SingAstro

wont the telescope get fungus if it is in the box?

This is just my experience, personally I have never experienced fungus and I have kept lenses in cabinets for over 10 years, no dry box.

I have seen fungus on lenses I purchased on ebay, but only twice, and it's never happened to any optics I've owned. I have also managed to remove fungus from an ebay Carl Zeiss lens I bought, quite easily, with no coating damage. I suppose others' experience would vary.

But due to my experiences, I find the whole fungus issue to be quite overblown.

So long as the environment is reasonably dry, fungus won't be an issue. Things could be as simple as putting a dessicant bag (silica gel) next to the lens. Of course it's a given that the optics should not be left in a damp environment or where condensation could form on them.

If the humidity is low and there is no fungus/fungal spores, then it should not get infected with fungus, especially if the box is sealed.

according to what i read, fungal spores are everywhere (impossible to keep them away from your glass even if you have a sealed container).

so any time there is moisture, there is the potential for fungal growth. the solution is, don't let your lenses stay wet in storage, ensure that they are dry before putting them away.

does the air can escape or enter the tube if you put on the cap at the focuser?
if not i got a idea to store the orion 100ed if i buy from you

If you google around, there are a few ways of doing it.

On is to use an old film container, poke holes in it and fill it with silica gel. Insert it into a 1.25" eyepiece holder (which should fit nicely) of the refractor.

Hi,
Baiscally, fungus will grow when 2 conditions are met: dark (UV kill fungus) and humid. As long as you cut off one of them, it's quite safe.

Have a nice day.

weixing wrote:Hi,
Baiscally, fungus will grow when 2 conditions are met: dark (UV kill fungus) and humid. As long as you cut off one of them, it's quite safe.

Have a nice day.

wow nice idea i think i must buy light with UV light

erm, point the telescope into the sun? Wait.... don't do that, you'll ignite anything behind the telescope.

interestingly the old Pentax Super Takumar lenses from the late 1960's to early 1970's had a thorium glass element (ED glass, old-style) which was radioactive.

this thorium element would turn yellow over time, giving all your images that jaundiced yellow cast (fixable with custom white balance, but it spoils my tale).

the thing is, the yellow cast can be removed with UV light. some folks used sunlight (weeks and weeks of it..) but i used an ordinary money detector UV lamp (the fluorescent one, not the incandescent one used in some bug zappers, which gets quite hot and has pitiful UV output).

after about 3 days of UV exposure, the yellow cast disappeared. the money detector bulb is only 5W so quite minimal electricity consumption and it doesn't get hot.