Leaving part of the equipment outside?

This topic comes up from time to time and the responses do not vary much but it is always good for everyone to understand what is possible.

I have left my entire rigs, mounts, scopes, cameras and electronics outside under a Telegizmos 365 cover for 6 years day and night, through rain, snow, ice, and wind in temperatures from -30 C to 40 C or -22 F to 105 F.

The rigs have worked flawlessly all that time without any problems other than usual self induced wounds with only a small amount of care regarding occasional dust from the leaf blower and the already mentioned ZWO camera fade.

The main thing to take away is that air from outside the cover must be allowed to circulate under the cover.  This naturally minimizes or even prevents the formation of dew or frost by keeping the inside temperature in the general range of the ambient temperature with the cover itself acting as a shield from the rest of the weather.

Although expensive,Telegizmos offers a variety of covers in shapes and sizes for most types of telescopes.

Hope this helps,

scott

I forgot to mention I live in a temperate rain forest in the Pacific Northwest with average daily humidity of 70%

New Permanent Pier

@AstroDivers that's the one I've bought too! Glad to hear that it's holding well!

@andrea tasselli cool, thank you! Yes, bugs are a pain. Where I live we have lots of stink bugs during autumn, and those are a pain to deal with. Last year I found one inside the toner cartridge of my printer.

@wsg thank you! It's always nice to read about other ppl experience, especially in worse weather than mine this give me more confidence to (finally) leave stuff out.

not permanently but for long stretches under various cover solutions
apparently it will be clear tonight

Telegizmos 365 works great.  I've used them for several years and have left my gear under them year round in the worse weather.  I too allow air to circulate under it by not over cinching the bungee around the bottom of the pier.  I occasionally spray insecticides around the pier and T365 during the warmer months. Just be careful not to snag anything on the inner silver lining.  It will tear.  You may see my set up here:

 https://astrob.in/g6pqmb/0/

C & DS!
Terrance

i currently do. So far i have never had a problem.  So far winters, rains and winds. all have been ok. 1 full year in august. i have a hard time seeing north. North is right at a tree line.

Thank you all for sharing your experience! That's valuable information for everyone next time I'll set my rig up, I'll leave it there!

I keep my mount outside if weather will stay dry for days which saves me trouble of bringing it back in again. but do take scope in and out.

Currently I have to tear down and setup each session. I am hoping to get a pier installed this summer so I can at least keep the mount installed and polar aligned. That in itself will help in setup and tear down time. I don't mind take the scopes inside as they are all refractors and easy to mount and dismount. Cabling is not an issue due to my current setup. 

Maybe one of these days I can get a shed built and keep the equipment set up permanently.

Clear skies to all.

UPDATE: Ok, I still do not have a shed or observatory but I managed to get a custom pier and created a portable setup using a Tractor supply wagon for 100 bucks. Now I just pull the wagon out to my yard, plug in the extension cord, level the setup with my attached trailer jacks and fire up the mini pc and I'm off and running. Controlling everything from inside the house. This option still gives me the flexibility of viewing locations but still not as nice as a permanent setup. You can see all the progression images from the wagon build at my astrobin site, My latest project for my Sky Watcher HEQ6-R pro as it's getting heavy for me ( Djennings ) - AstroBin

Thanks for sharing and I do like your setup.

Clear skies,
DJ

My CGX-L and 9.25 SCT have been outside all year. Cover includes a custom made Orion and 2 tarps. No problems encountered.

EDIT: duplicated post

I have a backyard permanent pier resting on a deep concrete footer. I found that the TG cover was too short to adequately protect the bottom of the pier and too difficult and too heavy to place over the rig even with a ladder. So, I made custom covers from Orion Cloaks and attached skirting from tarps. The Orion is more flexible than the TG and can be placed and removed without using a ladder. I've made one each for my 6" refractor and 12" CDK which I switch out periodically. 

I've been using this year round setup over several years without any equipment damage  Wind can lift off a cover so anchoring cords are necessary. The double layer (aluminumized and waterproof fabrics) Orion provides sun and precipitation protection. However, UV does make it necessary to replace the Orion cover every two years. 

It is essential to keep the bottom of the cover loose for air circulation. I'm in Ohio and rain, humidity and dew on the equipment haven't been an issue under the cover. The outside aluminum fabric keeps the equipment significantly cooler than uncovered. 

Michael