Winter Use

[Likwid]

Hello,

I have been doing a lot of research on this and I am reading a lot of contradictory information. I have an Orion Sirius Mount, with an ED80 and T3i for imaging, and ST80 with ASI120MM for guiding. I am trying to get prepared for the colder weather currently. Now, I have read that everything should be fine, I can keep my whole setup in my garage in freezing temperatures and I won't have much cooldown time when getting set up. I don't use the hand controller anymore, and I have read that the display stops working on it in cold weather anyways. I also have an AC adapter for my camera so I don't have to worry about short battery life. I read that the lube in the Sirius will harden in freezing temperatures and could cause damage to the gears. I was going to take apart my mount and re-lube everything before winter just to be safe, but is that necessary? Also, what lube should I use if that is recommended?

Thank you in advance!

[Scott42]

How cold are we talking here?  Frigid?  The grease in most mounts should work fine in cold temperatures.  That said, I don't observe much below 20 degrees F. 

Orion still sells this mount - why not ask them?  Hopefully they can give you a minimum operating temperature.

[Timebandit]

 

 

Its all about viscosity when it comes to oils and greases, the ability to flow. Oil and greases ability to flow does decrease as temperature decreases. Therefore this could put extra strain in theory on your drive gear/motors. So really you need to know what grease you have at the moment, and its temperature rating. Or if you know what temperature you are going to be operating your mount in, then a grease that is rated for that temperature, that is suitable for use in your mount. Maybe contact the mount manufacturer and ask them what temperature rating your existing grease is rated for?

Or just fill it with antifreeze, then good to go all through winter 😀( only joking, don't really fill your mount with antifreeze)

 

 

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

how cold is it likely to get?

[Likwid]

Perfect, thank you both! I did so much research and for whatever reason, didn't think to contact the manufacturer. I will do that! I would keep it in the garage until it got a little below or around freezing, so nothing too extreme.