Storing my scope

[Swoop1]

I have read here that letting the scope cool down before starting a session is advisable. How resilient are scopes to being stored in cool conditions? I was thinking about my outbuilding, a single brick skin shed which gets very cold. As an example, when I brought my drill and tools in this evening for some house fettling, within no time at all the kit was covered in condensation. 

 

[Charic]

That's normal.
I just place my scope inside the door (indoors) and let it dry naturally.
A scope stored outside in a shed/garage,  at ambient temperature to its surroundings needs little or no cool down, and should work at high power straight away.
The outhouse needs to be dry, the cold wont hurt the scope. A simple suitable cotton sheet acting as a dust cover and maybe a protective sheet over that. The outhouse needs ventilation.

The cooling that folk talk about, especially on a reflector like mine,  are the thermal tube currents? as the mirror cools when outside, a warm air  layer will form over the mirror face  creating what is effectively a weak lens, distorting your image.
The warm air from the mirror, and everything else that is part of the scope,  rises in the tube, we call them thermal currents, and they will make your images dance and weaken if you try high magnification too early.

Once the latent heat has been removed, and condition allow, your views will get better through the eyepiece.

 

[D4N]

Cold is ok, damp is not ok.  If you stick a decent dehumidifier in there all should be good.

[mikeDnight]

Keeping a scope in an out building may be ok but you've to be a bit careful not to store it where its damp. Cold is fine but where there's moisture things can get nasty over time. Personally, if its possible, I'd be inclined to carry the tube assembly back into the house after each observing session. Store it in a cool room if possible!

Certain scopes cool faster than others, with catadioptrics tending to take significantly longer than other designs. If kept in damp conditions fungal growth can grow on glass, especially between elements. Keeping a scope in the house allows any moisture that naturally builds up on the tube and optics to evaporate thoroughly.

What kind of scope do you have?

Mike

[Swoop1]

I am awaiting delivery of a sky Watcher explorer 150P EQ3-2 Newtonian.

[ManixZero]

I've been pondering over this as well!  So far I have been keeping my newly acquired Nexstar 4SE in the house where it is at a constant 18C.  I have considered keeping it in the garage (built into the house) to reduce cooldown times.

I haven't made that leap, simply because I have found that by the time I have aligned the telescope(15min) the views I get are fine for me!   after setup I get, maybe, 2hrs before dew becomes an issue at which point the OTA is rushed indoors to dry off.

My biggest fear is the kind of glue eating fungus that blights many camera lenses.   With this in mind I keep - Camera - Lenses - and now Telescope in a warm dry atmosphere with lots of silica gel.

 

Cheers

MZ

[laudropb]

I have stored my scope outside in an unheated garage for 3 years and have had no problems. It is under a scope cover to keep dust etc out. It is east to move out to the garden for observing and is always very near to the ambient temperature.

[Swoop1]

Decision made. Tripod and mount will live in the shed. The scope will stand in the corner in the hall.

[Peco4321]

I have the exact set up and store in a shed. I put shower caps on each end and stand it on the tool box I use for all my bits. Mirror at the top and secured to the shed side with a bungy cord. Been out there since April last year and all is good.  Little or no time needed to cool down. 

[Louis D]

On 1/7/2017 at 03:22, laudropb said:

I have stored my scope outside in an unheated garage for 3 years and have had no problems. It is under a scope cover to keep dust etc out. It is east to move out to the garden for observing and is always very near to the ambient temperature.

I had to chuckle.  It looks like a person hiding underneath the cover waiting to pounce!

[Peco4321]

This is mine all tucked away now for the night in the shed  

[Paz]

4 minutes ago, Peco4321 said:

This is mine all tucked away now for the night in the shed  

Nice shower caps you've got there!

[Peco4321]

Cheers, from Wilkinsons. They seem to do the job. 

[Waldemar]

I.m.h.o.  it is best to store your scope in a dry, cool place, preferably close to ambient, so you can use it with just little cooldown if at all.  On top of that you don't get the expansion effects of changing teperatures.
I have an electric dehumidifier in the small brick shed where I store the scopestuff that is not in use, which keeps relative humidity around 50%  which is perfect for storing anything that is sensitive to humidity.

[JOC]

For the moment mine is in the unheated UPVC Porch which often has the door to the house and/or the garden open.  It seems ideal but I'm just waiting for the day that my mother gets fed up with it sitting there. 

[Nyctimene]

Swoop1,

all my scopes, mostly Newtonians (+ 1 small frac) are stored  with apertures capped in an unheated shed inside of an old barn. Since its build August 2010 I never had moisture or other problems with this setting (except some critters).  Equipment, when dewed up, gets dry again within a few hours (excessive dew wiped off with a towel; of course, not the optics). No silica needed up to now. Eyepieces, of course, are kept inside the house, to prevent fogging up within short  observation time.

I'd suggest you  to give it a try and store all your scope's components in the shed. No need for a cooling time makes the decision to go out scoping much easier.

Stephan

 

[Swoop1]

It looks like I might have to amend my decision then.

Next question- what of all the irreplaceable junk that is currently in the shed do I get rid of to make room for my scope?

(Workbench- tools- mountain bike- small freezer- beer- wine- general stuffs)

[happy-kat]

Use the wall space for storage get some shelves or hanging hooks

[Swoop1]

I will have to put up a photo of the internals of my shed. The walls etc. are so packed that I have barely enough room to operate a hand saw without trashing my elbow against something

[JOC]

And the answer is................. a skip and a blindfold!!

[cjdawson]

Drink the beer and wine?

make a shed for your shed?

make a shed, give it a roll off roof and call it an observatory.

make a shed, put the scope, fridge wine and beer in there.

Take the workbench out and put that into the house, to make room for the scope in the shed?  (I'm sure SWIMBO will love that idea)

[Waldemar]

You would not have trouble finding someone to help you with the boose and maybe with shed also.. do it in the right sequence or you will end up with a crooked shed...
Maybe put some of the stuff that you did not use for a year on marketplace. That should give some room. Or... build an ops. No setup time, can use your equipment even when the clouds are gone for a few minutes... Could think of a lot of positive effects.

[Swoop1]

Some of the answers on here are........ priceless

Thanks folks.