Storing Scope in Garden Shed

[MalcolmM]

Is it OK to keep refractors and/or open ended reflectors in a garden shed?

I'm not so concerned about security, it's locked, but more whether the cold and unheated atmosphere might do the optics or mechanics harm?

Thanks, 

Malcolm 

[tooth_dr]

Not really in my experience Malcolm. I live in NI too as it’s typically humid and damp. Even if the mirrors don’t get damaged, screws and the ota itself will suffer.  Lenses may get growth on them too. 

[M40]

Interesting question and I am pretty sure there will lots of different thoughts on this, but from my perspective, it probably comes down to how wet it is at end of play. For the last two years, I've kept mine in an unheated garage and before that in an unheated summer house, but, if the ota was soaked, I've always let it air dry indoors first.

In the garage, I also use an eyepiece desicant cap and then put it away in a suitable plastic box with lid. Seems to work. Food for thought anyway. All the best.

[Franklin]

1 hour ago, MalcolmM said:

Is it OK to keep refractors and/or open ended reflectors in a garden shed?

Don't you dare leave your lovely Taks in the garden shed, have you taken leave of your senses man?😁

[Alan White]

All I would say is folks store optics and expensive cameras in Observatories, that are often shed type structures.
My 10" Dob has sat in sheds for sevsrl years with no issues.
The shed spaces do have ventilation grilles fitted though.

My refractors live indoors for security.

[scarp15]

Bicycles yes; telescopes no. A warm dry smoke free environment i.e. inside the house.

[Mr Spock]

Just survived 80mm of rain in 24 hrs and a flooded patio. All is dry and well.

[JeremyS]

As Alan pointed out, an obsy is a bit like a shed and people have no qualms about them. 
I think the key thing is ventilation. My obsy is well ventilated and instruments stay dry. She’d can be too airtight.

I do leave a dew heater on my scopes at low setting, just to be sure.

Check things regularly to ensure optics remain dry

[bosun21]

I keep my scopes indoors and even then I have a full dust/water proof zipped cover over them. It may seem like overkill but it keeps them in very good condition should I decide to sell them further down the road.

[Swoop1]

3 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

I keep my scopes indoors and even then I have a full dust/water proof zipped cover over them. It may seem like overkill but it keeps them in very good condition should I decide to sell them further down the road.

For god's sake don't do anything to attract the attention of the police!

If I was involved in a raid and saw those on bursting into a room, they'd get a sound thrashing before asking any questions- just in case 😉

[JeremyS]

3 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

 

Looking at that pic, I think your house might be haunted 

[scarp15]

17 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

I keep my scopes indoors and even then I have a full dust/water proof zipped cover over them. It may seem like overkill but it keeps them in very good condition should I decide to sell them further down the road.

You've got Halloween covered then.

Seriously though I used to keep mine covered, though with clear plastic (airport ski bag) covers and despite being relatively dust free in the room, was surprising how much collects. For aesthetic reasons I don't bother now, just ensure of course that caps remain on.

[bosun21]

1 minute ago, scarp15 said:

You've got Halloween covered then.

Seriously though I used to keep mine covered, though with clear plastic (airport ski bag) covers and despite being relatively dust free in the room, was surprising how much collects. For aesthetic reasons I don't bother now, just ensure of course that caps remain on.

I'm finding that with the frequency of clear nights in the UK it gives ample time for dust build up. I'm going to move the one in my sitting room to the bedroom to join the others so it's out of sight.

[MalcolmM]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Great reply @Franklin, that's me told 🙂

I'll maybe start off just using it to store the scopes after a session and bring them indoors the next morning. See how it goes.

Interesting re observatories. I know the domes up at Armagh observatory have dehumidifiers running. My shed is fairly airtight so minimal ventilation. It's just been put up recently and is actually a summerhouse (shed with windows!) otherwise I'd be tempted to put in some ventilation. 

Malcolm 

[Nik271]

Plain wooden sheds are naturally well ventilated. Those with insulated cavity walls and the metal boxes/shipping containers style are the ones to watch out for excessive humidity.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Nik271

[Owmuchonomy]

It's all about good ventilation, but unless you really have to keep them outside I wouldn't recommend it.  My mount was permanently set up in a purpose built roll off obsy with excellent ventilation and sprayed with ACF (aircraft preservation material).  Even so, the fasteners show some signs of corrosion.  The UK climate is just too damp and variable in temperature.

[Swoop1]

5 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

Plain wooden sheds are naturally well ventilated. Those with insulated cavity walls and the metal boxes/shipping containers style are the ones to watch out for excessive humidity.

My last tour of Northern Ireland was in South Armagh and one of my duties was spending a couple of weeks at a time at a mountain top observation post.

Our accomodation was converted shipping containers with 4 bunks per container. The bunks were mattresses on metal platforms with a lip all round to stop the bedding falling off.

Every couple of days we had to lift the matresses out (plastic coated) and mop up the pools of condensation gathering underneath in the tray.

 

[Roy Challen]

3 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Bicycles yes; telescopes no. A warm dry smoke free environment i.e. inside the house.

Bicycles no, telescopes no. Shovels and rakes yes.

My bikes are worth more than my scopes, and one uses this stuff called lektrisity that doesn't work well when wet. So they live indoors too.😉

[Roy Challen]

4 hours ago, MalcolmM said:

Is it OK to keep refractors and/or open ended reflectors in a garden shed?

Thanks, 

Malcolm 

Refractors, no. Especially Taks.

Reflectors, of course. Where else would I put all my shovels and rakes? 😄

[Ouroboros]

I have kept my SW 200p reflector in my astronomy shed for many years. (10?)  I store it vertically placed on a square of insulating sleeping roll mat (Mountain Warehouse) on a square piece  of wood just to keep it off the wooden floor of the shed.   OK some of the screws and what not have gone a bit rusty, but it doesn’t appear to have affected it optically or mechanically.  I have sometimes kept my SW Evostar ED80 fully loaded with guide scope and camera in the shed for convenience between sessions. Mostly I bring the whole assemblage indoors though. Mainly for security reasons. 

[Ouroboros]

If I had a Tak it would sleep in bed with me. 😉 

[Franklin]

26 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

If I had a Tak it would sleep in bed with me. 😉 

100% and if there wasn't enough room then the Taks would get the bed and I'd sleep in the shed!😁

[Franklin]

2 hours ago, MalcolmM said:

I'll maybe start off just using it to store the scopes after a session and bring them indoors the next morning.

Nothing wrong with that. In fact using the shed as a half-way house before bringing them in is a great idea. Bringing a freezing cold scope straight into a warm house is a recipe for condensation and the last thing you need after a long night, when you just want to go to bed, is faffing around with hair dryers blasting away the dew and waking the rest of the household up!

[Beulah]

If the shed is well ventilated and dry, then yes.. and damp proof membrane is your friend. I accidentally discovered this when building a shed on a level platform structure to defy the 1:3 slope in the garden. If you are leaving the tube open, a shower cap fitted at the mirror and the open end prevents spider poop and webs from forming in the OTA and on the primary mirror. Make sure the eyepiece cover cap it fitted too.

I used to store scopes in sheds but there's a few light-fingered folk around even in these quiet parts. Now, they just have an overnight stay so I don't wake up the household by crashing around as you do with large dobs... 😁

[mikeDnight]

If a refractor, then if it's capped and the lenses are dry, you should have no problem keeping it in a shed. A friend of mine kepped a 6" refractor in a ror observatory which was little more than a larch lap garden shed for years without any problems. The trouble starts when a scope is capped while moisture is on the lens, so if after a night of observing the scope is covered in condensation, or the lens is missed over, it's best to take it indoors uncapped and allowed to dry out naturally. Once thoroughly dry you could then put it back in the shed. There must have been hundreds of refractors left in basic observatories/ror sheds for decades, yet they remained in perfect working order, especially if they had a caring owner.