Astrokev's ROR - The Build

[Alan White]

An interesting indicator experiment Kev.
But as Wim says, what was the temp at the back of the board and was the sample too small?

I would stick with the existing colour and accent the edges with something else myself, 
but then again it's not my observatory or garden and I don't have to look at it everyday.

 

[Gina]

I have a green observatory and though it warms up inside with the roof closed, it soon cools down again once the roof is open.  I haven't found a problem with overheating.

 

[Astrokev]

1 hour ago, Gina said:

I have a green observatory and though it warms up inside with the roof closed, it soon cools down again once the roof is open.  I haven't found a problem with overheating.

 

Thanks Gina. To be honest I'm more concerned about the timbers warping and gaps developing between the boards. That said, my tool shed is painted dark brown and seems ok. The risk may be more to do with the quality of timber and not what paint colour I slap on it. 

The rubber roof is likely to be the main contributor to interior heat. If this gets too hot I could always insulate the roof and/or install fan ventilation. 

[Astrokev]

2 hours ago, Alan White said:

An interesting indicator experiment Kev.
But as Wim says, what was the temp at the back of the board and was the sample too small?

I would stick with the existing colour and accent the edges with something else myself, 
but then again it's not my observatory or garden and I don't have to look at it everyday.

 

Thanks Alan. 

Yes, it was a quick and dirty experiment. The difference in temp was very obvious just by placing my palm on the boards. 

Fir interest I may check the temp on the back of the boards if the Sun ever shines again  

If I was still in work I could have borrowed a multi channel recorder probe and recorded the temp on all surfaces simultaneously against time. This would have been really interesting to compare and contrast rate of temp change under different conditions. Or is this taking things a bit far ?

Ive already nearly finished sanding the walls so I'm committed to repainting it. 

Edited October 2, 2018 by Astrokev

[Gina]

26 minutes ago, Astrokev said:

Thanks Gina. To be honest I'm more concerned about the timbers warping and gaps developing between the boards. That said, my tool shed is painted dark brown and seems ok. The risk may be more to do with the quality of timber and not what paint colour I slap on it. 

The rubber roof is likely to be the main contributor to interior heat. If this gets too hot I could always insulate the roof and/or install fan ventilation. 

I used high quality redwood cladding which has proved very durable.  I have plenty of natural ventilation in mine - lots of gaps - which seems sufficient.  I also have a dehumidifier which automatically clears dampness above a certain level but that only seems to come on after a nighttime imaging session and closing the roof.

[souls33k3r]

This is coming along nicely mate.

Have you been keeping track of your spends so far?

[Astrokev]

6 hours ago, souls33k3r said:

This is coming along nicely mate.

Have you been keeping track of your spends so far?

Yep. All in a big spreadsheet and pivot table - I'm sad like that ?

Doesnt make pleasant reading ? But at least the cost has been spread over the last year. Plus, I decided to build my own obsy as a project to keep me focussed after going through a major loss in my life, and not to save money, so the cost is pretty irrelevant. 

Im happy with how it's turning out, but looking forward to finishing now. It's been a long haul!

[souls33k3r]

1 minute ago, Astrokev said:

Yep. All in a big spreadsheet and pivot table - I'm sad like that ?

Doesnt make pleasant reading ? But at least the cost has been spread over the last year. Plus, I decided to build my own obsy as a project to keep me focussed after going through a major loss in my life, and not to save money, so the cost is pretty irrelevant. 

Im happy with how it's turning out, but looking forward to finishing now. It's been a long haul!

Will not dwell in to the details of the major loss in life you've experience because i'm afraid i know where this might lead your mind to. My prayers are with you on that my friend and lots of good wishes on your way.

I'm glad you've found something to keep your mind occupied with.

You're not the only sad person around, i'm in the same camp

Mind if i ask, how much so far?

[Astrokev]

6 hours ago, souls33k3r said:

This is coming along nicely mate.

Have you been keeping track of your spends so far?

 

6 minutes ago, souls33k3r said:

Will not dwell in to the details of the major loss in life you've experience because i'm afraid i know where this might lead your mind to. My prayers are with you on that my friend and lots of good wishes on your way.

I'm glad you've found something to keep your mind occupied with.

You're not the only sad person around, i'm in the same camp

Mind if i ask, how much so far?

Thanks, I appreciate your kind words ? .

Regarding cost - happy to share. Total for just the shed is £2.5K. This includes all roofing materials which I've still to put on. Only bits left to buy are floor sheets, internal ply for the walls, and locks etc. 

Including pier and tool hire (concrete mixer) and other sundries it just tips £3K..

That said, I like to think that I've built a solid structure that will outlast me! It's been an interesting project and I've learned a lot, but I've no desire to make another!

[souls33k3r]

2 minutes ago, Astrokev said:

 

Thanks, I appreciate your kind words ? .

Regarding cost - happy to share. Total for just the shed is £2.5K. This includes all roofing materials which I've still to put on. Only bits left to buy are floor sheets, internal ply for the walls, and locks etc. 

Including pier and tool hire (concrete mixer) and other sundries it just tips £3K..

That said, I like to think that I've built a solid structure that will outlast me! It's been an interesting project and I've learned a lot, but I've no desire to make another!

For that sort of price and experience i think you've done a fine job mate. Hats off to you.

I know how proud you would feel to call it your own handy work. I wish i had even 1% of the necessary skills or understanding of how to do it. 

I'm the sort of a guy who gets it done if shown the right path so all these jargon that you lot throw around goes over my head (mostly)

[Gina]

I didn't keep account of the costs of mine but 3K seems probable.  I hate to think how much I have tied up in astro equipment but as a rough estimate 10K or more.  Could even be 20K as it's amazing how everything adds up.  I just wonder how great a garden I could make if I sold off all my gear!!  Could afford double glazing too.  I think if I don't use do more than a couple of nights of astro imaging during this dark season, it's a hell of a lot tied up in gear that doesn't get used.  I could compromise and just abandon DSO imaging.  I shall have to see how it goes and how I feel. 

[saac]

Gina I know exactly how you feel regarding balancing the cost/usage thing.  I'm really restricting my equipment spend now. With a few years to go until retirement I really can only make use of it at weekends or holidays and then it is of course as always weather dependant. I will be lucky if I get an imaging session each month now through to spring.  I'm at the stage where I have a reasonable mount (AZ Eq6 GT)  a second hand one shot  CCD (starlight express) and have just got a guiding package together. My last purchase was a copy of PixInsight (thank you tax rebate).  My obsy was the biggest expense as well. All in all it has taken me about 4 - 5 years to get to this stage  - produced my 1st proper guided astro photograph two weeks ago (M13) and was quite chuffed.  The cost/usage ratio is a hard one to reconcile but what I would say is that I guess we get more out of it than just time actually imaging.  Maybe if we included all the positives we get from the interest, including the intangibles that impact the likes of  well-being, we would not be so hard on ourselves. Some folk would spend as much on pets, drink or clothes. Hey you gotta spend it  

Jim 

Edited October 2, 2018 by saac

[Gina]

You should be alright Jim, you're just starting and when you retire you will have the time - whether you will have the money is another matter.  I have been astro imaging for 7 years now.

[saac]

 

15 minutes ago, Gina said:

You should be alright Jim, you're just starting and when you retire you will have the time - whether you will have the money is another matter.  I have been astro imaging for 7 years now.

That's the irony , i'll be swapping time for less purchase power    I better start saving for that 10 micron mount , it won't be getting bought in retirement  

Jim 

[Astrokev]

I think one thing that helps us maximise the return on investment is to have a wide range of interests within the hobby. 

For myself, historically I've mainly been a visual observer of moon and planets. My imaging efforts were using slide film and home development using Kodak Technical Pan 2415. We're talking the 80's here, before the days of digital imaging! Great fun!

After a few fallow years, my interest in the hobby is now re-energised and, in addition to visual solar system observing, which I still love, I can also enjoy the frustration that is digital imaging of planets, moon, sun and DSO. 

For me, I think the trick is to enjoy variety. For short observing windows that may not be long enough to get the imaging gear setup, do some visual observing. This helps get the most out of the hobby. 

It obviously helps hugely that, having taken early retirement, every night (pretty much) is a weekend!

[Astrokev]

12 minutes ago, saac said:

 

That's the irony , i'll be swapping time for less purchase power    I better start saving for that 10 micron mount , it won't be getting bought in retirement  

Jim 

Yep, those 10 micron mounts look incredible. Drooled all over one at the Kelling Heath star party. The mount was around 12K as far as I recall, but if you wanted counterweights (couldn't figure out why you would NOT want counterweights!) that was an extra 3K !

[saac]

Kev I should add , I really enjoyed your build you have a cracking obsy there. I think everybody will tell you the thing that makes the biggest change is having a permanent setup. When I did mine a few years back I could not resist coming home from work and opening the roof just for the sake of it - I was like the instructor from the movie The Karate Kid - roof open - roof closed, wax on - wax off    I still catch myself opening the roof during the day time, big smile on face, just because I can.

JIm  

 

 

[Astrokev]

1 hour ago, saac said:

Kev I should add , I really enjoyed your build you have a cracking obsy there. I think everybody will tell you the thing that makes the biggest change is having a permanent setup. When I did mine a few years back I could not resist coming home from work and opening the roof just for the sake of it - I was like the instructor from the movie The Karate Kid - roof open - roof closed, wax on - wax off    I still catch myself opening the roof during the day time, big smile on face, just because I can.

JIm  

 

 

Thanks Jim.

Yeah, I too open the roof and smile.... and the roof doesn't even have boards or rubber on it yet!  I just like the way it rolls!  Think how great it's going to feel when the roof is actually finished! ?

[Gina]

I do the same from time to time ?

[smudgeball]

16 hours ago, Astrokev said:

It obviously helps hugely that, having taken early retirement, every night (pretty much) is a weekend!

Yeah long imaging runs on a school day are a killer.

But pressing a couple of buttons and sliding the roof shut when the clouds roll in is far more satisfying than spending an hour packing up and lugging it all back indoors !

 

Neil

[Astrokev]

Well, decision made and yesterday I repainted (after a couple of days of sanding and prep) the observatory.

Much happier with the new colour, which blends into the garden much better. The decision was always a compromise; the olive green will get warmer than white / off-white, but from an astronomical viewpoint I'm not too concerned. The roll-off roof should allow heat to dissipate very quickly. If the temp gets too warm inside during the day then I may add some additional ventilation. I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

So, now I can crack on with finishing the roof; once the rain stops that is!

EDIT - the paint was still drying on the wall to the right of the door which is why it looks a bit patchy!

Edited October 6, 2018 by Astrokev

[Gina]

That's a lot better.

[Yawning Angel]

Looking very smart! Something to be really proud of. 

I’ve gone with a quite dark gray, after some ‘discussions‘ ? Screening plants and there shouldn’t be too much of an issue

[JamesF]

Lovely :)  It's tipping down here, too.  Particularly irritating as for most of tomorrow (when it is forecast to be dry) I am out.

James

[Gina]

Almost stopped raining here now...  Very heavy rain earlier!