Can it be too cold?

[DanL]

Hi, I was just wondering - with the predicted cold snap that is coming - can it be too cold to leave equipment out all night?

Could mounts get jammed with frost/ice build up?

I know the clouds probably make this a hypothetical question but was wondering what the tolerances of scope/cam/mount equipment was in particularly cold temps.

Regards,

Dan

[DanL]

I was thinking for an imaging session overnight. I don't have an observatory so my equipment is stored inside and placed outside when I set up. That's why I was curious.

[John]

I've been at star parties where a number of folks have turned in and left their scopes out all night imaging and then woken up next morning to find them covered with frost and ice. The equipment seems to cope with this pretty well on the whole.

[Stu]

It's not uncommon to end a session with the scope and mount covered in ice, my view is that they are built to operate in that environment so it's not a problem.

What is important is to make sure everything is dried off properly before storing it away. A cool, dry shed or garage, possibly with a dehumidifier works well.

[laudropb]

I store my scope in an unseated garage and never have had any problems. If the scope is iced after a session or more often wet from due, I put it in the house over night to dry off then return it to the garage next day.

[ChrisLX200]

The mount and scope hardware is designed to work in damp/cold environments, and decent mounts have no parts that will corrode or rust (so all stainless steel and anodised alloy). The only parts you need to worry about are the electronics and these must be protected from damp or they will fail on you. I say it at every opportunity - spray the electronics (PCB, components and connectors) with ACF50 and they will shrug off the elements. I had a USB hub permanently attached to the pier outside, I had sprayed the connectors but did not disassemble it so the inside was not thoroughly treated. The scope cover leaked during a storm and water got inside the casing and the hub stopped working. I took it inside and opened up the case and it was full of water :-(.  I emptied the water out and dried it off as best I could using a hair dryer but It was definitely dead in all respects so I ordered another, but while waiting I just sprayed eveything inside the case with ACF50 and left it for a couple of days. You guessed - it arose from the dead and started working again. That was a pretty impressive recovery. These days I take all electronic cases apart where I can and spray everything with ACF50 as a precaution and then re-assemble. A couple of years ago I managed a similar feat of resurrection with an iPhone which had been completely submerged for a couple of hours whilst powered up. Completely dead. I replaced the battery and sprayed with ACF50 and left it. A couple of days later it started to work again.

Chris.