Eyepiece Case Warmer

[Space Cowboy]

Has anyone ever build or seen DIY plans to make a 12v Eyepiece Case Warmer made by converting a 110v heating pad?

Thanks

[leon]

Hi Derek, I have heard of this before, with people wanting to keep their EP's warm, but it is something I just can't get my head around.

IMHO, the colder the Ep, the less chance of fogging, I keep my Observatory, and all equipment as cold as possible, Camera's Lenses, scopes etc.

But that is just Me.

Leon

[rmcpb]

Derek,

Its relatively easy to do. Build a box, usually of timber then just put a set of resistors in the bottom to run off a 12V battery. The small amount of heat from the resistors raises the temperature within the box to above the dew point so fogging will not be a problem.

BTW your pocket is a good place to keep capped eyepieces for the same reason and its easier.

[erick]

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=33500&highlight=heated+eyepiece+box

Haven't had a chance to test it out as yet :sadeyes: So busy and so much cloud.

[Space Cowboy]

Where I'm at in the states, we have a pretty bad dewing problem in the winter months... even the summer for that matter. But keeping the eyepieces warm prevents them from dewing over while your observing. Its just a real simple (and cheap) method, instead of buying a fancy, complicated (and expensive) anti-dewing system.

Thanks:)

[Space Cowboy]

Thanks for the link Erick. Althought its not exactly what I was looking for, Its something to definitely consider.

I hope the clouds clear off for you!

Regards

[Sharnbrook]

Try this simple experiment on a humid evening.

Take 3 bottles of beer, put one in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, warm one up in a bowl of hot water, and keep one at room temperature.

Then dry them all carefully, and take them outside, and set them on a table, some 150 mm apart. See which one dews up first, and then drink it. Wait for the next to dew up, and drink that. When the last one dews up, it should have cooled down sufficiently to be drinkable. ;)

[slopagafud]

I built a 12v heated case from an electronic coffee mug,copper tubing, a Celestron accessory case, and a project box from radio shack. This thing works great! I do most of my observing on or around beaches so early morning dew & frost is A HUGE problem for me. When one Ep falls victim, a warmer one is ready to take its place.http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/slopagafud/Heatedcase.jpg

[snowyskiesau]

Of course by the time you get to the bottom of bottle number 3, you may not care - or even remember what you're trying to prove :D

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! No beer deserves to be placed in hot water. :sadeyes: