Pipe Insulation for Lightbridge Truss Tubes

[John]

I'd like to dull down the truss tubes on my Lightbridge 12 inch dob to further reduce the chance of glare within the scope. I've seen that some folks use foam pipe insulation slid onto the tubes which seems less messy than trying to paint them. It will also have the benefit of making the Astrozap light shroud a slightly tighter fit so there is even less chance of it getting in the light path.

I've been looking around hardware / DIY stores and the only stuff I can find is pale grey coloured - does anyone know if you can get this insulation in black ? - or would grey be OK ?.

Thanks,

John

[Doc]

Maybe spray the foam with black paint.

But grey is alot better then white so I would say go for it.

[johninderby]

Hi

You could also use heat shrink tubing. I believe that RS components carries the bigger sizes. I used the woven heat shrink tubing when I did my 16" Lightbridge (now sold). The woven is a lot tougher than the regular heat shrink as it was intended for protecting piping in engine compartments etc.

Here's a pic of my old Lightbridge. If using the woven spray the truss tubes black first as the silver shows through a bit.

John

[TheThing]

You could use old bicycle inner tubes, cut down and stretch them over the trusses? They come in black and will take up less room that the insulation. I'm sure if you have a word with your local bike repair shop, they'll give you some old ones for free - after all, you don't need them to be air tight!

[John]

You could use old bicycle inner tubes, cut down and stretch them over the trusses? They come in black and will take up less room that the insulation. I'm sure if you have a word with your local bike repair shop, they'll give you some old ones for free - after all, you don't need them to be air tight!

Thats an interesting idea

Thanks - I'll investigate that one.

John

[TheThing]

No worries. Be interested to hear how you get on.

[tim r]

Plumbers merchants sell black pipe lagging from 8mm to 28mm and above with different size wall thickness and its not too expensive

[Insulag]

The black lagging material you are talking about is expanded nitrile rubber, aka elastomeric foam. The big brand name is Armaflex, although there are a few other brands knocking around such as Insul Tube and Eurobatex that I can name off the top of my head (I sell this kind of stuff for a living).

The "black stuff" is usually more expensive, but less weather resistant.

I have to say, using it on telescopes is a new one on me, although I have heard some really odd uses ranging from padding wheelchairs for dogs to neck braces for parrots (no joke)

[albedo0.39]

I used the woven heat shrink tubing when I did my 16" Lightbridge

Hey John, where did you get this from ? I was thinking of bike inner tubes and tried an old road bike tyre (too tight) but I'd be interested where you get the woven from though

Thanks

Steve

[John]

I bought it from a supplier on E.Bay Steve - I went for the Armaflex stuff in the end with a 20mm central hole and 9mm walls. With a bit of care it fitted like a glove although I found you needed to push the more rounded end of the truss poles in first as the other end of the posts have sharper edges and tear the tubing. I chose the stuff that is not split down it's length but that did mean that I had to remove the truss poles completely to fit it.

The truss poles on my 12" are 1" in diameter - I don't know if the 16" uses the same diameter poles.

Hope that helps,

John