TeleGizmos365 cover vs non astro covers

[msacco]

Hello, I'm looking for a cover to leave outside my mount, tripier, and maybe my scope as well if it would work well.

It would be a near permanent setup(will be taken apart once a month in a new moon I guess), I'll face high temperature and some humidity, rain is something to take into account, but there's not much rain here so it shouldn't be a big deal, same with strong winds, there are no strong winds here.

There is the TeleGizmos 365 cover which seems like the highest quality, but it seems like a very heavy scope against rain, and might not be as suitable against the hot sun, I'm wondering if there might be other things I should consider before I'm getting a TeleGizmos 365 cover? Budget is not a concern here, I'm looking at a big dobsonian cover at the moment to cover it almost completely with some room to breath.

Would love to hear some suggestions whether I should look at other solutions other than TeleGizmos 365, or just get one.

Thanks :)

[Jiggy 67]

Telegizmos all day long. Re the Sun, they are lined inside with reflective material for that very reason (I am not aware of any other covers that have this). I leave my mount (and often the scope as well) for months on end in all weather with no issues. I wouldn’t use anything other than the TG

Edited September 20, 2021 by Jiggy 67

[bottletopburly]

Can’t speak for other makes but my telegizmo has served my well inner lining starting to wear due to weight of cover , but I’d buy again and I’ve had it a few years maybe 4 or 5 .

[msacco]

1 hour ago, Jiggy 67 said:

Telegizmos all day long. Re the Sun, they are lined inside with reflective material for that very reason (I am not aware of any other covers that have this). I leave my mount (and often the scope as well) for months on end in all weather with no issues. I wouldn’t use anything other than the TG

 

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

Can’t speak for other makes but my telegizmo has served my well inner lining starting to wear due to weight of cover , but I’d buy again and I’ve had it a few years maybe 4 or 5 .

That sounds pretty decisive, thank you for the help! TeleGizmos 365 cover that is.
Would you happen to have any recommendations regarding humid control? What is the best passive/active way of preventing dew under the cover? I planned on getting a big Dobsonian cover for my scope cover it until the bottom of the tripod.

I also wonder whether I should maybe split it into a tripod cover + scope + mount cover. What would be your recommendation?
E.g - both of these:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telegizmos-telescope-covers/telegizmos-365-tripod-cover-dual-material-w-solar-liner.html
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telegizmos-telescope-covers/telegizmos-365-scope-cover-for-12-14-dobsonians.html

Or just one big dobsonian cover.

Thanks!

Edited September 20, 2021 by msacco

[bottletopburly]

Just make sure there is air flow on underneath don’t tie it up , and a pc fan can be fitted underneath be it on the pier or in my case on the primary mirror of my newt just to keep air flow moving .

[msacco]

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

Just make sure there is air flow on underneath don’t tie it up , and a pc fan can be fitted underneath be it on the pier or in my case on the primary mirror of my newt just to keep air flow moving .

What is the purpose of having airflow?

I can think of 2 scenarios:
1. The cover completely covers the scope top to bottom, meaning there is sort of an 'enclosed environment', I can see that it can be good by being able to possibly control the environment more easily, but can be bad by the fact that it can produce more humidity, keep the heat inside.
2. Let the cover some air to breathe, so the above 'bads' aren't much of an issue, but if there is high of humidity outside or extreme heat, I believe it could be harder to control the humidity/cool under the cover?

That just what I think, I might be completely wrong, which is the reason for asking experienced people here

Thanks.

[M40]

30 minutes ago, msacco said:

1. The cover completely covers the scope top to bottom, meaning there is sort of an 'enclosed environment', I can see that it can be good by being able to possibly control the environment more easily, but can be bad by the fact that it can produce more humidity, keep the heat inside.
2. Let the cover some air to breathe, so the above 'bads' aren't much of an issue, but if there is high of humidity outside or extreme heat, I believe it could be harder to control the humidity/cool under the cover?

Think of it being similar to a car. If you throw a cover over a car once its in from the rain, you are trapping any moisture between cover and car, not good for the car. It will be the same with a mount, any dew on the mount will be trapped between mount and the TG.

I tend to take the telescope in and leave the mount under the TG cover but I throw a builders bucket over the mount thereby keeping an air gap between cover and mount. I might also add that I went up a size in cover. It tends to get a bit close to the floor when its just the mount, but there is plenty of cover for when I leave the telescope on the mount.

[Stuart1971]

I had my mount under a TG 365 cover, and tied it tights around the bottom, but I had a 12v 25watt dew strap on all the time under it, and never got to dew point at all, without that not sure whether it would have dewed up or not, but did not want to take the risk….👍🏼

[msacco]

4 hours ago, M40 said:

Think of it being similar to a car. If you throw a cover over a car once its in from the rain, you are trapping any moisture between cover and car, not good for the car. It will be the same with a mount, any dew on the mount will be trapped between mount and the TG.

I tend to take the telescope in and leave the mount under the TG cover but I throw a builders bucket over the mount thereby keeping an air gap between cover and mount. I might also add that I went up a size in cover. It tends to get a bit close to the floor when its just the mount, but there is plenty of cover for when I leave the telescope on the mount.

Yep I totally understand the logic, but as I said above, if more moisture is gathered between the cover and car, that means this is somewhat of a closer environment, and with that I should be able to control the humidity more easily?
Obviously I aim for a humidity and maybe cooling solution as well, so it's not like I trust all the work to the cover without thinking about the results of that.

As for size, I think I'd rather get a bigger cover than a smaller cover, I could somewhat control a bigger cover, a smaller cover might be more of an issue.

4 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

I had my mount under a TG 365 cover, and tied it tights around the bottom, but I had a 12v 25watt dew strap on all the time under it, and never got to dew point at all, without that not sure whether it would have dewed up or not, but did not want to take the risk….👍🏼

I plan on having a solution(passive/active) for dew, as I'm sure no matter what I'll do I'll get moisture without any control, so that's a must for me.

[david_taurus83]

I've just bought a TG365 cover and I can also vouch for the quality. I too though, would like to know how others deal with frost for example. Is it a bad idea to cover a frost bitten scope and mount the morning after? I should hopefully be piered up before winter so wondering how to deal with covering the scope in the mornings after. 

[Stuart1971]

11 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

I've just bought a TG365 cover and I can also vouch for the quality. I too though, would like to know how others deal with frost for example. Is it a bad idea to cover a frost bitten scope and mount the morning after? I should hopefully be piered up before winter so wondering how to deal with covering the scope in the mornings after. 

This was my issue, the cover was great while not in use with low wattage heater under, but then when I used the mount and it was covered in frost at the end of a session, I did have an issue, I had to put the cover on but loosely until the next day when hopefully it was dry weather and could remove the cover and let it dry naturally, this became a real pain, and the observatory was built…👍🏼

[msacco]

1 hour ago, Stuart1971 said:

This was my issue, the cover was great while not in use with low wattage heater under, but then when I used the mount and it was covered in frost at the end of a session, I did have an issue, I had to put the cover on but loosely until the next day when hopefully it was dry weather and could remove the cover and let it dry naturally, this became a real pain, and the observatory was built…👍🏼

Luckily for me frost would never be an issue for me
It won't be cold enough for that.

[Lee_P]

Shout-out for Cygnus Astro covers, if you're in the UK. I haven't used a TG365 so can't make a direct comparison, but my Cygnus Astro is a lot cheaper, and still keeps the rain off! The chap that makes them can make you a custom size bespoke for your set up too.

[msacco]

7 hours ago, Lee_P said:

Shout-out for Cygnus Astro covers, if you're in the UK. I haven't used a TG365 so can't make a direct comparison, but my Cygnus Astro is a lot cheaper, and still keeps the rain off! The chap that makes them can make you a custom size bespoke for your set up too.

Thanks, but as far as it seems this only protects from rain and nothing much more. As I said, rain is not really my issue, it's mostly heat and humid, so I doubt this cover is what I'm looking for.

[david_taurus83]

On 21/09/2021 at 09:21, Stuart1971 said:

This was my issue, the cover was great while not in use with low wattage heater under, but then when I used the mount and it was covered in frost at the end of a session, I did have an issue, I had to put the cover on but loosely until the next day when hopefully it was dry weather and could remove the cover and let it dry naturally, this became a real pain, and the observatory was built…👍🏼

No chance of an obsy in my garden! There's a big shed I've already claimed for myself so can't claim more garden space! I might have to rig up some sort of technical device to enable me to cover the scope in the morning but keep the TG slightly elevated so it's not wrapping around it. An old sweeping brush perhaps 🤔 

[Stuart1971]

1 hour ago, david_taurus83 said:

No chance of an obsy in my garden! There's a big shed I've already claimed for myself so can't claim more garden space! I might have to rig up some sort of technical device to enable me to cover the scope in the morning but keep the TG slightly elevated so it's not wrapping around it. An old sweeping brush perhaps 🤔 

Yes I considered something like an upside down plastic bin, full of holes, and the TG cover over that….so it kept it off the kit…

[msacco]

On 20/09/2021 at 23:35, msacco said:

Yep I totally understand the logic, but as I said above, if more moisture is gathered between the cover and car, that means this is somewhat of a closer environment, and with that I should be able to control the humidity more easily?
Obviously I aim for a humidity and maybe cooling solution as well, so it's not like I trust all the work to the cover without thinking about the results of that.

As for size, I think I'd rather get a bigger cover than a smaller cover, I could somewhat control a bigger cover, a smaller cover might be more of an issue.

I plan on having a solution(passive/active) for dew, as I'm sure no matter what I'll do I'll get moisture without any control, so that's a must for me.

Guys any ideas about the above? I still didn't really get my answers for that and I'd like to place an order for the TS365 cover, but still not sure exactly which one

[bottletopburly]

You need a cover that will cover your largest scope to within 6” of floor

Edited September 24, 2021 by bottletopburly

[msacco]

On 24/09/2021 at 18:01, bottletopburly said:

You need a cover that will cover your largest scope to within 6” of floor

In that case, I think the 12-14" would be a good fit for that:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telegizmos-telescope-covers/telegizmos-365-scope-cover-for-12-14-dobsonians.html