Eyepiece case and Foam insert

[rumples riot]

Nice case Tony, and good deal with the foam. Looking very neat.

[Striker (Tony)]

ummmmmmmmmm....Paul...I have gone to a different case now....that's 2months old that pic...needed to update....lol....I have gone to pluck foam now....lol

I will post a pic once I get my 12mm Nagler.....

After having both types I must say I love the pluck foam.....

[atalas]

Hi Tony

No I din't either,but I thought I would look anyway and there it was!
can't remember how much it was .

Louie

[Vermin (Tom)]

Another option that avoids the need to re-glue hotwire cuts is to get channels cut laterally like this:

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

That's one well stocked EP case Vermin!

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Tom, what method did you use to cut the channels? or did you get it done somewhere?

[slice of heaven]

Silica gel to soak up moisture.
Nice tip!

[Vermin (Tom)]

I got it done at a place a couple of doors up from my work. Quite cheap.

There are channels in the lid too, but they were a bit loose on the 1/4" eps so I turned it upside down. Fixed the problem.

I may be thinning my collection out a little depending on what I end up using in my new scope.

At the moment I'm not using the 5mm Radian, 20mm Plossl or big barlow at all with my refractor.

[RAJAH235]

FYI, Silica Gel is avail. FREE at any SHOE store. Go in & ask them to save some for you. You don't even have to supply a box.
ps. Don't leave it too long to pick up or you'll end up with tons of it.
The 'K Mart' guy got carried away & I got 3 shoe boxes full!
L.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

I have a silica gel bag in my EP case (tackle box) too. Will not stop EPs fogging up, but good to know the moisture has somewhere else to go, if I happen to close the lid on a bunch of dewed up EPs.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~janosk/misc/epboxlq.jpg

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Steve, Geoff gave me a great tip in PM once: Never close the lid on fogged or dewed EP's. It turns to mold and actually stains the glass!!!

Let them dry before shutting them in, even with the Gel.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Ken, I try to do that, but once I'm outside I don't want to come back in (ever), but when I do I'm half asleep and often forget to do the right thing.. (Then I wake up having nightmares about the cats crawling up the OTA and licking the mirror clean)

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

I leave the EP case lid slightly open (half inch) overnight to let them dry. In the morning I close it up.

[iceman (Mike)]

didn't think they sold pluck foam from Clark Rubber?

Me neither.. i'll have to have a look there now..

Some good tips in this thread too now, with the gel.. will have to buy some new shoes to get some gel..

[Brendan]

Small hint for those of you using silica gel.

that stuff has a finite life, but can be recharged.

To recharge place contents of package on a biscut tray in the oven set at about 100C and leave for about 24hours.

we do this in the lab I work in for our desicators, works like a treat.

might have to repackage the gel after or use lower temp for longer if you want to keep the paper sachet.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Brnedan, can the silica gel be microwaved to save on the baking time? I'd certainly not be keen to leave an oven running overnight.

[slice of heaven]

Good tip hints and warnings for the silica gel and ep cases.

Seems like common knowledge for some.

Thanks guys
Slice

[Vermin (Tom)]

Originally posted by [1ponders]
Brnedan, can the silica gel be microwaved to save on the baking time? I'd certainly not be keen to leave an oven running overnight.

Once the oven reaches the desired temp. and with door is closed, the heating element will only come on for very brief periods to maintain the temp.

Not sure about µwave ovens. High settings would probably crack the granules as the water rapidly evaporates. Low settings are just high power bursts with off times in between, but might be worth experimenting with.

Some granules come coloured with cobalt chloride that changes from pink when saturated with water to blue when dry.

[Striker (Tony)]

You can buy Silica Gel on Ebay...its only a few dollars...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....504401880&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....145754473&rd=1

I think I would prefer to buy new ones then leave the oven on for 24 hours just to re-use such a cheap item.....it would cost you more in electricity then to replace with new ones....but thats me...

[Brendan]

well ive not tried microwaving them but i think vermin has made a good point.

sounds like opportunity to try a little friday arvo experiment