As report under Shelving problems I have a question about draining the depression on the exterior of the dome of rain water. I was thinking of drilling a few small holes in the area but realized that it would drain into the interior of the dome.
Has anyone figured out how to remove the water? Its a special problem when opening the shutter which dumps onto the scope and mount.
I'm sure that some of my thump thump has to do with roundness of the dome. I spent several hours loosening every bolt in the walls and drilling a stake into the center of the dome. I then used a wire, won't stretch, and walked the wire, different lengths for each position, around the bottom, middle and top of the walls until it was round. I also took the dome off and loosened all of the bolts and pushed and pulled until I felt the dome itself was round. And yet on one angled wheel on a bay never touches because the top slumps lower than the other bay, it's physically lower by 3/8" than the bay the rotator motor is attached to. Also the thump thump continues which got worse with the weight of the water in the trough over the wheels.
I know the dome is out of round because I can watch the track move in and out in the same spot over different wheels around the walls. I like Ron's idea about filling the gap with putty or clay to make the wheels move more smoothly over the gaps. I was thinking about using a very stiff duct tape to test it and if it works and stops the stalling or as Steve said "loose purchase". But then, I'd have to deal with residual stickiness from the tape. Maybe cork or rubber stoppers might work, now my head hurts.
Since this tread is about Rain Issues my findings so far are:
1. The door can be sealed with extra foam sealer,
2. The door slumps a little and I must pull up on the door as I'm latching it,
3. Extra weight of water or snow on the dome increases the the strain on the motor and more particularly on the nylon gear. I've had small chips fall off a few teeth.
4. The bottom of the walls on a solid surface, I'm on pavers with joints, can let water in under the foam flooring. When it dries out a bit, it's been raining on and off for 4 days, I'm going to seal the bottom of the walls with a putty sealers.
As a side note: I much appreciate this forum then Facebook.
Steven