G'day Paul
I'm putting in the new "foil faced polystyrene boards" insulation where the silver back faces out for the new rotating (dalek)tin shed at the city digs http://www.foilboard.com.au/FactoryDevelopment.php
Thought so... not many people have enough water for that...
Thinking some more about it... Skyshed POD's come with a fully insulated option for extreme climates. I'm guessing that they're doing that because they've found a need for it, so maybe full insulation is the way to go...
I really like the way you've gone for substantially metal construction. So many amateur observatories are built with no consideration of thermal issues relating to wooden structures.
I think I'd insulate, I can't really see how that would extend cool-down times, if the scope is kept cooler during the day then cool down time would be reduced once the roof is opened the structure would cool far quicker than the scope.
I'd be more than a little concerned at the amount of heat that the not unsubstantial concrete pier will store throughout the day, IMO you would have been far better to have poured a couple of () caravan site slabs with the concrete....
I'd be making sure that the "office" is well insulated as any heat generated there is sure to cause turbulence above the obs.
Last edited by acropolite; 19-12-2009 at 11:29 PM.
Paul knows my observatory, and in the past as remarked at the coolness compared to the outside temp,this is because it is insulated.
I am confused at the request to insulate the pier?
Under normal circumstances the observatory would be opened at least one to two hours before imaging or observing, plenty of time to cool down with an insulated observatory, much quicker than an uninsulated observatory in my humble opinion.
The roll of roof goes over the office roof so it should not be so much of a problem, even though I think Paul is going to insulate both parts of the building.
Ron
Well it was a big day today, but the rolling roof is a goer. Slicker'n you know what. Took a bit of adjusting to get it just right, but until I get the end stops installed I'd better not push too hard.
If you are wondering why I used such big bearers for the roller track......because they were free. They came off a carport that was demolished. Thanks to my good mate Adelain (Adrian). It's also due to his selfless efforts that I've gotten so far with the observatory construction. A great big THANKS HEAPS ADE. YOUR A CHAMPION. .
Ok details: The rollers are cast iron and they are sitting on the edge of some 25x25x5mm angle iron. I would have liked to have gotten them slightly smaller but 75mm was the smallest they came in. I've gone this way so that I don't have channel/track to clean out. Also if I find the roof too noisy at night to roll back and forward I can cut some garden hose lengthwise and slot it over the angle. The rollers are beveled as well as having a 5mm slot in them so the cushioning of the garden hose should help to baffle any noise.
Sorry about the overexposed images. I just grabbed the camera and snapped away.
Well it was a big day today, but the rolling roof is a goer. Slicker'n you know what. Took a bit of adjusting to get it just right, but until I get the end stops installed I'd better not push too hard.
If you are wondering why I used such big bearers for the roller track......because they were free. They came off a carport that was demolished. Thanks to my good mate Adelain (Adrian). It's also due to his selfless efforts that I've gotten so far with the observatory construction. A great big THANKS HEAPS ADE. YOUR A CHAMPION. .
Ok details: The rollers are cast iron and they are sitting on the edge of some 25x25x5mm angle iron. I would have liked to have gotten them slightly smaller but 75mm was the smallest they came in. I've gone this way so that I don't have channel/track to clean out. Also if I find the roof too noisy at night to roll back and forward I can cut some garden hose lengthwise and slot it over the angle. The rollers are beveled as well as having a 5mm slot in them so the cushioning of the garden hose should help to baffle any noise.
Sorry about the overexposed images. I just grabbed the camera and snapped away.
geez that looks sexy oh i am so envious Mr Ponders
If you're interested, I can get an RF controlled motor on the cheap for it (I work for a garage door company) then you could push a button from inside the house and the roof would be open by the time you got to the obs
For some reason I thought you were going to roll the roof over the top of the warm room... I was waiting to see how you handled the challenges that would present, but this looks much easier to do and keep water tight.
Before deciding to go with the POD, I did a bit of looking around for appropriate wheels for a roll off roof (all part of planning for plan A). I settled on the same wheels but I was leaning towards the 4" ones. If you have any problems with wear on the tracks (or the grooves of the wheels) these wheels are designed to be used on an angle iron rail - at least a 38x38mm angle iron toe down makes a great track and will allow you to achieve the full load bearing capacity for these wheels. Not sure if that would help any with noise... I suspect not much.
I thought of using the angle on its "toes" but decided to go this way so that if I wanted to I could use the hose, 1: to reduce noise and 2: to reduce wear if it becomes an issue. If I need to I can always flip it later if the edge on method doesn't work as well as I hoped. The 75mm wheels should be fine with the 25mm angle (I hope )
At this stage I'm going for the simplest solution, using hold down straps on the inside of the trusses down to the wall studs. However on the two free ends of the each rail I will weld some of the excess rail I have into a "U" shape so that when the roof is fully closed of fully open at least one roller on each side will have a length of rail slotted through it, lined up and sitting in the groove.
![[1ponders]'s Avatar](../vbiis/customavatars/avatar45_9.gif){kind=avatar}
) caravan site slabs with the concrete....
I now have a rolling roof
Took a bit of adjusting to get it just right, but until I get the end stops installed I'd better not push too hard. 
.
oh i am so envious Mr Ponders
(I work for a garage door company) then you could push a button from inside the house and the roof would be open by the time you got to the obs 
... I suspect not much
