Beware SkyTee 2 Mount

[edgehduser]

NOTE FROM ADMIN: This member has been banned from SGL multiple times so the thread is locked. 

Amongst the gear I have is a Sky Tee mount.

A few weeks back now I was using it BALANCED with my 120mm triplet when bang, I just missed seeing the mount lose it    and the focusser detached from the triplet and the rest of the scope hit the mount.

According to the retailer, a large well known one, I will be lucky to get a new dew shield perhaps in two years as they don['t have spares.  He can respray it inside

The thread of the SkyTee STRIPPED, see images.

Yes it is being replaced by OVL, took FOUR weeks 

 

[edgehduser]

One more

[johninderby]

Ouch!!!!   ?

I no longer put anything heavy on that side of the mount as the holding screw is just too small and it can slip.

[chiltonstar]

I agree with John - that side of the mount is for lighter scopes, hence the small bar.

Chris

[AndyH]

Oh man, that's horrific. Please tell me the optics survived the thump ?!?

[DirkSteele]

Seeing a few reports of things like this happening with that particular mount.  Scary to say the least.  When I was looking for a heavy duty Alt-Az mount, I asked a well known scope maker / retailer and mentioned the Sky-Tee and he said he would not use it and directed me towards the Tele Optic Ercole.

[Moonshane]

As nasty as this is at least the objective looks OK thankfully.

[JeremyS]

Terrible news. Sorry to hear it. Thanks for alerting others.

[CraigT82]

Ouch sounds nasty!  How did the focuser become detached from the scope?  Did it swing down violently when the thread gave in?

[John]

I've advised this several times in other threads - the upper mounting point is not a good place to put a large heavy scope because it puts a lot of stress on that single screw. 

I hope the damage to your scope can be sorted out soon.

I agree that the Giro Ercole is better engineered than the Skytee II but when I recently owned both, I found the Skytee II a slightly more stable mount with my largest refractor - a 130mm F/9.2 triplet. I only use the side mounting point with an ADM clamp bolted to the mount with 8mm screws for this scope (and my others).

 

[johninderby]

I’ve owned a couple of the Giro mounts but sold them on. Very well engineered but with some annoying features as well.  Still have the Skytee as I just like using it more despite it’s somewhat agricultural engineering. 

[edgehduser]

2 hours ago, AndyH said:

Oh man, that's horrific. Please tell me the optics survived the thump ?!?

 

Actually 100% perfect, getting a quote for "consiquentialloss" from the seller to replace the shade which OVL says should only take about 4 months to arrive   

 

[edgehduser]

2 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

Seeing a few reports of things like this happening with that particular mount.  Scary to say the least.  When I was looking for a heavy duty Alt-Az mount, I asked a well known scope maker / retailer and mentioned the Sky-Tee and he said he would not use it and directed me towards the Tele Optic Ercole.

Except that won't take a 120mm triplet

[edgehduser]

58 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Ouch sounds nasty!  How did the focuser become detached from the scope?  Did it swing down violently when the thread gave in?

Yes, it was balanced but like every scope take something out and it becomes un balanced, simply removing the 2" eyepiece and barlow

[AndyH]

Phew !! Better 4 months, than never. That incident must have sent the blood pressure skyrocketing

[edgehduser]

2 hours ago, Moonshane said:

As nasty as this is at least the objective looks OK thankfully.

Actually with new for old insurance on EVERYTHING I was not too concerned just annoyed.  Now more so in so far as the seller said OVL wild be sending a replacement and OVL say they have never received the faulty one back, THREE weeks later

[edgehduser]

Usually I use the side mount, sods law

[FLO]

5 hours ago, edgehduser said:

According to the retailer, a large well known one

It was not us. FLO is not the supplier  

1 hour ago, John said:

I've advised this several times in other threads - the upper mounting point is not a good place to put a large heavy scope because it puts a lot of stress on that single screw. 

We have added your advice to our product description, just to be safe 

Though to be fair to OVL, our own records show we haven't seen a customer-return SkyTee mount since 2015 so they don't often fail. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[Stu]

35 minutes ago, edgehduser said:

Except that won't take a 120mm triplet

Yes it will, rated to 15kg each side if I remember correctly. I put a 20kg 150ED on one once, worked fine.

[Stu]

5 hours ago, edgehduser said:

One more

How did the inside of the dew shield get damaged?

[DirkSteele]

49 minutes ago, edgehduser said:

Except that won't take a 120mm triplet

I disagree with that.  It has an 18kg load capacity on each arm.  Now while load capacity in isolation is somewhat meaningless and the moment arm is very important, i.e length and weight combined, the Ercole has been loaded up with far more than a 120mm triplet.  I know of people who have put 5 and 6" triplets on it.  I will be using my new 130mm f/9.25 triplet on it.

[edgehduser]

It was dark but the tube hit the mount pushing the shield in hard, banged down on the mount legs

I have just heard from OVL that the replacement head is coming Saturday they have just "found" the old one in the warehouse   

[John]

1 hour ago, DirkSteele said:

I disagree with that.  It has an 18kg load capacity on each arm.  Now while load capacity in isolation is somewhat meaningless and the moment arm is very important, i.e length and weight combined, the Ercole has been loaded up with far more than a 120mm triplet.  I know of people who have put 5 and 6" triplets on it.  I will be using my new 130mm f/9.25 triplet on it.

Perhaps your Ercole will work better with your 130 F/9.25 than mine did with a similar scope. The Skytee II was a bit more stable, rather to my surprise

[DirkSteele]

19 minutes ago, John said:

Perhaps your Ercole will work better with your 130 F/9.25 than mine did with a similar scope. The Skytee II was a bit more stable, rather to my surprise

That is very surprising!  Same tripod in the comparison?  I will report on it once I take delivery and spend some time under the stars with it.

[John]

6 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

That is very surprising!  Same tripod in the comparison?  I will report on it once I take delivery and spend some time under the stars with it.

Same tripod - Berlebach Uni 28. Same surfaces (patio then lawn). Directly compared on several occasions. Maybe my expectations were too high ?

Neither were absolutely "rock solid" with the 130 F/9.25 but vibration control was definitely better with the Skytee II.

The Ercole is a lovely thing though and I really would have rather hung onto it than the Skytee II but I had to be practical.