Leaving Mount (EQ6) outside

[matt]

Cheers Dennis and Asi...

John, that looks like the sort of thing I should be considering.

What's the cover made of? How'd you make it?

Thanks for the pics

[Dennis]

I think the 2 main enemies (disregarding theft!) will be moisture and dust, possibly insects as a minor third?

If the diurnal cycle of min/max temps causes condensation, then droplets of water will form and evaporate on the mount’s internals. If you have a built in Polar Alignment Scope (PAS) then you may get fungus growing on the optics. The humid internal environment may also lead to corrosion and perhaps water interacting with greases and oils?

So, I would try to ensure that the mount can breathe; that is, the cover is not a tight fitting plastic bag which would trap moisture. It looks like John has implemented a good solution as there appears to be adequate air flow under his cover allowing moisture to escape, and reducing the potential ingress of dust. In addition, the heat build up in an open system will be less than a closed system as air movement will vent off the excess heat as the temps drop.

Ants and small insects that gain access to the internals of the mount “could” end up in the moving parts; gears, worms etc and this "could" lead to their debris, when crushed by the gear wheels, causing irregular tracking in the precision machined gear train?

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by Planet Hunter

I have been leaving my mounts outside under a tarp for years, never had a problem yet. Might be lucky I suppose.

Is Adelaide generally drier than Brisbane? In Brissie, we tend to have quite dry winters but very wet, hot & humid summers, so depending on where you live, local conditions will affect equipment.

Cheers

Dennis

[asimov (John)]

Matt, the cover is just one of those collapsable coolers/esky. It was dark blue on the outside & white on the inside, so it was getting rather hot in there so I cut the white internal lining out & slipped it over the external surface seeing I couldn't turn it inside out, being a coil spring designed esky. I'm also a cheapskate so I wasn't going to buy any white paint just for that.

I expect it won't last long in direct sunlight being plastic so I'll think about making a more suitable cover for it later.

Yes Dennis, ants/bugs could be a thing to watch out for, as well as dust moisture & excessive heat being the most obvious hazards.

The next thing I suppose will be a fully enclosed, insulated cover with filtered inlet(s) & exhaust fan..lol..with peltiers??