scope sheds ??

[jonstarrysky]

Does anyone have advice on buying a shed to store a telescope(s) out doors. Maybe a suggested product or even one designed specifically dfor telescopes.

Would need space for 10" and 18" dobs. I am thinking a high quality plastic shed so it is resistant to weather, moisture and dust etc.

Inside I wld set up a de-humidifier (again advice on that is valued).

Thanks

Jon

[FraserClarke]

Have a look in the DIY Observatories section of the forum;

DIY Observatories - Stargazers Lounge

Lots of threads in there about people making observatories out of sheds etc. Similar principles will apply if you're just using if for storage and physically moving the scopes out to observe.

[lguise]

Jon,

I bought a plastic Ketter shed to do this. 8ft by 10ft with double doors on the 10ft side so plenty of room for access. Roof is pitched. Two of us put it up in about 3 hours and it has been watertight all through the snow etc. I paid for it in January 2010 when VAt was 15% and there was a B&Q offer, I think it cost about £420 and was delivered free in two very large flat pack boxes. The instructions were very clear. I like the idea that it should be easy to take apart and move in the future. It also has a low ramp lip so scopes with rubber wheels etc can just be rolled in and out.

You are welcome to look at it if you are anywhere near Bedford. I use a dehumidifier from an Astronomer on the Welsh boarders, they are modified to work well at low temperature. His Company is called 'Dry it Out' I think. You can either collect the water in the internal tank or fit a drainage tube to the outside.

Linton

[Dave Smith]

I have one of those dehumidifiers in my observatory and have had no condensation at all in the cold spell - highly recommended.

Here is a link - ELA DD822 Dehumidifier & Laundry Drier | Laundry Driers | Dehumidifiers

[lguise]

Woops, got my size wrong its 8ft wide by 6ft deep

Here is the link

Keter Enterprise Resin Shed - (H) 7ft1in x (W) 8ft5in x (D) 6ft, 7290002181057

[jonstarrysky]

Linton, Dave: thanks for the input !

Linton: like the shed. Looks quite big for me, but I guess it lets you leave the scope set up on the mount etc and room for a bike etc. Do you get spiders ? Obviously your typical wooden shed (not exactly precision made are they) has plenty of gaps for the little guys to creep in. Maybe the plastic ones are better sealed ?

[lguise]

Yes I leave the scopes set up so they are then into action very quickly and down to temperature. I have not noticed any spiders but there may be some! It is better sealed than a wooden shed. There is a smaller version but the double doors make this one excellent for moving kit through.

Linton

[jonstarrysky]

back to the plastic sheds....

Wondering about dehumidifying. Some sheds have a "stay-dry" design or vents. My first impression of that was, well this isnt ideal for the dehumidifier approach (do I want to dehumidify Oxfordshire). But what about summer. A sealed plastic shed may cook any telescope left inside, unless if ventilated ??

Also de-humidifiers heat up the air. So for Newtonian owners would it make sense to put the dehumidifier on a timer so eg between 7pm and 1am the dehumidifier is off. Then the scope is fully cooled when taken out.....

In house storage aint working for me right now, my fairer half put a leaky feather pillow on my scope (minus any pillowcase !). And when you bring the scope inside after a session you get condensation on the cold surface of the scope.

[Dave Smith]

The heating effect of a de-humidifier is minimal.

Dave

[BenM]

Not sure what you're referring to as a dehumidifier. To me, a dehumidifier is a refrigerant compressor/evaporator system with coils. It runs to lower the air temperature so as to force moisture to condense and drain away, then it reheats the air with the other coil. It works just like an air-conditioner or refrigerator except that the net change in temperature is minimal because the heat is not expelled outside. Such a system seems extravagant for tool storage but I can certainly conceive of simpler approaches.

One simple approach is to simply heat the items you want to protect so that moisture condenses on something cooler that is adjacent to them. You might not want to heat your telescope much, but only the slightest temperature differential is probably necessary to get the moisture to condense elsewhere.

One method used on the farm to store welding rod is an old refrigerator with an incandescent lightbulb inside. The refrigerator provided an inexpensive, relatively well-sealed container. The lightbulb provided enough heat to prevent and condensation (and rust). It might be hard to find an old refrigerator that will fit a 12" reflector tube, a 10" should fit fine in a side-by-side. However, you don't by any means have to follow the example other than by principle.

If you were not especially concerned about excessive moisture, you might just set the scope in the shed and point an infrared reptile heater bulb at it. These are the porcelain heater elements that emit no visible light. The advantage over a simple parabolic aluminized reflector bulb is that you won't convect as much heat into the shed off the bulb -- rather more of the heat will radiate to the scope and then only subsequently into the shed, providing nearly ideal temperature differentials. 40 to 60W would be more than enough.

Consider using an impermeable bag and just toss a tyvek sack of silicate dessicant inside. This is what I would do because I live in a dry, arid environment and this is more than sufficient. Rather than a bag, I would use a waterproof (o-ring sealed) Pelican copolymer case (pelican.com). This is practical for a small scope, but not nearly as afforable as a bag for a large reflector.

[Dave Smith]

The de-humidifier that I am talking about is a dessicant hummidifier as in the link to my initial post.

Dave