Where I live we get fairly hot summers and very cold winters and idk if its safe to store my heq5 in the shed. If i missed any important info lmk and if the answer is no, what is a good place to store one cause right now its just set up in my living room
#Is it safe to store my HEQ5 in my shed?
chrome spindle
steady tendon
Indoors would be ideal. But you're talking about a fully metal piece of gears. I don't think a little heat would hurt it unless the shed reaches 130 degrees or something
open ether
You dont want to store is outside. Rust and moisture is not good.
steady tendon
Its not so much the temperature change over time, it's more temperature shock that could harm it. But still, it's a piece of metal
Well yeah rust
But that only happens to iron?
open ether
rust happens to anything that has iron in it
plus moisture condensation on circuit boards. I guess you could coat them with conformal coating lol
Then the bugs
just bring the mount head inside if you like
midnight hinge
If you do store it out in the shed, keep a desiccant bag attached to it at all times
cloud nova
well, if it makes you feel any better I've been leaving my EQ6 outside 24/7. It comes in occasionally if its a hurricane or something coming through. I put a T365 cover on it and I leave everything powered up, the little bit of heat given off from the computer keeps any moisture from forming underneath the cover.
upper narwhal
well, if it makes you feel any better I've been leaving my EQ6 outside 24/7. ...
Out of curiosity, what kind of climate are we talking about here? I am thinking about doing something similar in the future but the Dutch climate is... Well... Different. So I don't know if it will give off enough heat.
cloud nova
Out of curiosity, what kind of climate are we talking about here? I am thinking ...
north carolina. 80-90's F with high humidity during summer. Currently it gets down below freezing at night
upper narwhal
north carolina. 80-90's F with high humidity during summer. Currently it ge...
That does sound like weather similar to that in the Netherlands, but is it also humid during the winter? We currently have temperatures a couple of degrees above Celsius and a humidity of 90%+ almost the entire day.
cloud nova
That does sound like weather similar to that in the Netherlands, but is it also ...
right now
upper narwhal
Oh yeah it's quite similar here now except it looks like you got (/had) a clear night so good luck imaging (assuming you are awake at 6am to take images 
). Awesome! Thanks for the quick responses!
cloud nova
yep its quarter after 5am here
just remember, with the cover I do still take measures to keep the humidity down with the heat generated from the equipment.
upper narwhal
Yes I will have to keep that in mind. I am not planning on leaving the mount outside all the time, but just when the weather predictions are looking good. I don't feel like carrying a heavy mount downstairs and then back upstairs every single night I want to photograph and if I can leave it outside polar aligned it will make everything a crazy lot easier and faster.
But how is it going for you? Did you have a good night of imaging?
restive thunder
Mine lives outside 24/365 under a Telegizmo 365 cover. I hang a cupboard dehumidifier off the dec clutch and a thick bungee cord secures it. It's always dry. Mount only though, not powered. I'll never leave my optics/electronics outside
I use these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HXV8NWW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
topaz egret
The Telegizmos really seem to be doing their job well - I just cannot think that even with a Telegizmo being 24/7 outdoor everything will remain as is - over some time you might get some rust or whatnot nonetheless.
restive thunder
Convenience outweighs a couple of tripod bolts getting rusty. They can be replaced for stainless anyway.
topaz egret
Convenience outweighs a couple of tripod bolts getting rusty. They can be replac...
yeah it's about the cam and electronics too - over time the ywill gradually decease a bit
But you right - I am hard thinking a bout a T365 too
restive thunder
Just the mount, I never leave my scope out there
topaz egret
Just the mount, I never leave my scope out there
Ah
restive thunder
No chance I'd do that
topaz egret
oh 🤔
restive thunder
But everything is on my scope, so plug in power, connect the mount. Takes 2 mins. powersupply, filters etc.. live in a peli case that also lives outside
topaz egret
ok so you gotta rebalance then but basically that's it
restive thunder
Only DEC, RA weight stays where it is
topaz egret
yeah got it. hmmm could be a thing I could want to do that way
Hm I would leave the scope outside when it's clear skies and so on. Bring it inside when no more oppurtunity to image.
Doesn't sound that bad
restive thunder
For the sake of 5mins, I'll take it in. Not worth the risk for me
topaz egret
what risk?
I mean if it's clear - then you image the whole night
In summer there was one clear week - I left my whole rig outside for the whole week.
restive thunder
Yeah but then leave it during the day? Not in the UK, sods law it would rain. And a bigger bag to cover it more expense
restive thunder
Here in the height of summer there is about an hour of astronomical darkness
restive thunder
I'd rather take it inside in the morning, and put it back out at night. Takes 5 mins, PA usually stays spot on.
topaz egret
I'd rather take it inside in the morning, and put it back out at night. Takes 5 ...
Really? Wouldve though PA would be a bit off then. But no big deal anyways when the mount is aligned.
restive thunder
Everytime I've done it recently with the ASI Air, it's maybe 30 arc secs. If I'm under 20 that's good enough
topaz egret
Everytime I've done it recently with the ASI Air, it's maybe 30 arc secs. If I'm...
under 20 already is very good
restive thunder
Takes too long to get under 10 lol
open ether
What is the average relative humidity where you live? That is what you need to find out. Some places sure, leave it out, others no way in hell should you leave it out.
upper narwhal
Where I live in the Netherlands the humidity won't drop below 80% for the next couple of days but I don't leave my gear out.
Don't know what it is like in North Carolina 