Bill, I use an "EXTRA LARGE" - about 7 foot in length so it reaches
to the ground so the sand around my pier doesn't get wet during
storms. It is located such that Sun, heat, snow and extreme weather
accost it all year long. When I close things up after viewing I put
desiccant bags inside. I fold the excess bag around the scope and wind
the whole thing from top to bottom with a 35 foot length of light (
3/16 inch ) bungee cord. I still have to replace the bag but only
about once every 3 years. The wind causing the bag to flap may in fact
be the cause of your bag failure because mine can't flex at all.

Cliff

Those of you with unreasonably good memories will recall that last
winter I built a wooden pier in my backyard and installed my 12"
LX200 on it "permanently" protected from the elements by a Desert
Storm Bag:
http://www.seds.org/billa/obs/tem.html
Well, tomorrow we start excavation for the landscaping project that
will include my observatory and so the LX200 had to be moved (LX200s

and back hoes don't mix :-) So we have come to the end of the line
for the Bag.

And not too soon, either. It now has several holes in it that I've
patched with Duct Tape and a few that I just noticed today that
aren't. Most of the material has delaminated, separating the
aluminized layer from the mylar. I don't think it would have
survived another big storm.

So my experience is that the Bag works well but don't expect it to
last more than one year. To be fair, we have quite a lot of wind
here (though not by Midwestern standards). And I secured the Bag
around the scope with only one bungee cord at the bottom; this let it

flap a little at the top. I expect that may be largely responsible
for the delamination and possibly therefore the holes.

Still, this is a happy day. I'm finally getting started on the Real

Observatory! :-)

Bill Arnett
http://www.seds.org/billa/
Emerald Hills, CA 37N 122W


"I know that I am mortal and the creature of a day; but when I
search
out the massed wheeling circles of the stars, my feet no
longer touch
the earth, but, side by side with Zeus himself, I take my fill
of
ambrosia, the food of the gods." -- Claudius Ptolemaeus

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