Storing optics in car? (1 Viewer)

[Grando]

I tend to store my scope and bins in the boot (trunk!) of my car, so they're always to hand if i see something when I'm out.

I wonder though whether, aside from the risk of them getting stolen, if this is potentially harmful to their condition. I'm in Norfolk,UK, so the temp ranges from below freezing at this time of year to high 20s (C) if we're lucky at times in the summer.

I have to say I've stored optics like this in my car for years and never noticed an issue in practice, but interesting to hear people's views...

On a related note, i remember reading a post about how scopes have to acclimatise e.g when you first use them outside if they've been stored indoors that they take 30mins or so to reach their optimum performance. Is this correct? Can anyone explain the mechanics in layman's terms?

 

[Cluster]

Good question. I too would be interested in the responses.
I keep my waterproof bins in the car. Can get down a few degrees below freezing and in summer can get very hot inside the car, maybe as high as late 40s C.

 

[Malloot]

I my experience the Alpha's can handle a big range of temperatures, but I heard from quite some non-alpha's got trouble with mainly high temperatures. Loose prisms, grease melting out the bins and the body armor that comes of.

 

[Cluster]

My HRWP8x42 porros have been in my car for a year. Their alignment is out, (I think it always was, if only slightly from new) but I'm sure it's getting worse, even though they are treated very carefully and have never been dropped or knocked. I did wonder if it could be "moving". Perhaps hot conditions cycling to cool fairly quickly in the car caused some movement?

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

I tend to store my scope and bins in the boot (trunk!) of my car, so they're always to hand if i see something when I'm out.

I wonder though whether, aside from the risk of them getting stolen, if this is potentially harmful to their condition. I'm in Norfolk,UK, so the temp ranges from below freezing at this time of year to high 20s (C) if we're lucky at times in the summer.

I have to say I've stored optics like this in my car for years and never noticed an issue in practice, but interesting to hear people's views...

On a related note, i remember reading a post about how scopes have to acclimatise e.g when you first use them outside if they've been stored indoors that they take 30mins or so to reach their optimum performance. Is this correct? Can anyone explain the mechanics in layman's terms?

----I do many restorations, which usually includes stripping and replacing
the grease. Two pairs of the same model can have very different results
over the years, be it Zeiss or Kowa or Bushnell. Heat bakes out the
more volatile hydrocarbons and cross-links the molecules. Very high
grade synthetic grease is only seen occasionally. I think Fujinons are
about the best. I de-glued several WW2 and 1950s Zeiss lately for
a collector. Same troubles as the Ofuna opera glasses.

---You cannot see the aging right away, so something that feels good in
5 years does not guarantee the result in 20 years.

---Cold doesn't have too much effect itself, but it makes your binos a
magnet for the moisture of your face and hands, and your CO2 makes
that acidic. Lenses that sheet off the moisture deposit it at the
lens threads.

---If it takes time outside for optimum performance, there are three
causes I can think of:
---air convection currents: these are crippling in telescopes until they
subside, but that's a bigger barrel and a higher power...maybe there
is an effecting binoculars, though
---mechanical: 'grease drag'...that is, one side focusing differently than
the other. The effect is that one side is always a little out of focus.
Looking through both, the overall image is not as sharp
---inner fogging: this would look like reduced contrast. A real issue
with "sealed/purged" optics, which still lose their purging gas in a few
months and can pick up water vapor slowly through the seals.
As they found out in "low-E" windows, gaskets are not perfect, only
metal bonds stop infiltration.

I avoid stashing binocs in a car and use a big plastic bag going out in winter
or in (to AC) in summer. Finer binoculars do better, but they are not
magically imbued with infinite purity. Damage can take years, so short
term happiness isn't a guarantee. If you really want to car-store,
Put an insulated lunch-bag with a bottle of water in to keep your
bagged binocs company. That cuts the top temperature, reduces
the thermal cycling, and grabs some moisture away. These are
instruments.

 

[Binastro]

. Hi Grando,
if storing a binocular in the boot, I think that it should be a rugged binocular, maybe even an old very tough binocular.

Regarding telescopes, it is only mirror telescopes, or compound telescopes, such as Newtonians, Maksutovs and Schmidt Cassegrain's and also mirror lenses that take 30 minutes, or sometimes one hour to stabilise temperature wise. I have had some very poor mirror lenses that never stabilised, in particular the 2000 mm Zoomar, but this was a very odd design.

Refractor telescopes, at least astronomical ones, usually stabilise in five minutes although short focus ones may take a bit longer.
I would think that any spotting scope should stabilise in less than 10 minutes unless the temperature change is way above 20°C.
I have used telescopes with temperature changes of more than 40°C, but then one has to take other special precautions.

Also most spotting scopes are limited to about 60 times magnification, which is low for an astronomical telescope.
I think most spotting scopes would take about five minutes or less depending on the temperature change.
But one has to take precautions when taking them from the cold back into the warm to stop moisture forming.

 

[Grando]

Thanks all for the advice. Seems like i need to start storing them inside then, if I remember!

 

[perterra]

I have kept a pair of Nikon 8X21 sprints in the pocket behind the passenger seat of my truck for probably 15 years with no issues. Temps in the truck probably have ranged from below 0º f to probably 150º f (summer is a bitch here in a closed vehicle). They have traveled from sea level to 13,000'. They are in no way weather proof, never had an issue. Lately I have switched to 6X30 Leupold Yosemites, I dont expect problems.

 

[BruceH]

Zeiss shows the following functional temps:

Conquest HD 32mm and 42 mm: -21/+140 F
Victory HT 42 mm: -22/+145 F
Victory SF 42 mm: -22/+145 F
Terra 42 mm: -14/+171 F

 

[NDhunter]

I would only store a cheaper binocular to stay in the car. Most of the major brands
do well, such as Nikon, etc.

If the temps are cooler, you can store anything in the trunk or boot. Heat is the problem.

Jerry

 

[Grando]

Thanks Jerry. Sounds like I can keep them in there in the winter then, but move them out when it's hot in summer.

 

[paddy7]

I would advocate keeping them in the car itself (rather than the boot) for a different reason. If you're using them for the occasional good bird while driving, not having to get out the the vehicle turns your car into a hide....

 

[paddy7]

I would advocate keeping them in the car itself (rather than the boot) for a different reason. If you're using them for the occasional good bird while driving, not having to get out the the vehicle turns your car into a hide....

I did mean pull over first, by the way!

 

[edwincjones]

this is one of the few objective responses I have seen on the subject.

most/many of us keep optics in our cars; with few, or any , reports of damage
there is always the risk of damage from extreme temps, MVAs, thefts,
but the advantage of having out weights the risk
and usually the optics are backups-not our best

edj

----I do many restorations, which usually includes stripping and replacing
the grease. Two pairs of the same model can have very different results
over the years, be it Zeiss or Kowa or Bushnell. Heat bakes out the
more volatile hydrocarbons and cross-links the molecules. Very high
grade synthetic grease is only seen occasionally. I think Fujinons are
about the best. I de-glued several WW2 and 1950s Zeiss lately for
a collector. Same troubles as the Ofuna opera glasses.

---You cannot see the aging right away, so something that feels good in
5 years does not guarantee the result in 20 years.

---Cold doesn't have too much effect itself, but it makes your binos a
magnet for the moisture of your face and hands, and your CO2 makes
that acidic. Lenses that sheet off the moisture deposit it at the
lens threads.

---If it takes time outside for optimum performance, there are three
causes I can think of:
---air convection currents: these are crippling in telescopes until they
subside, but that's a bigger barrel and a higher power...maybe there
is an effecting binoculars, though
---mechanical: 'grease drag'...that is, one side focusing differently than
the other. The effect is that one side is always a little out of focus.
Looking through both, the overall image is not as sharp
---inner fogging: this would look like reduced contrast. A real issue
with "sealed/purged" optics, which still lose their purging gas in a few
months and can pick up water vapor slowly through the seals.
As they found out in "low-E" windows, gaskets are not perfect, only
metal bonds stop infiltration.

I avoid stashing binocs in a car and use a big plastic bag going out in winter
or in (to AC) in summer. Finer binoculars do better, but they are not
magically imbued with infinite purity. Damage can take years, so short
term happiness isn't a guarantee. If you really want to car-store,
Put an insulated lunch-bag with a bottle of water in to keep your
bagged binocs company. That cuts the top temperature, reduces
the thermal cycling, and grabs some moisture away. These are
instruments.

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

I just heat, strip, and regrease them 15-60 years later ;-)
Sometimes scrape tear-crust, remove mold from prisms, etc.
Often there are two pairs, identical except for the apparent conditions
they saw. One is fresh as a daisy, the other is glued, Nikon, Zeiss, or Bushnell.
(Though Fujinon Customs endure where the Zeiss turned to tar)

Of course, they might have seen very terrible conditions.
But also, most of their buyers aren't actually alive anymore.
So...they may have lasted a 'lifetime'...starting at a later age, as it were.

I suppose...more bargains for me, if I have the right skills to restore.
It is worth something to have them in the car, of course.
And please, restorers: NO Lithium grease! Get some motorcycle bearing grease.

I just realized....I have indirectly discovered my 'car binoculars'!
I restored some 7x35 Bushnell/Fujinon customs that had a terrible mess
inside and out, and was shocked when they worked almost perfectly.
They are beat-looking still on the outside, but beautiful to look through.
If I swap in a little thin gun-grease with the motorcycle-bearing grease,
they will rock out the whole 21st Century in the car. I will
still put 'em in a lunch-bag, though.

 

[peatmoss]

Sometimes I wonder if the best solution for car bins is basically what O_Nut's done. Just get a good used pair of non-waterproofed bins. No environmental seals to worry about wearing out (the bin breaths naturally). No huge loss if they're stolen or damaged.

 

[OPTIC_NUT]

Seals can do some funky things long-term, like stiction, unequal drag,
and vapor that slowly passes by them and bites you on a bad weather day.
Truly hermetic seals need DOD/NASA money.

Good oldies have grease along the guide tubes mainly as a 'dust trap',
and are fairly weather-resistant. Like good house insulation, they
can 'breathe' the moisture away.

What would be awesome for today's sealed binoculars would be
'purge ports'. You could simply unplug two holes, hook a
fish-tank air pump to a dryer cartridge, and flush the thing
now and then. (or when temp contrast fogs you).

Or...just get some "Boba Fett" grungies that are easy to clean.
The Fujinon Customs have the prisms on a carriage with dowel pins.
Slide out...clean 95%....slide back in on the pins...no collimation lost.
Freakin brilliant!

A gallon poly bag used at the right time will probably stop all trouble, though.