How do you store your telescopes?

[Bogmonster]

Hey guys!

Question for everyone here. How do you store your telescopes when not using them? Do you leave it assembled and ready all the time or do you disassemble it and keep it in a case/bag?

I have a Celestron Evo 9.25 and I have been keeping it back in its box while not in use (I love looking at it fully assembled but I'm a little hesitant to keep it that way in case it gets knocked over or something). The box is fine for now but is a little bulky to keep around. The foam padding is great though for keeping it steady. I'm looking at the bag for the OTA from Celestron or even the hard case with wheels. But I'm open to any suggestions.

What do you guys do?

Cheers!

[Anthonyexmouth]

Keep it setup under BBQ covers. 

[CraigT82]

Wherever you end up keep it make sure it’s well ventilated and not at risk of any condensation forming on it.  I’ve just had an issue with my AZEQ6 due to being stored in the garage at our new house, which I found out (too late) to my dismay was a condensation factory, as it is completed unventilated, once I knew this I moved the mount into the house but it was too late as moisture had already gotten inside. After a short period of the mount not being used I came to try it out to find the RA axis locked solid. The moisture has found its way into the RA bearing and rusted it to the point it wouldn’t move. 
 

Moral of the story is: if you keep your kit in a shed or garage make sure it’s dry and well ventilated to avoid condensation

[DaveS]

Kept in my obsy

[Stickey]

All my astronomy gear is kept in the house when not in use. The telescopes are kept temporarily in the unheated dry front porch overnight to dry out after a session.

Longer-term, the RVO wide-field refractor is kept in the flight case in which it came and the SW 200P-DS is kept in the porch, open end downwards, covered in a large plastic bag,  with dessicant sachets on the rear of the 'scope.

The mount and tripod dry out in the hall and then stored in their shipping boxes. 

Apart from the 200mm, between sessions, it's all kept in "dad's junk room", much to the chagrin of my better half. 😏

[Anthonyexmouth]

1 hour ago, CraigT82 said:

Wherever you end up keep it make sure it’s well ventilated and not at risk of any condensation forming on it.  I’ve just had an issue with my AZEQ6 due to being stored in the garage at our new house, which I found out (too late) to my dismay was a condensation factory, as it is completed unventilated, once I knew this I moved the mount into the house but it was too late as moisture had already gotten inside. After a short period of the mount not being used I came to try it out to find the RA axis locked solid. The moisture has found its way into the RA bearing and rusted it to the point it wouldn’t move. 
 

Moral of the story is: if you keep your kit in a shed or garage make sure it’s dry and well ventilated to avoid condensation

Garages can be a nightmare for condensation. 

 

Guess you had a good excuse to to a bearing upgrade. Was everything else ok inside? 

[M40]

We are lucky enough to have space in the garage for a racking system, so the telescopes have their own shelves. This means I can leave them ready to go with just a simple dustcover over them. The mount is left outside 24/7 in a sentry box arrangement complete with dew strap and tg cover. It's been like that for about a year with no obvious challenges but I do use telescope eyepiece desiccant holders.

[CraigT82]

26 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

Garages can be a nightmare for condensation. 

 

Guess you had a good excuse to to a bearing upgrade. Was everything else ok inside? 

Yes this garage at our new house is single skin brick with tiled roof, just like our old garage, but whereas our old garage had roof vents and no condensation issue, the new one is practically air tight... no vents anywhere.  I've just this week installed 4 air bricks just above the DPC and also a bunch of circular vents in the uPVC soffits so that should ensure a good flow of air now 🤞.  I've also got some Thomson water seal to spray onto the exterior brickwork to prevent damp getting through the wall after heavy rain.

FLO are looking at the mount right now and hopefully there isn't any other damage caused.  All the electrics worked ok and the Dec axis moved freely after the RA seized up, so i'm hoping it's just the RA bearing that needs replaced.

[Anthonyexmouth]

3 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Yes this garage at our new house is single skin brick with tiled roof, just like our old garage, but whereas our old garage had roof vents and no condensation issue, the new one is practically air tight... no vents anywhere.  I've just this week installed 4 air bricks just above the DPC and also a bunch of circular vents in the uPVC soffits so that should ensure a good flow of air now 🤞.  I've also got some Thomson water seal to spray onto the exterior brickwork to prevent damp getting through the wall after heavy rain.

FLO are looking at the mount right now and hopefully there isn't any other damage caused.  All the electrics worked ok and the Dec axis moved freely after the RA seized up, so i'm hoping it's just the RA bearing that needs replaced.

They ain't the best bearings anyway. There ok and they do the job but swapping out to good skf or similar makes them run silky smooth. Mine has been under BBQ covers for 5-6 yrs 365 days a year, even through storms and only issue I have is the powder coating on the counter weights. I'm a mile from the coast too. 

[Moonshed]

I store mine ready to go in a wooden shed. The shed is well ventilated so condensation or any other form of moisture is not a problem. Before I had the Moon Shed I used to strip it down and pack the scope away into a well padded foot locker and stored it in the garage. The mount just leaned against the wall, not ideal.  It worked well enough though but was a pain to set up every time and often by the time I was ready to start observing the clouds had rolled in.

The more difficult your gear is set up the less it will get used. 

[Roy Foreman]

My AZ EQ6 has been outside under a good quality tarpaulin ( £20 ) for many years now with no ill effects.  A couple of years ago I purchased a purpose made scope cover at 10 times the cost of the tarp, but so much condensation collected under it, that I reverted to the tarp which does a much better job !  Telescopes stay indoors in the spare room until needed. I never keep them in their metal cases. I have an ED 80 that got mould in between the lens elements by doing this, so now they sit on top of their cases where they can ventilate !  Fortunately I have space enough to dedicate an entire room to telescope storage.  Dusting is a nightmare.

[nitram100]

My orion optics 250 and EQ6 had been in my kitchen for a very long time and it was such a ball ache bringing it out for a session, so i purchased a cheap gazebo and some tarpaulin, now it sits underneath the gazebo wrapped in the tarp.

Edited March 2, 2023 by nitram100

[Bogmonster]

Thanks guys! I'll be keeping mine indoors anyways. We had a problem before when a bunch of mice got into the garage and pretty much destroyed the place so I wouldn't trust keeping my scope there. 

I've been wondering if it's best to just keep it assembled and carry it in and out as needed or keep it separated (mount, scope assembly) but I was wondering would having it all assembled put any pressure on the mount and is it better to just take the OTA off and store separately.

[Moonshed]

3 minutes ago, Bogmonster said:

I've been wondering if it's best to just keep it assembled and carry it in and out as needed or keep it separated (mount, scope assembly) but I was wondering would having it all assembled put any pressure on the mount and is it better to just take the OTA off and store separately.

I have kept mine fully assembled on the mount for the last 8 years and have not noticed any problem because of that. The only thing I remove is the counter weight and shaft because it makes it heavy and awkward to lift out of the shed.

[Nyctimene]

Most of my scopes are living in peaceful harmony in an extra unheated room within an old barn, so always close to the nighttime temperatures outside, and  with grab-and-go convenience (even the 18" Obsession takes just three minutes for rollout). During the last twelve years never any problems with moisture or critters (except spiders). The two smallest ones, the 80/400 frac and the 76/300 are stored in the house, as well as the binoculars and eyepieces. The mighty Heritage 130 P is also stored in the barn, just in another room. The money for the extra room was well spent.

Stephan

Edited March 2, 2023 by Nyctimene

[Varavall]

6 hours ago, Bogmonster said:

How do you store your telescopes when not using them?

I keep mine outside under a motorbike clamshell cover, everything attached, I just open up, power up the on board mini pc and the all the kit and it's ready to image in a few minutes. It's been there for 2 years now wthout problems; plenty of air space around the kit. Note the setup has been streamlined since the photo was taken and is a lot tidier now. 🙂

[CraigT82]

6 minutes ago, Varavall said:

I keep mine outside under a motorbike clamshell cover, everything attached, I just open up, power up the on board mini pc and the all the kit and it's ready to image in a few minutes. It's been there for 2 years now wthout problems; plenty of air space around the kit. Note the setup has been streamlined since the photo was taken and is a lot tidier now. 🙂

Where did you get the clamshell? Like the sound of that 

[Varavall]

8 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Where did you get the clamshell?

The usual A-Z shopping site. Think they can also be found on fleabay. They come in 3 sizes, so make sure your mount will fit!

[CraigT82]

12 minutes ago, Varavall said:

The usual A-Z shopping site. Think they can also be found on fleabay. They come in 3 sizes, so make sure your mount will fit!

Found it thanks, had to search for “motorcycle tent” to get hits.

cheers 

[Xilman]

7 hours ago, Bogmonster said:

What do you guys do?

Most of my kit is in here. The faint square patch in the circular wall is a vent which prevents wildlife getting into an extractor fan which runs 24/7 - primarily to keep everything inside at ambient temperature and reduce dome seeing.

An old and unused Meade is stored in a well-ventilated but unheated workshop, essentially a fancy name for a garage which cars can't get into.

Back in Cambridge, a 250cm Dobsonian is in an also unheated conservatory to be hauled out onto the lawn for use.

[CraigT82]

38 minutes ago, Xilman said:

250cm Dobsonian

Wow how big must your step ladder be?! 

[Sunshine]

My scopes stay assembled in the basement man cave, there's not much to moving an 8" dob or my 4" refractor upstairs when I need them. I'm terrified at the thought of keeping my scopes outside, this is Canada, it can rain, snow, reach minus 30 and plus 30 in a week with the occasional 75km wind storm thrown in. BTW, love how you just joined up and you're already into the thick of it, wonderful to have you onboard!

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Sunshine

[Ratlet]

All my kit lives up the shed.  The GEM28 and imaging stuff stays in Really Useful Storage Boxes with dehumidifier packs to keep them dry.  Mounts and scopes live up there.  Fortunately most of the condensation form of the tin roof of the shed and so long as I keep them out of the drips, they stay dry.

[Xilman]

44 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Wow how big must your step ladder be?! 

250mm of course.

[Moonlit Knight]

In a hard case under the bed in the spare room. Tripod lives in a Geoptic case under the same bed, as do my eyepieces. I live in a tiny 300 year old cottage. Space is limited, the shed is full of gardening tools