Summer heat in obs

[jaspalchadha]

Hi all

the temps in the obs are ranging from 30c on the high side..

Just a thought if anyone uses a air con?

I stuck a fan inside to be on the safe side

[swag72]

Mine will often reach over 40 degrees in the summer - I don't have anything in there and for the last 2 years there's been no problems.

[jaspalchadha]

Ah ok just little worried about the ccd and co

[Pete Presland]

it was getting for a 100 degrees on Friday afternoon, when i was solar imaging    i never leave any electrical items in the obsy though, apart from the mount of course.

[jaspalchadha]

But if you were to would air con be recommended

[philj]

I catered for ventilation on my build plus on my recent roof rebuild, (roll off) I insulated the underside of the roof with 25mm celotex insulation board and this seems to keep the temperature down a bit as roof panels get very hot and will radiate heat into the obs. The celotex layer reduces this heat quite a bit.

[pete_l]

But if you were to would air con be recommended

Not really.

Unless you have very good draughtproofing and exterior insulation all you'd be doing would be trying to air-con the world (or more realistically: the surroundings of your obs).

Air-con is expensive to run and will take up space.

Better solutions would be to reduce the solar gain (increased temperature due to sunshine), either by adding shade, improving the insulating & reflecting properties of your obs' roof or increasing the airflow/ventinaltion to remove the heat.

One thing you could try is to arrange a sunbreak or shade (or even a cheap gazebo, e.g. from Argos) to put the obsy in shadow during the hottest times of the day. This could be as simple as a fabric sheet tied to poles (or convenient trees/walls) with ropes. Just remember to make it strong enough to withstand wind. Or you could find you've made a kite.

[Tinker1947]

i have never bother with any sort of Air-Con, the roof has gaps round 3 sides the only thing that has happened is the wood use to clad the Obby has shrunk but it does had a breathable membrane behind it and the internal wall are obs board so there fine, the rubber roof would make frying eggs very easy on the outside...

[tekkydave]

Has anyone tried putting reflective surface on the roof?

[Baffa]

I don't know how optics can handle heat but I do know how electronics can handle heat (or cold).

As long as nothing is powered up electronic components can take Alot of heat before they start to break down. Remember that most electronic components are soldered, either in a huge oven where we will see temperatures above 220c (lead free) or with a soldering iron which can have even higher local temperatures.

So, just wait for things to cool down and make sure it's not damp the electronics should take any damage at all.

[Baffa]

I would however be more concerned about humidity than temperatures, that for both optics and electronics I suppose 

[ChrisLX200]

It might seem hot to you but it's well within the operating specs of both optics and electronics. As stated above, high humidity is more damaging as this can condense out as the temperature drops at night. Good ventillation and/or a de-humidifier will solve that problem.

ChrisH

[todd8137]

I have a pier in my obsy never left my scope or mount over nite yet ,I should dlc as PA would only need a tweak and all that but I like the set up I only image planets so it's not that critical and there's plenty of good soft ware out there ,that said a fan of some sort mig help. Or just leave the door open if the house is occupied in the day

Pat

[Astrobug]

The roof & walls of my obs are insulated (10cm of pur plates).

Until now it nevers gets above 25°C.

[jaspalchadha]

Whats a pur plate

[Pete Presland]

Has anyone tried putting reflective surface on the roof?

i painted mine white with some extremely thick outdoor paint when i built it, which has got to help a little!

[Pete Presland]

I would however be more concerned about humidity than temperatures, that for both optics and electronics I suppose 

definitely concerns me more than temperature

[BlueAstra]

What about heat affecting grease, etc, in mount bearings? My closed obs is insulated and has an thermostatic extarctor fan but still gets up to 35C+ in the hot sun.

[jaspalchadha]

Good question bunny

[philj]

Has anyone tried putting reflective surface on the roof?

Yes not on the outside but on the inside, celtex is silvered both sides, see my post above.

[astromerlin]

Whats a pur plate

Something you put Kitty treats on?

I'll get me coat!

[Astrobug]

Whats a pur plate

This is what I mean.

[Stevp]

Or you could find you've made a kite.

It's been a long day, that got a proper laugh-out-loud. People around be were staring

[Stu_2011]

I don't know how optics can handle heat but I do know how electronics can handle heat (or cold).

As long as nothing is powered up electronic components can take Alot of heat before they start to break down. Remember that most electronic components are soldered, either in a huge oven where we will see temperatures above 220c (lead free) or with a soldering iron which can have even higher local temperatures.

So, just wait for things to cool down and make sure it's not damp the electronics should take any damage at all.

The older electrolytic capacitors (if present) in particular are prone to failure if they are baked too much, the electrolyte dries out and then they fail, I'm sure the last time I looked a few of these types of capacitors were present on my Celestron / Skywatcher main boards, 40 degrees or so should be fine.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Baffa]

The older electrolytic capacitors (if present) in particular are prone to failure if they are baked too much, the electrolyte dries out and then they fail, I'm sure the last time I looked a few of these types of capacitors were present on my Celestron / Skywatcher main boards, 40 degrees or so should be fine.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

They will fail either way (cheap ones) and needs to be replaced every so often anyway [emoji1]