Once bitten twice shy

[derekf]

7 minutes ago, Doc said:

When I bought my HEQ6 many years ago I knew about the problem and just bought the upgraded bolt kit. I know the mount should come with these bolts as standard but in the 10+ years they have been around they haven't.

It's a great mount apart from that so I would just bite the bullet and buy the upgraded bolts, or make some yourself.

I wish i could but i'm one of them fussy awkward customers who expects things to be right lol

[LightBucket]

2 minutes ago, derekf said:

I wish i could but i'm one of them fussy awkward customers who expects things to be right lol

You could just ask the retailer in question for a set of the upgraded bolts and to cover the cost of replacing and posting them to you... ??

[Doc]

1 minute ago, derekf said:

I wish i could but i'm one of them fussy awkward customers who expects things to be right lol

You are cutting of your nose to spite the face. Skywatcher are not going to change, for the sake of £25 you buy ready made stainless steel replacements. If you don't you will have the hassle of sending it back, trying to get a replacement or your money back. It's more hassle then it's worth in my opinion. At the end of the day spend £25 and you have a great mount.

[LightBucket]

Just now, Doc said:

You are cutting of your nose to spite the face. Skywatcher are not going to change, for the sake of £25 you buy ready made stainless steel replacements. If you don't you will have the hassle of sending it back, trying to get a replacement or your money back. It's more hassle then it's worth in my opinion. At the end of the day spend £25 and you have a great mount.

Or get the retailer to spend £25 and send you the bolts for free....?.?

[Doc]

1 minute ago, LightBucket said:

Or get the retailer to spend £25 and send you the bolts for free....?.?

It's worth a try 

[derekf]

2 minutes ago, Doc said:

You are cutting of your nose to spite the face. Skywatcher are not going to change, for the sake of £25 you buy ready made stainless steel replacements. If you don't you will have the hassle of sending it back, trying to get a replacement or your money back. It's more hassle then it's worth in my opinion. At the end of the day spend £25 and you have a great mount.

You just made my Mrs laugh she said how the blood hell does he know you 

[brantuk]

The issue with Skywatcher providing hardened steel bolts is that the mount is made of a softer steel, and with heavy use, the internal soft steel threads would eventually strip and that would create a bigger problem for them. So they provide bolts that match the mount and leave it to the consumer to decide the best "personal" way forward. My advice is get the harder bolts (especially if you live North of Birmingham) and don't over load the mount when doing adjustments. Well worth it cos the mount is a cracker when it's set up right.

Edited January 13, 2018 by brantuk

[derekf]

2 minutes ago, Doc said:

It's worth a try 

i've boxed it all back up already, they are going to pick it up and take it back and look what the problem is.

[Doc]

2 minutes ago, derekf said:

i've boxed it all back up already, they are going to pick it up and take it back and look what the problem is.

Well keep us all informed with the outcome.

[LightBucket]

5 minutes ago, derekf said:

i've boxed it all back up already, they are going to pick it up and take it back and look what the problem is.

The thing is if you send back that means it’s going to be chucked about by a courier, and when it gets there they will look at it and say “oh yes the bolts are crap” then they will offer to send it back to you again with a new set of bolts and yet again the courier chucks it about and it could get back in a worse state and cause you more hassle..

so wouldn’t it be best to ask them to cover the cost of a new set of bolts instead of sending back and potentially having more issues, if they refuse then, (would be very petty of them to)  just send back but, then get a refund and go elsewhere.... :]

Edited January 13, 2018 by LightBucket

[LightBucket]

Surely it’s obvious what the problem is, whay does it have to be returned for them to see that......I have dealt with this retailer before, I wont mention there name, but my experience with them was terrible to be honest, I don’t trust them one bit, they seem to be very lacking of experience, and I certainly would not but a belt modded Mount from them....as that mod is for someone with good skills and patience...

[Doc]

Even if your replacement mount has bolts that don't bend I bet you a Mars bar that within a few months you will buy stainless steel replacements, everyone does it's one of the regular upgrades.

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Doc

[derekf]

2 minutes ago, Doc said:

Even if your replacement mount has bolts that don't bend I bet you a Mars bar that within a few months you will buy stainless steel replacements, everyone does it's one of the regular upgrades.

 

 

 

Would have to be a milkyway 

 

But on a serious note i just want something that works and isn't going to be causing me undue stress in the near future 

[dweller25]

1 hour ago, derekf said:

Please forgive me if i'm missing something very obvious, but isn't the mount supposed to take the weight?  and to do an exact polar alignment its best to have all the gear on and balanced beforehand

I always thought - and I could be wrong  that the mount will disperse the weight of your scope, with some of it going to the bolts.

If you try to adjust the altitude under load the bolts will have to adjust the full weight and will be at risk of damage.

Thats why I never adjust my mounts loaded.

Edited January 13, 2018 by dweller25

[newbie alert]

1 hour ago, derekf said:

Please forgive me if i'm missing something very obvious, but isn't the mount supposed to take the weight?  and to do an exact polar alignment its best to have all the gear on and balanced beforehand

Strange as it sounds there's plenty of people that polar align the mount then load the scope/camera etc and think it doesn't move...

[tooth_dr]

10 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

Strange as it sounds there's plenty of people that polar align the mount then load the scope/camera etc and think it doesn't move...

It might move a bit but then you can fine tune it! That’s the point being raised here. 

 

Honestly I think it’s mad sending the mount back for two bolts (or even just the one that’s needed) that could easily be sourced and posted out by the supplier/retailer. 

[carastro]

Oh dear, my smaller HEQ5 has replacement bolts, but I always do PA fully loaded even with a dual rig, as I go to Astro camps with it, and am not going to faff around in the dark loading everything up afterwards when I could be getting on with imaging in the short time I have there, been doing this for quite a few years.  

Carole 

[MarsG76]

1 hour ago, LightBucket said:

It isnt those bolts that bend, it’s the ALT adjustment ones....  those AZ  ones work fine

In that case that's worse than I thought... definitely get the £65 upgrade if that fixes the problem and comes with a tougher ALT bolt... I'd be [removed word] too... 

SKYWATCHER... how disappointing!!

[Demonperformer]

Ooo, just found this ... I did not know about the 12-month rule ...

[These are UK rules, don't know about elsewhere]

Edited January 13, 2018 by Demonperformer

[MarsG76]

8 hours ago, Demonperformer said:

Ooo, just found this ... I did not know about the 12-month rule ...

[These are UK rules, don't know about elsewhere]

Similar consumer laws in Australia...

[Mr Spock]

I tell you what I do with my HEQ6. I adjust it when fully loaded. What I do is unwind the locking bolt put my weight on the counterweight bar; now there is no weight on the adjustment bolt I wind that in until it's over compensated; I then take weight off the bar and unwind the adjustment bolt until it's just above where I want it to be; I then wind in the locking bolt which when tightened moves the mount the last fraction of a millimetre until the axis is aligned.

I've had my HEQ6 since they first came out and have had no problems with the adjustment bolt.

[Stu]

19 hours ago, derekf said:

Would have to be a milkyway 

 

But on a serious note i just want something that works and isn't going to be causing me undue stress in the near future 

I think that is the point, unless you take action to either change the way you do the adjustment (as suggested by Mr Spock) or change the bolts, even once the retailer has checked it and put new (original) bolts in you will still have to be careful. It is just the nature of the design and many people have been where you are now. The instructions say (I believe) that you should adjust with no load, so if you do otherwise there is potential for them to reject a warranty claim I guess?

Skywatcher do a lot of things right and a few things wrong. Without spending money on a different mount such as an AZEQ6 or another manufacturer which has a different mechanism, or a modded alt adjustment for the EQ6, then you are limited to what is on offer.

[Stu]

Knew I had seen this somewhere:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p7490_Vimech-EQ6-Wedge-for-fast-and-easy-alignment-and-more-stability-for-your-mount.html

[Mr Spock]

I think for the money that wedge takes the EQ6 to the next level.

[Mr Spock]

I should add, even with new or better bolts, you should not be using brute force to make adjustments!