Dew Heater purchase

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on where to purchase a good dew heater system for a 4" refrector. I see telescope service have them, but they are currently out of stock.

I have a celestron 17Akr powertank, would the strip be enough by simply attaching the cable plug to the tank, or would it be advisable to also get a dew heater contoller for the heavier dewy nights?

Thanks,

Keith..

Hi Keith
I can highly recommend the Kendrick Digifire 10 dew control system. Works great for my C8+50mm Finder+eyepiece and there are two additional 12v outputs for working my guide camera and electronic focuser. It’s never let me down and the build quality is excellent, well worth the investment.
Got mine from the excellent people in OPT (Oceanside Photo & Telescope) in the USA when the Euro was worth something and I was lucky in this instance not to be charged duty.
Anyways, some info here: www.kendrickastro.com/astro/dewremover.html
www.altairastro.com/product.php?productid=16135

Clear skies
Mike

Keith - Kendrick are bullet proof. I have their Premier Dew Controller - its been strapped to the scope, outside, for the last two years and it works a charm. There are cheaper and, probably, similar quality solutions out there but I'm not familiar with them.

I did notice recently that Kendrick had slashed their prices - worth a look.

As regards the powertank, I'm no electrician so I'm not sure if you can connect a dew strip directly to the unit. Certainly, I don't know of anyone else doing this. I'd be wary of doing that I have to say. I dunno if it could damage the strip or drain the battery ultra quick or what...

Besides, you would have no control over the heat being delivered to your OTA. That would not be ideal... The controller unit for sure would do all the electronic wizardry and would make sure the strip is only working when it needs to be - thus minimising battery power as much as possible and ensuring you don't burn out the strip or your OTA...

For your info, a 14" dewstrip attached to the premier dewheater draws about 6 amps. I'd imagine a 4" strip is very much less.

HTH
Dave

Mike, Dave, thank you both for your advice on this, i'm very grateful Here's to a great season ahead, the dew heater controller certainly looks the part!

Keith..