Glue for camping mattress foam?

[Rusted]

Has anyone had reliable success with gluing camping mattress foam edge to edge?

The dense, closed cell foam type.  Which glue did you use?

I have found neoprene glues for repairing diving suits but am not sure this is the same material.

I want to make foam dewshields to reduce overnight heat loss and avoid morning dewing.
My thinking is that a foam tube will be far better than a conventional metal dewshield for observatory refractors.
I am losing hours of precious solar imaging time to external and internal dewing of the 6" and 7" objectives.

A plug of similar foam material can close the front of the dewshield tubes like a lens cap between imaging sessions.

Enclosing the dew heater bands will reduce heat loss and should avoid morning dewing at lower settings.
I shall be monitoring the temperatures involved with digital, thermometers to avoid any risk of fires!

EDIT: Using different search terms I found an old thread on here.

Evo-Stik, UHU, hot glue, gaffer tape and self adhesive Velcro were all mentioned.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Rusted

[PeterW]

Got some “bison” contact adhesive (what was available at the local hardware shop). Apply to the edges, wait till dry and contact. I was staggered how well the glue held just with a thin contact area. The material fails rather than the bond join! The stuff I was bonding was the 1cm thick fine pore foam used for camping roll matts. I use them for shields and impact protection for binoculars.

 

hope this helps

Petet

[Rusted]

9 hours ago, PeterW said:

Got some “bison” contact adhesive (what was available at the local hardware shop). Apply to the edges, wait till dry and contact. I was staggered how well the glue held just with a thin contact area. The material fails rather than the bond join! The stuff I was bonding was the 1cm thick fine pore foam used for camping roll matts. I use them for shields and impact protection for binoculars.

hope this helps

Peter

Excellent! Thank you Peter.

The Bison range is available over here in the usual DIY outlets.
I was going to use 1cm thick foam myself. Though thinner foam is available.
Some have suggested mitering the contact edges for more surface area.
This seems to be unnecessary if the joint is as strong as you suggest.

Thanks again.

Update: I have just found Campz, aluminium coated, black foam, sleeping pads.

CAMPZ Liggeunderlag Single-Layer 180x50cm, black | Find outdoortøj, sko & udstyr på nettet | CAMPZ.dk

Cheap! Alu. coating blocks thermal radiation to the night sky and foam insulates against convection.  Pretty too!
Rough foam helps blocks grazing reflections. Could even be given a quick matt black spray inside if needed.

Seems ideal. So I've placed an order.

Edited February 21, 2020 by Rusted
add info

[PeterW]

I got the original idea from a YouTube using thin foam sheets to make Cosplay armour, had some foam so had a try to see how well it worked. Then made some dew shields. Interested to hear how the foil covered stuff gets on, could be the black material needs no additional flocking, which would be useful.

Peter

[Rusted]

Indeed. The cut edge of the foam in the illustration looks similar to some black foam I have here.

It will take a few days to arrive but I'll post an update when I have it here.

 

[ollypenrice]

Camping mat makes great dewshields but I think you'll be lucky to stick edge to edge reliably. I put tape round them. Alternatively you could make two cylinders bonded together, the one inside the other with the joints opposite each other.

Olly

[Rusted]

Thanks Olly. The problem with laminating two tubes at 180° is the final 20mm thickness!

[ollypenrice]

13 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Thanks Olly. The problem with laminating two tubes at 180° is the final 20mm thickness!

Do you have a router? If so you could cut a couple thin plywood rings of the right diameter. I've done this in the past. 

Olly

[PeterW]

@ollypenrice the edge contact with the contact glue I had was not rip apartable. I was very pleasantly surprised just how strong it was. The Cosplay community know their stuff and then mostly work with much thinner foam sheets and still butt joint edges. With some flexible rings and thinner foam I could make some “packable” shields that take up less space.

 

Peter

[Macavity]

Are we talking Camping <Shudder> or making (laudable) Telescope Dewshields? 🥳

Ah..." I want to make foam dewshields"! 😎

I made a number of the latter by accurately "squaring" the edges of matress foam
using a Craft Knife. I then (approximately) aligned the latter into a "cylinder" using
short pieces of (paper) masking tape. I didn't even TRY to stick the edge together! 😼

I then secured it all using the popular "Gorilla Tape" (whatever) *along* the join...
The key (for me) was not to try to join the bloomin' stuff  edge to edge!



You can use the telescope of dew shield... a "random cylinder" as a template?
Not always my virtue, but *patience* is/was a significant part of all this. lol. 🥳

Edited February 21, 2020 by Macavity

[Rusted]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I was trying to avoid tape because of doubts over longevity in an unheated observatory.
The cosplay references about sticking foam together popped up in my searches.
All [presumably] without major consequences or [unintended] public nudity.
That said, they are unlikely to spend much time out of doors, overnight in cold and damp conditions. 🥶

[PeterW]

Happy to stick some bits together and hang them in the garden to test. Even gorilla tape wears out as my (much rerepaired) wallet bears witness. The smart money is to make slightly conical shields to keep them out the beam path, though getting a nice snug straight fit to the tube is harder.
For camping the self inflating matts are a much better bet!!

You could a also use the foam matt for standing on in the dark... unless your boots are up to the job of keeping the cold away from your toes!

Peter

[JOC]

FWIW when I tried making a dew shield from a camping mat I found the added weight was too much and it affected the goto performance.

[Rusted]

Re: Durability test? I'll save you the bother and complain bitterly if it falls to pieces within a decade.

Re: Boots? -50C rating, unsinkable and self-righting!   Guaranteed to cause global warming by default.

Re: Telescopes unbalanced? They wouldn't dare!

Thanks guys.

[PeterW]

Goto performance... you need to go down the gym more ?! 😉

Peter

PS boots to -50C??... better than my Mucks??

[Rusted]

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

PS boots to -50C??... better than my Mucks?? Peter

Mine are similar but taller to cope with deeper snow.
Though I imagine they are all very similar.
My feet used to freeze when I spent all day solar imaging in the observatory.
My wife soon became bored with hearing about it and bought me some "proper" boots.
The amazing thing is how easy they are to slip on and off despite being "fur lined."
Skip-on sandals are more difficult to put on than these.
Walking in them is akin to putting slippers on a dog. 

[PeterW]

Totally agree, I can just step into mine, pop to the shops and slip them off again, without having to bend down and fiddle with laces...

You know you need to do something when you wake up the next morning and your feet are still cold and painful from the night before!

PEter

[ollypenrice]

6 hours ago, JOC said:

FWIW when I tried making a dew shield from a camping mat I found the added weight was too much and it affected the goto performance.

Really? They weigh so little. I've never noticed any effect from their weight.

Olly

[ollypenrice]

39 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Mine are similar but taller to cope with deeper snow.
Though I imagine they are all very similar.
My feet used to freeze when I spent all day solar imaging in the observatory.
My wife soon became bored with hearing about it and bought me some "proper" boots.
The amazing thing is how easy they are to slip on and off despite being "fur lined."
Skip-on sandals are more difficult to put on than these.
Walking in them is akin to putting slippers on a dog. 

I had some very like this from Meindel, so reputable, but the uppers separated from the rubber in far too short a time to represent acceptable value. I loved them, though. Until they fell apart they were perfect. What make are these?

Olly

[PeterW]

Expanding the pic they are Kamik, a well known brand for ultra cool situations.

Peter

[Rusted]

10 hours ago, PeterW said:

Expanding the pic they are Kamik, a well known brand for ultra cool situations.

Peter

Wot he said.

I pray they will remain in their present condition without noticeable change!
I tried some "big name" hiking boots and they were incredibly comfortable as new.
But they leaked enough for free replacements within the guarantee period and they leaked.