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HELP! MY PRECIOUS MIRROR IS IN DANGER!


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Quick question, where does everybody get their distilled water?

I use 'reverse osmosis water'. Obtainable from good aquarium shops, it's pure and harmless to fish and telescope mirrors.

My local aquarium shop fills my containers, no problem, even flushes them out first before filling.

Regards, Ed.

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You can buy reverse osmosis (RO) water from most pet fish shops. Usually £0.50 - £1.00 for 5 litres. Just take along a clean container and they will fill it for you.

Sent from my Fone

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At the moment, I just don't have the time/resources to do a full clean with distilled water. I may try it someday though.

A hurricane blower has been mentioned more than once. What are they?

Here ya go these are what they are.

MR115MR115-Hurricane-Blower.jpg

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Quick question, where does everybody get their distilled water?

I run a dehumidifier in my observatory and therefore have a plentiful,supply of the stuff. If you have a fridge/freezer that needs regular defrosting you could try "harvesting" the ice.

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Here ya go these are what they are.

MR115MR115-Hurricane-Blower.jpg

Also if you find you need to replace the fuel filter in a Ford Focus Diesel, taking off the blower nozzle and the hole fits the priming nipple - then simply pump out the air by using the bulb.. obviously never use it for optical again.. which reminds me I need to get myself one..

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

So, with exams over and a new camera cleaning kit (including a hurricane blower) in my possession, I was able to turn my attention back to the mirror.

I removed the side bolts, carefully slid the mirror out and completely forgot about the front end of the telescope which now fell downwards with no form of counterweight to stop it :o

Fortunately, no damage was done, it just made a startlingly loud noise. I blew whatever it was on the mirror (I still have no idea what it was as I lost it before I could get a good look at it). I couldn't help myself though when I saw all the dust though :( so I carefully wiped one edge with the microfiber cloth which seemed to just move the dust into a streak pattern. Horrified, I tried the brush-pen which had soft bristles and fortunately didn't scratch the mirror. The streak pattern and much of the dust is gone now. After fitting the mirror back in and collimating the telescope I believe everything is fine now, but I'll have to wait for a clear night before I can be certain...

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You can buy it on the 'bay, but if you have a wallpaper stripper you can make your own by taking the end off and 'catching' the steam in a big, clean glass jar in a bath of (ordinary) cold/iced water and amortise the costs as part of your electricity bill ;-)

Don't use deonised  water as it is NOT free of dissolved solids or rainwater as it probably has all sorts of crud in it.

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I've used deionised water for years with no obviously adverse effect on the mirror. I find deionised easier to get hold of than distilled, which I have never found an outlet for - not that I've looked very hard. Purists don't like deionised on the grounds that it may contain organics. However it's dissolved carbonates that leave streaks on a mirror rinsed in tap water. These are absent from deionised water. Moreover organics are ever present in the air, to which our mirrors are constantly exposed, so the tiny residue of organics possibly left by rinsing with deionised water are probably insignificant. They won't affect optical quality anyway.

You can buy it on the 'bay, but if you have a wallpaper stripper you can make your own by taking the end off and 'catching' the steam in a big, clean glass jar in a bath of (ordinary) cold/iced water and amortise the costs as part of your electricity bill ;-)

Don't use deonised  water as it is NOT free of dissolved solids or rainwater as it probably has all sorts of crud in it.

Forgive me for asking a potentially silly question, but given the above, what exactly then is deionised water free of? Sounds like normal tap water would do if this is the case.

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Forgive me for asking a potentially silly question, but given the above, what exactly then is deionised water free of? Sounds like normal tap water would do if this is the case.

It doesn't have any ions in it. Ions being charged particles having greater or fewer electrons than protons. Its main use is chemistry experiments.

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It doesn't have any ions in it. Ions being charged particles having greater or fewer electrons than protons. Its main use is chemistry experiments.

Ok, but would the presence of ions have any detrimental impact? What I'm really trying to establish is whether there is any benefit to using deionised water for the purposes of mirror cleaning, being that it's already been stated that it still contains organics/solids. Or is it that there is simply less dissolved solids etc in deionised water?

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Deionised and distilled water is what should be used. An ion has either a missing electron or an additional electron in one of its outer shells. The only atom in the ionised state with only a proton is hydrogen. Then it is a proton on its own. If an atom has an electron missing it will act as an acid. It will try to steal an electron from anything it comes into contact with. If it has an extra electron it will act as an alkali. It will try to deposit an electron onto anything it comes into contact with. You can have doubly or triply ionised atoms as well as in OIII or SII.

Deionised and distilled water is the purest form. It contains very few impurities there are different grades.

Just as a small point using paper towel is not advised, it is like using sand paper on the atomic scale, it is very abrasive. Only surgical cotton balls or lens wipes should touch a mirror surface. Even then as little as possible. If you have to use Kim wipes and only once then dispose.

Derek

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Hi, just for a little information. The most critical requirement for ultra pure water that I know of is in the semiconductor industry, used in the chip fabrication process. The water purification process used is mixed bed deionisation. If it good enough for them ....................

Regards, Hugh

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Hi, just for a little information. The most critical requirement for ultra pure water that I know of is in the semiconductor industry, used in the chip fabrication process. The water purification process used is mixed bed deionisation. If it good enough for them ....................

Regards, Hugh

Now that would be nice to get a hold of, if possible  at a good price!

 Derek

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