Dobbie in the garage...views?

[dhumpie]

Guys and Gals,

Just a quick question...will exhaust fumes be detrimental to mirror coatings? Seeing how there is insufficient space in the living room after getting "that" sofa, the dob had to be moved into the garage. While it has been great for cooldowns (what cool downs :), I am a little bit apprehensive about the car exhaust fumes. I try get the car out of the garage as soon as the engine is turned on and make sure that the garage doors are open when the engine is turned on. Also I made sure the two small garage windows were open as well.

What do you guys think?

Darren

[astronut]

Darren, your precautions help, but any pollution will eventually cause problems. It would be better if you could have a cupboard in the garage to put it in or find a spot for it indoors. Beg:bowdown: it might help:lol:

[ving]

if your scope is down the back of said garage and you park the car nose first you should be ok theoretically if you open the garage before turning the car on. the exhaust fumes should travle str8 outside ....

in theory.

[dhumpie]

I make sure to cover all the holes up and put a black garbage bag over the dobbie :)

Darren

p/s: the wifey thinks I have too many scopes lying round the house...

[ving]

i only have one scope and i get the impression its too many sometimes :P

[rmcpb]

I think I would err on the side of caution and set up a small garden shed to store your scopes. That way there are no exhaust fumes, other things to hit the scope and the cooldown times are still virtually nill.

You have too much money tied up in your gear to risk it I would say.

[Starkler]

If the tube is reasonably well sealed with caps and/or a showercap on the mirror end, that air inside wont get a chance to mix with the exhaust fumes when they are concentrated in the garage.
As long as the garage has ventilation and the ota capped you should be fine.

[vespine]

I guess how big is the garage and how close is the exhaust pipe to the scope when the car starts would be 2 major factors. I would agree if you have a decent size garage and you park nose 1st and the scope is right at the back it probably isn't a big deal. I'd find it hard to justify adding an extra shed just for my scope, just try to maximise the pipe-scope distance and exhaust/air ratio ;)

[dhumpie]

After a lot of thought, I have decided to grovel and see if I can at least get the OTA back in the living room :) Let you guys know the outcome tomorrow. I am really worried that the exhaust might cause the coatings to deteriorate more quickly. In any case the scope has only been living in the garage for 2 weeks....

Darren

[AstroJunk]

It's not a garage, It's a Roll-up Door Observatory!

Just try not to run your scope over.

http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/SDM6_7.html

[rmcpb]

The extra shed could simply be one of those small cupboard type ones that fit under the eves of an existing building. So long as its lockable, elevated off the ground for ventilation and probably facing east to avoid the hottest sun but not on the south where it would rarely get a good drying out.

[vespine]

haha you guys crack me up!

Not if you had one of these babies!:


Now if I had one of THOSE, I would definitely justify the extra shed! :rofl:

[dhumpie]

Wow nice roll up door observatory AstroJunk :) Do you keep your scopes covered at all times? It must be hard to find room to store your 20" in the living room. Anyway the 10" dobbie is back in the living room. I did not really have to grovel, just state the facts. Surprisingly the wifey was fine with it....

Darren

[AstroJunk]

Other than the optics, I don't cover the scopes at all.

The 20" would fit in the living room quite nicely - provided the sofa goes outside!

[dhumpie]

Try telling that to the wifey :) Anyway do you have problems with car exhaust fumes clouding the optics?

Darren

[AstroJunk]

Not in the slightest. Nose in, reverse out, Unleaded fuel and with a catalytic converter. It's the cleanest room in the house!

My 20" mirror is filthy at the moment, but that's dust and dew related:(

[dhumpie]

Was planning to do that but decided that since the wifey allowed me to store the dobbie in the living room, I decided otherwise. My garage is pretty small and that was part of the problem. I also live in a townhouse with a very narrow driveway and hence usually have to reverse park my car to get out of my garage the next day. I have idiotic neighbours who like to park their car in the washing bay area (my unit is the innermost one).

Darren