Telescope storage

[Wilso]

Hi all,

Just seeing how everyone stores their telescope/s and equipment for short or extended duration.
Obviously everyone lives in different environments whether it being in hot, cold, dry, dusty or humid conditions. Do you use a dehumidifier or perhaps a uv light to keep the bugs at bay?

I don't have a lot of gear (compared to some :D) so I have most of my scopes are stored in the walk in robe (my half of course).
South Aus is a very dry state so I don't have to worry about humidity just heat , that's why I keep the gear in the most stable temperature room in my house.
Also I don't like leaving the scopes mounted unless I intend to use them the next day.
Pictures speak a thousand words.

[Atmos]

All of mine live in Pelican cases in a spare room. Even though the temperature can cha he a bit, they remain fairly stable locked up in their coffins.

[gaseous]

My 8" dob lives fully assembled in my study, but the 20" dob lives in multiple pieces spread throughout the house. Would ideally love to sell a kid and have a dedicated scope room.

[Wavytone]

I dislike storing optics in a sealed box (the pelican and similar types). This seals in the humidity and growth of fungus is likely.

My MK91 is stored in a padded lightweight bag originally made for packing a MountainBuggy pram for air travel. This breathes and has enough padding to protect the scope. This bag would also hold a C9 or C11 OTA and the cost is pretty reasonable if you wanted one.

I have a canvas bag for the MN86, which has a foam padding. Also a plywood shipping case lined with foam but it’s too sealed up for long term storage.

[yoda776]

Mine tend to live in their OTA storage cases, however as I live in SA as well, I still have them with a dehumidifying pack. I found these at The Good Guys seems to work and the colour changes if there is an issue with humidity. The good thing is they can be dried out in a few ways (not real keen on the microwave option though).

https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/climate-technologies-sunsack-dehumidifying-bag-reusable-cli-dh150s

I like foam padded cases (my Intes MK67 lives in its native padded case) and my tripods I tend to dry off with a towel and and them place them purpose designed canvas bags with zips (local supplier).

Like yourself I keep the scopes and gear in the best room in the house for temperature and have a little humidity/temp sensor to keep an eye on just in case.

While it is a pain n the backside packing everything away each time, I will not ever leave my gear outside even in an observatory. Just do not like the thought of bugs and other things crawling and doing their business over everything.

[glend]

I agree that storing scopes in sealed boxes or cases is inviting problems. I keep mine in the house dedicated dry room (which has dessicant containers to keep it dry). I have a nice wooden case for my APO but the top is left slightly open. The dry room used to hold all my scopes but since drownsizing its looking a bit bare.

[Startrek]

My 12” GoTo Dob is stored in the garage covered with an Orion Scope cloak
My 6” f6 newt and HEQ5 mount is stored in a spare bedroom in their original boxes
Eye pieces and AP imaging gear stored in spare bedroom cupboard in their original boxes
No issues with dust or moisture ( mold ) to date after a couple of years
Cheers

[RyanJones]

On purpose built shelves in what was a shoe cupboard :)

[g__day]

Keep all of my in an astro lab at the back of my place, with a stiff plastic dip sheet covering them all for dust protection - and run a dehumidifier for a few hours every night.

[Wilso]

Ryan,

Looks like you've got mould growing everywhere in you photo, maybe a dehumidifier is in order?
Or just clean your lens :lol:

Nice and convenient storage spot though.

[multiweb]

:lol: Looks like my cupboard but yours's a lot neater.

[astro_nutt]

10 inch truss dob kept in Ob. Mirror box covered to keep dust, bugs out. The whole set up covered with cotton sheets. Ob is well insulated, ventilated and dry. 12 inch truss dob kept in study. All EP's, etc, are laid out to dry overnight after use, then cleaned if required before storage in compartment cases with a few silica gel bags to be sure

[IanT]

I like to look through my refractors but I also like to look at them. In order to free the OTA’s (Unitrons, Royal Astro and Tasco) from their wooden coffins I added extra pegs to a large artists easel. The configuration is stable, easy to access and with a breathable curtain thrown over, well ventilated with minimal dust build up.
Ian

[RyanJones]

That's what happens when you keep an iPhone for 8 years lol. It's not often I use it for taking photos but you're right, it looks quite horrible lol

Marc,

Mine is only neater because I literally built it a week ago...... Give it time lol

[WynneP]

Something else to be aware of - spiders really like to get inside Dob tubes. It makes a very nice home. So I recommend using a plastic bag, with an elastic tie, to seal the main mirror end of the tube. As well as keeping out dust, this stops the little buggers building their webs where you don't want them. For the other end of the tube, the standard cap will generally suffice.

Peter

[Ukastronomer]

Never leave any scopes, camera lenses etc in CLOSED boxes/cupboards, you must have air circulation or mildew can build up, leave end caps off so that air circulates round the objectives, for eyepieces etc in cases use silica gell