Can I keep a Telescope in a conservatory?

[jweaver]

I have just bought a Celestron Nexstar 4SE and my plan was to leave it fully assembled in the conservatory..

But its just dawned on my that for a sensitive scientific instrument, a conservatory might not be the right place.. Its cold in winter.. Hot in Summer and is fairly damp.

That said, the furniture and TV that I have out there has been there for 8 years and is like new, so its not THAT bad an environment.

Would it be a bad idea to leave the Telescope in that environment. Am I better of, packing it away and putting in 'in doors' instead?

Jon

[scotttumsh01]

My dad keeps his 6" newt in the conservatory, he dosent have problems, he dosent have plants in there tho, that may cause some condensation?

[Steep]

Best to keep it as cold and dry as you can, so buy or make? a case and keep it in the garage? The only thing that would really be bad for it is damp, getting damp outside is ok as long as you dry it off later but don't leave it in a damp place for long periods.

[jweaver]

My dad keeps his 6" newt in the conservatory, he dosent have problems, he dosent have plants in there tho, that may cause some condensation?

Plants.. I have nothing like that.. Just some Cane furniture and a TV.. The only condensation comes from the temperature swings from hot to cold... The problem I have is that I still have the original external doors on my house, so the Conservatory is an external building.. I rarely use it to be honest, which means that its gets VERY cold in winter, and VERY hot in the summer.

Jno

[cgarry]

My conservatory is much like yours, effectively an external building. I tend to move the scope in there in the late afternoon if I think there might be a chance of observing that night, that way it is cooled down ready. I don't like to leave scopes in there all the time as the large temperature swing and condensation seems like a bad idea.

Cheers,

Chris

[jweaver]

My conservatory is much like yours, effectively an external building. I tend to move the scope in there in the late afternoon if I think there might be a chance of observing that night, that way it is cooled down ready. I don't like to leave scopes in there all the time as the large temperature swing and condensation seems like a bad idea.

Cheers,

Chris

Thats my thought/fear too.. I don't like the idea of moving it around as I like all my toys out, ready to go.. But I guess I will just have to find a home for it not in the conservatory.

Jon

[jweaver]

Best to keep it as cold and dry as you can, so buy or make? a case and keep it in the garage? The only thing that would really be bad for it is damp, getting damp outside is ok as long as you dry it off later but don't leave it in a damp place for long periods.

Is a garage a good choice too? Mine is external, and like the conservatory gets hot and cold.. That said, because there is no glass, it doesn't get as hot.. But its certainly damp, as some of my cheaper tools end up with surface rust over the winter months!

Jon

[Steep]

In that case definitely avoid keeping the scope in the conservatory.

[junior]

I currently keep mine in our conservatory which we hang wet washing up in and run a de-humidifier to remove the damp. The scope seems ok at the moment but i have only had it a couple of months.

Would you recommned i move it as the condensation build up on the glass windows of the conservatory is extreme when wet washing is hangin up.

I do keep the lens cap on so no damp gets to either of the mirrors.

[Mr Spock]

Keeping the scope cold is good, it means less cool down time.

Moving a scope from a warm house to the cold will give poor seeing for hours, especially with a SCT or Mak. You might only see a fraction of what your scope is capable of.

[Gilps]

I keep ours in the conservatory. It has heating but I keep it down to a minimum so as to reduce cool down times. It is nice and dry though.

[Doug]

Hi Jon

Keeping a scope cold in fine , better for viewing but I keep mine in the house

and I know it's safe here I also have a Astro cover that keeps it clean

and dry and for cool down out side

Doug

Essex

[red dwalf]

all my gear is in the conservatory, tube does get cold which is good and rest of the gear seems to be in good condition without any damp on it, might not be so keen to leave it in there in the summer a it gets very hot when the windows are closed