight after me sealing it a bit with tar. It does the job. It is lockable.
James
James
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
-
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 1646
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:44 pm
- Location: Germany
- Has thanked: 2925 times
- Been thanked: 2040 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
1: I use the equipment in its specified temperature area.
2: I protect the mount from direct sunlight with a bit on tinfoil (mount head with electronics).
A dome will not help if outside temperatures are outside of the specs of the mount / camera. If its too hot, i simply would not set up.
Storing always indoors of course unless you want the expensive stuff to be exposed to humidity, heat and sunlight.
2: I protect the mount from direct sunlight with a bit on tinfoil (mount head with electronics).
A dome will not help if outside temperatures are outside of the specs of the mount / camera. If its too hot, i simply would not set up.
Storing always indoors of course unless you want the expensive stuff to be exposed to humidity, heat and sunlight.
Triband C9.25
H-a: Quark Chromosphere with BF mod
WL: Antlia 500nm/ 3nm, 393 nm/ 3nm
Ca-K: homebrew (includes 2x 1.5A filters, thanks Apollo)
Player One Apollo Max + Mars MII
Barlows:
-2x Gerd Düring 2.7x
-2x TMB 1.8x
H-a: Quark Chromosphere with BF mod
WL: Antlia 500nm/ 3nm, 393 nm/ 3nm
Ca-K: homebrew (includes 2x 1.5A filters, thanks Apollo)
Player One Apollo Max + Mars MII
Barlows:
-2x Gerd Düring 2.7x
-2x TMB 1.8x
- DeepSolar64
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 18728
- Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:19 am
- Location: Lowndesville S.C.
- Has thanked: 17458 times
- Been thanked: 16560 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
My Losmandy Altazimuth mount is a heavy duty mount with no electronics so is quite durable. I keep it in the outdoor shed to aid in quick setup. It avoids me carrying the heavy mount in and out of the house.
The scopes stay inside the house when not in use.
The scopes stay inside the house when not in use.
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
- rsfoto
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 6124
- Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:30 pm
- Location: San Luis Potosi, México
- Has thanked: 9243 times
- Been thanked: 5503 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
Hi,
Interesting question.
I have had my equipment "working" for few hours while having ambient temperatures of maybe 30°C to 34°C and they still work up to today ...
As others said just put a reflecting foil over the equipment and I would also recommend to put and old Cotton towel or bed sheet under the refelecting foil. why ? during the day your mount will ehat up and so the humidity inside the package will raise and at night it will cool down and you will get condensation inside the package. Condensation IMHO is far worse than some heating up ...
Interesting question.
I have had my equipment "working" for few hours while having ambient temperatures of maybe 30°C to 34°C and they still work up to today ...
As others said just put a reflecting foil over the equipment and I would also recommend to put and old Cotton towel or bed sheet under the refelecting foil. why ? during the day your mount will ehat up and so the humidity inside the package will raise and at night it will cool down and you will get condensation inside the package. Condensation IMHO is far worse than some heating up ...
regards Rainer
Observatorio Real de 14
San Luis Potosi Mexico
North 22° West 101°
Observatorio Real de 14
San Luis Potosi Mexico
North 22° West 101°
- MAURITS
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 8431
- Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:37 pm
- Location: Belgium
- Has thanked: 2407 times
- Been thanked: 4737 times
- Contact:
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
When it's to hot, I can open a part of the roof.
A little air blower keeps the temperature down for a few degrees.
A little air blower keeps the temperature down for a few degrees.
-
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 2410
- Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 12:12 am
- Location: Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
- Been thanked: 1735 times
- Contact:
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
Hi Magnus
This is a topic I addressed last year to try and lighten my workload when I set up for an imaging session. Last year, I started keeping two tripods set up outside at all times. Obviously there should be some protection against the elements.
The solution I found is effective protection against direct heat and heavy rain from spring to late fall. I started by getting a cover from TeleGizmos for my larger mount and tripod. These covers are a bit expensive but very heavy duty and lined with aluminum foil. I have the tripod situated on concrete pavers where the feet of the tripod are wrapped by plastic tubes made from water bottles. The mount Is covered by a couple of plastic bags secured by clothes pins and on top of that I have a large white food container (or garbage can) to help reflect heat away and to further protect the electronics from the weather.
I found later that some large barbecue covers will work as well and are much more reasonably priced. I use this method for my other tripod. Once the cover is in place there should be a hoop of some kind to weigh down the cover in case of wind.
My optics are kept in the house.
I hope this helps
Lou
This is a topic I addressed last year to try and lighten my workload when I set up for an imaging session. Last year, I started keeping two tripods set up outside at all times. Obviously there should be some protection against the elements.
The solution I found is effective protection against direct heat and heavy rain from spring to late fall. I started by getting a cover from TeleGizmos for my larger mount and tripod. These covers are a bit expensive but very heavy duty and lined with aluminum foil. I have the tripod situated on concrete pavers where the feet of the tripod are wrapped by plastic tubes made from water bottles. The mount Is covered by a couple of plastic bags secured by clothes pins and on top of that I have a large white food container (or garbage can) to help reflect heat away and to further protect the electronics from the weather.
I found later that some large barbecue covers will work as well and are much more reasonably priced. I use this method for my other tripod. Once the cover is in place there should be a hoop of some kind to weigh down the cover in case of wind.
My optics are kept in the house.
I hope this helps
Lou
- Radon86
- Almost There...
- Posts: 779
- Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:05 pm
- Has thanked: 745 times
- Been thanked: 660 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
Good point about the condensation. I actually use a thick layer of old curtain material as the bottom, then 2 more of "water proof material like umbrella fabric, then I can put the heat reflector layer over ths in very hot conditions.rsfoto wrote: ↑Sun Aug 07, 2022 7:11 pm Hi,
Interesting question.
I have had my equipment "working" for few hours while having ambient temperatures of maybe 30°C to 34°C and they still work up to today ...
As others said just put a reflecting foil over the equipment and I would also recommend to put and old Cotton towel or bed sheet under the refelecting foil. why ? during the day your mount will ehat up and so the humidity inside the package will raise and at night it will cool down and you will get condensation inside the package. Condensation IMHO is far worse than some heating up ...
But I don't like idea of leaving stuff in the sun. Maybe I will take it down when it gets too hot...
Magnus
- Montana
- Librarian
- Posts: 34527
- Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:25 pm
- Location: Cheshire, UK
- Has thanked: 17526 times
- Been thanked: 8763 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
My EQ6 Pro mount has lived in my south facing conservatory for around 12 years now and it regularly gets to 65 degrees in summer all day in there. It seems to work fine and has never gone wrong (yet). I cover it with a white table cloth to stop the saddle heating up more.
Alexandra
Alexandra
- rsfoto
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 6124
- Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:30 pm
- Location: San Luis Potosi, México
- Has thanked: 9243 times
- Been thanked: 5503 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
Hi Magnus,Radon86 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:33 amGood point about the condensation. I actually use a thick layer of old curtain material as the bottom, then 2 more of "water proof material like umbrella fabric, then I can put the heat reflector layer over ths in very hot conditions.rsfoto wrote: ↑Sun Aug 07, 2022 7:11 pm Hi,
Interesting question.
I have had my equipment "working" for few hours while having ambient temperatures of maybe 30°C to 34°C and they still work up to today ...
As others said just put a reflecting foil over the equipment and I would also recommend to put and old Cotton towel or bed sheet under the refelecting foil. why ? during the day your mount will ehat up and so the humidity inside the package will raise and at night it will cool down and you will get condensation inside the package. Condensation IMHO is far worse than some heating up ...
But I don't like idea of leaving stuff in the sun. Maybe I will take it down when it gets too hot...
Magnus
I have not seen curtains of Cotton. Most curtains are Polyester (Manmade fiber, more or less a plastic) and Polyester does NOT absorb water ... so makes no sense as water is there in its physical form ...I actually use a thick layer of old curtain material as the bottom
regards Rainer
Observatorio Real de 14
San Luis Potosi Mexico
North 22° West 101°
Observatorio Real de 14
San Luis Potosi Mexico
North 22° West 101°
- marktownley
- Librarian
- Posts: 42131
- Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
- Location: Brierley Hills, UK
- Has thanked: 20240 times
- Been thanked: 10115 times
- Contact:
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
My mount has been outside for a couple of years now with just a telegizmos style cover on it, no problems any time of the year.
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
- Ibbo
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 1425
- Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 10:13 pm
- Location: North of Nottingham England
- Has thanked: 2415 times
- Been thanked: 1641 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
My solar mount has been under a cover for years and no problems.
I think the mount in the obshed gets hotter and the only problem there was a power supply that gave up , though it was as old as the hills.
I think the mount in the obshed gets hotter and the only problem there was a power supply that gave up , though it was as old as the hills.
- pedro
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 12238
- Joined: Sun May 01, 2016 8:26 pm
- Location: Portugal
- Has thanked: 14 times
- Been thanked: 6558 times
- Contact:
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
Telegizmos cover is a good option. I also had My second paramount covered outside for a couple of months without any issues
- Attachments
-
- observatories_20200812-016.jpg (895.08 KiB) Viewed 274 times
Pedro Re'
https://pedroreastrophotography.com/
https://pedroreastrophotography.com/
- DeepSolar64
- Way More Fun to Share It!!
- Posts: 18728
- Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:19 am
- Location: Lowndesville S.C.
- Has thanked: 17458 times
- Been thanked: 16560 times
Re: Protect outside mount and tripod vs high temps next week?
A UV resistant tarp would work too. Standard tarps would have to be replaced often.
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "