rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4553
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Livin' down here in The Swamp as I do, skeeters are a fact of observin' life. The older I get, though, the less I like slathering myself with DEET repellents. I've heard a lot about the Thermacell mosquito repeller, including here. So much, in fact, that when I was in the Possum Swamp Walmart this morning, I couldn't resist pickin' one up.
What I want to double check with those of y'all who have used this device, however, is its safety around optics. Naturally I won't velcro it to the tripod...but how about on the observin' table a few feet away? OK?
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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hfjacinto
Almost got me
Reged: 01/12/09
Posts: 2067
Loc: Union,NJ
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Uncle Rod, asking a question???
What has the world come to???
Sorry uncle Rod, but I can't help you, Midnight Dan has one, I think he will be able to help.
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C9.25 ASGT 9*50 MM Finder,FT Focuser & 2" Diagonal
Meade LXD 75 6 Inch SNT w 9*50 MM Finder
5,6,9,14.5 MM Zhummel Planetary EPs
13,17,21,24,31,36 MM Baader Hyperion
6.7,8.8 MM Meade UWA & 11 MM Nagler T6
Planetary, OIII and Narrowband Filters
Thousand Oaks Dew Control w Kendrick Heaters
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skyguy1
member
Reged: 03/23/04
Posts: 75
Loc: Yarker, Ontario, Canada
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Hey Uncle Rod,
I just put mine on the observatory floor near the bottom of the pier and it works great! The only place it gets hot is the metal tray that the pad sits on and you're protected from accidentally touching it by the plastic screen that holds the pad in place. It might also get warm at the top where the gas expels...haven't checked that though.
Just remember to keep "in the zone" to allow maximum effectiveness. I try to keep it down low just for that reason.
I'll tell ya there is nothing more satisfying than having those pesky critters held at bay while I observe.
BTW it's nice to be able to answer a question for you for a change.
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"We are made of Star Stuff"
Carl Sagan
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40128
Loc: montana
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ThemaCell thread
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4553
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Quote:
Uncle Rod, asking a question???
What has the world come to???
Sorry uncle Rod, but I can't help you, Midnight Dan has one, I think he will be able to help.
Your chance for glory...and you blew it?! 
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4553
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Quote:
Hey Uncle Rod,
I just put mine on the observatory floor near the bottom of the pier and it works great! The only place it gets hot is the metal tray that the pad sits on and you're protected from accidentally touching it by the plastic screen that holds the pad in place. It might also get warm at the top where the gas expels...haven't checked that though.
Just remember to keep "in the zone" to allow maximum effectiveness. I try to keep it down low just for that reason.
I'll tell ya there is nothing more satisfying than having those pesky critters held at bay while I observe.
BTW it's nice to be able to answer a question for you for a change.
Great. Thanks. I just verified that it does, indeed, seem to work as advertised. I monitor the Sun in white light on a daily basis, and even around noon the bugs will eat me alive if I don't spray on the OFF. Turned the thing on, waited ten minutes...no bugs.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4553
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Thanks. I'll review that thread.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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desertstars
Please stand by...
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 34545
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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The number of Thermacell users on CN is growing rapidly, and so far no one has reported any problems with their optics as a result of exposure to the vapor. Last summer I set my binoculars down within a couple of feet of the Thermacell (not on purpose - I just forgot) where they sat for at least an hour. I haven't noticed any reduction in their performance since that time.
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Tom W.
Collinder's Catalog
Jewels in Dark Settings
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4553
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Quote:
The number of Thermacell users on CN is growing rapidly, and so far no one has reported any problems with their optics as a result of exposure to the vapor. Last summer I set my binoculars down within a couple of feet of the Thermacell (not on purpose - I just forgot) where they sat for at least an hour. I haven't noticed any reduction in their performance since that time.
Thanks, Tom. As far as I am concerned, then...it's a go.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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Maureen
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/27/05
Posts: 1599
Loc: Mid Hudson Valley
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What exactly is in the vapor? I'm guessing we've got a choice of slathering on Deet or maybe breathing in something equally harmful? Anybody know?
Maureen
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Discovery 12.5" Truss, Orion ST 80, Coronado PST
Image Intensifier Eyepiece
27mm & 24mm Pan, 13mm & 8mm Ethos, 6mm Radian
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Midnight Dan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 2732
Loc: Brockport, NY
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I just got mine so I haven't had a lot of experience with it. I did use it the other day while I was repairing some fencing in the evening and it seemed amazingly effective!
Maureen:
The vapor is from a synthetic form of Pyrethrin. You can look it up on the internet and it is very safe to use around people and animals and is even approved for use in food service facilities.
When I was using it, I could see a very small amount of smoke wafting off of it and it was a pretty still night. I think as long as you're a couple of feet away from it it should be very safe. Not sure about any effects on optics, but others who have used it for years seem to have no ill effects to report from their equipment.
-Dan
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Scopes: Celestron NexStar 8SE, Orion EON 72mm ED/APO, Orion ShortTube 80
Mounts: NexStar Alt/Az GoTo, Orion Astroview (EQ3) w/single axis drive
Eyepieces: Baader Hyperion 36mm (Aspheric), 21mm 13mm, 8mm, 5mm;
Other: 2x & 3x Barlow, 0.63x Focal Reducer, Dew-not strips, DewBuster controller, SQM Meter
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Luigi
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 4927
Loc: MA
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We got one of those new OFF brand fan-driven repellers and it works quite well. No heat required to vaporize the repellent so it's very unlikely it will condense on anything.
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17.5" f/5 Dob. IM-715 MCT. 120ED. Lunt 60mm Ha.
Zeiss, Leica, Fujinon, Nikon, Pentax, Bushnell bins
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Maureen
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/27/05
Posts: 1599
Loc: Mid Hudson Valley
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Thanks Dan. That sounds safer than the clip on device I saw at the super market. I think that was made by the folks who make "Off" which, I think, has deet in it. Of course, none of this is really an issue for me since the NE is in weather hell. Since mid April we've had mostly rain and clouds. Our club is preparing to sacrifice an SCT to appease the weather gods. We couldn't find any virgins. (joke)
Maureen
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Discovery 12.5" Truss, Orion ST 80, Coronado PST
Image Intensifier Eyepiece
27mm & 24mm Pan, 13mm & 8mm Ethos, 6mm Radian
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hfjacinto
Almost got me
Reged: 01/12/09
Posts: 2067
Loc: Union,NJ
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Maureen,
Please sacrifice a reflector as they are cheaper. The sooner you sacrifice it the better. Spanish moss is starting to grow on my scopes as they haven't been moved in a while.
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C9.25 ASGT 9*50 MM Finder,FT Focuser & 2" Diagonal
Meade LXD 75 6 Inch SNT w 9*50 MM Finder
5,6,9,14.5 MM Zhummel Planetary EPs
13,17,21,24,31,36 MM Baader Hyperion
6.7,8.8 MM Meade UWA & 11 MM Nagler T6
Planetary, OIII and Narrowband Filters
Thousand Oaks Dew Control w Kendrick Heaters
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BCB
Undercover Saboteur
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 5189
Loc: Look over your shoulder
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Your not kidding Maureen!!!.. It's insane how bad the weathers been for at LEAST a year up here.. Loosing patience with it.
I've been considering those thermacells myself. Like Rod, getting tired of soaking myself in DEET just to observe.
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Mark
Lost in thought. Please send search party!!!
Astro-Tech 111EDT
Orion 8" F5 Newt w/Moonlight CR-2 focuser
SVP mount w/Meade 497 Autostar GOTO mod
Treeline Observatory
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Maureen
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/27/05
Posts: 1599
Loc: Mid Hudson Valley
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That's the problem! Cheap is no good! It has to be expensive to be taken seriously. Are we ever paying for that bacchanal in April (aka NEAF!)
If this keeps up we may have to sacrifice a refractor, a dob and an SCT!!
Maureen
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Discovery 12.5" Truss, Orion ST 80, Coronado PST
Image Intensifier Eyepiece
27mm & 24mm Pan, 13mm & 8mm Ethos, 6mm Radian
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peter k
super member
Reged: 02/03/07
Posts: 172
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Quote:
We got one of those new OFF brand fan-driven repellers and it works quite well. No heat required to vaporize the repellent so it's very unlikely it will condense on anything.
Luigi, could you elaborate on this repeller, such as providing a model name or number, something googlable? Or let us know who carries them. Thanks.
Edit: Never mind--I found it on the thread mentioned near the top of this thread.
Edited by peter k (06/12/09 05:31 PM)
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Midnight Dan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 2732
Loc: Brockport, NY
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Just for some light bathrooom reading  here's the data sheets on the thermacell repellent known as Allethrin:
http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Allethrin-8134
http://mosquitocentral.com/Images/Allethrin%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
... and the Off repellent known as Metofluthrin:
http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/metofluthrin.pdf
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/kfp006v1
These make the Off repellent sound a little scarier, but it's kinda hard to tell. They are both supposed to be similar to Pyrethrin. I think the Thermacell stuff has been around longer and more tests have been done on it. Seems like the Off compound is pretty new.
But, neither one has DEET in it which is good!
-Dan
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Scopes: Celestron NexStar 8SE, Orion EON 72mm ED/APO, Orion ShortTube 80
Mounts: NexStar Alt/Az GoTo, Orion Astroview (EQ3) w/single axis drive
Eyepieces: Baader Hyperion 36mm (Aspheric), 21mm 13mm, 8mm, 5mm;
Other: 2x & 3x Barlow, 0.63x Focal Reducer, Dew-not strips, DewBuster controller, SQM Meter
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Bob Myler
sage
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 223
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For those who might be interested, Cabelas (at least here in St Louis) currently have ThermaCELL's on sale - complete with free green fabric holster - priced at $19.99 for the packaged set. At more than half-off Cabelas' regular combined pricing, I bought two!
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Maureen
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/27/05
Posts: 1599
Loc: Mid Hudson Valley
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Quote:
For those who might be interested, Cabelas (at least here in St Louis) currently have ThermaCELL's on sale - complete with free green fabric holster - priced at $19.99 for the packaged set. At more than half-off Cabelas' regular combined pricing, I bought two!
Sigh! What's the point? It's all hopeless.... we're trapped in some vortex from hell where the sun doesn't shine OR if it does, it's still cloudy at night. Maybe I should start another thread for those of us who are barely holding onto our sanity because we are so star deprived. That's what I get for buying that Image Intensifier Eyepiece.
Despondent in New Paltz,
Maureen
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Discovery 12.5" Truss, Orion ST 80, Coronado PST
Image Intensifier Eyepiece
27mm & 24mm Pan, 13mm & 8mm Ethos, 6mm Radian
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