1.25 solar wedge

[wookie1965]

I am getting conflicting information I was told anything over a 4" scope should use a 2" Wedge I have seen 1.25mm wedges for sale on astronomy merchants saying it can be used up to a 150mm I want one for my 5" Refractor but am not sure what to get can someone help me please. 

[laudropb]

Hi. I have used a Lunt 1.25 mm wedge without any problems. When not actually viewing I cap the objective lens.

[John]

I have used my 1.25 inch Lunt wedge with my ED120 refractor a number of times without any problem. The heat sink gets pretty warm but that is what it is meant to do.

I use a single polarising filter on the eyepiece so control the final image brightness. Some folks love the Baader Continuum filter as an alternative to the polarising one.

I take the finder off my scope when using the wedge and never leave the scope unattended.

 

[AdeKing]

Like John, I've used my 1.25" wedge with my ED120 without problems.

As John said the heatsink gets fairly warm but not so hot that I've noticed it presenting a serious risk of burning yourself.

Ade

[Stu]

@wookie1965 I think I confirmed my opinion on FB, although to be fair there is plenty of mixed information out there.

Lunt say ‘1.25” is best up to 100mm, 2” best up to 150mm’, but that does not imply you can’t use the 1.25” up to 150mm

Some relevant discussion here:

For me, the 1.25” will be fine in the 127mm. The disk on the back of the wedge is designed to get hot, so you should be concerned if it does.

[Peter Drew]

I've used my 1.25" Lunt wedge and a 1.25" Lacerta wedge on a 8.5" refractor without problems.  A 2" wedge would be better, the Lacerta is about the size of a 2".      🙂

[wookie1965]

https://luntsolarsystems.com/shop/solar-products/white-light-wedges/white-light-solar-wedges/

According to this it says the 1.25 is for 4 inch or less that is why I'm confused. 

Thank you I will read through that link now.

[wookie1965]

Would using the 1.25mm in the 5"  and track or is it best just to look at the sun for 5 mins then let the wedge cool down then look again. 

Thank you. 

Paul 

[John]

I don't use a tracking mount personally. Others might though ?

 

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Peter Drew said:

I've used my 1.25" Lunt wedge and a 1.25" Lacerta wedge on a 8.5" refractor without problems.  A 2" wedge would be better, the Lacerta is about the size of a 2".      🙂

In what way would it be better Peter? Better quality view or better cooling? I’ve not found a problem with cooling on the 1.25” wedges, but from a quality perspective the Baader Coolwedge is definitely better.

[Peter Drew]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

In what way would it be better Peter? Better quality view or better cooling? I’ve not found a problem with cooling on the 1.25” wedges, but from a quality perspective the Baader Coolwedge is definitely better.

I get the feeling that the mass of a 2" version of a wedge might handle the heat issue more comfortably.  What intrigues me more is the obsession with the care taken to ensure thermal equilibrium of optics for night time use versus the full heat of the Sun being introduced into the OTA when a wedge is in use yet the instrument still being capable of sub arcsecond resolution on a good day .          🤔