Observatory Condensation

[Mr Paul Richard Spurr]

Hello All,

I have just built a “run off” Observatory. The housing is made of thick plastic and was a “shack” intended to house oil drums! I’ve put it on a concrete slab with channel runners. The question I have is; I’m concerned about condensation. That is not to say dew on the optics, as I have a dew cap and heater, but more generally IN the Observatory over time leading to deterioration. What do you folks who have Observatories do about that?

Thanks for any advice, Paul

[Mr Nicholas John Atkinson]

Hi Paul

My Pulsar observatory also suffers some condensation not so much as now in the autumn but more so as the temperature drops and dew appears on the grass and the devels hand shows on the last of the blackberrys. I bought pulsars floor kit consisting of a poluthene sheet and some cushoned interlocking rubber like flooring to go on top. Your first problem is undoutedly the concrete absorbing moisture and then releasing it during the night and condensing onto the roof. I have just looked inside my dome and currently there is no sign of any dew on the dome roof. Winter drawing closer will increase the risk and I now have an ecoair dehumidifier. The first step I suggest is to seal the concrete surface, you can get this from B&Q etc. and then cover  the surface with a plastic sheeting  to see how this goes. Some people use a fan heater to raise the dew point as an alternative to a dehumidifier.

Best of luck

Nick

[Alex Pratt]

Hi Paul,

This problem has been quite a topic of conversation on this forum. Enter ‘condensation’ into the Search field and have a look at the discussions to see if they help you.

Good luck,

     Alex.

[Mr Paul Richard Spurr]

Thank you Nick & Alex.

I’m new to the BAA and did a BIT of a search and saw there was quite a lot on the subject. I guess with the post I was wondering if there was any up-to-date “solution”. Nick, I will definitely seal the concrete – always intended to, but ran out of Summer and thought it might be too late temp. wise. I’ll check what B&Q have and at what temps. the products can be deployed. The problem with dehumidifiers and heaters is electricity cost of course – perhaps I could put up an array of solar panels – that CAPEX sounds expensive! Paul

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