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Robert_T, I think it would be very interesting to do the experiment and see what kind of useful info you could come up with. If you can determine the time it takes for the tube to reach thermal equilibrium under different conditions you might be able to come up with some rules of thumb for when the whole optical system is at equilibrium.
For example, your imaging experiments might tell you that (for instance) 30 minutes after the tube has reached equilibrium the rest of the optical components will be at equilibrium and planetary imaging could be attempted for a particular set of circumstances (absolute temperature, temperature gradient etc.) I have a dual temperature device that I use on my SCT - one sensor measures ambient and the other sensor is under my dew zapper band. I use this to set the dew zapper power to keep a couple of degrees above ambient. I will use these sensors to look at the cooldown profile next time I observe and post the results.
Adam.
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