Building an Astrophotography Pier from Scratch: Step-by-Step Guide

[@robertarmstrong9406]

Nice job, I live in Tucson. Friends with Dean,Steve and the others. I just bought a pier from them and waiting for my landscaper to dig the hole. My question is about the heat here in AZ. How are you goin about coving the setup. And do you leave your mount out longer in the hot season than your telescope? I have the EQ6-R pro. With the pier I would love leaving it out as long as it's safe from the heat. Covering it with a telegiznos cover.

[@DaveUrbanAstro]

Greetings! I will take my mount in for the summer once the temperatures hit triple digits on a regular basis, which right now is perhaps in the next couple of weeks. And I won't take it back out until mid-September once the evening temps dip below 90 degrees. Otherwise it is just too hot to run, or so I think. I do know that I have plans of taking occasional trips during the weekends up to Payson area as it is cooler up there than it is here in the valley. I also cover my mount with a telegizmo cover, they are pretty nice, but the heat is the heat 😞 Clear Skies!

[@johnkasianowicz6536]

It sounds like you ran the sonotube the full depth of the foundation hope. You instead want the foundation concrete to have intimate contact with undisturbed soil and that the bottom of the hole is below the frost line (the latter is not an issue with you). I see little advantage to using a concrete pier above grade. It costs time, effort, and some money, and if you leave the property, you can’t take the above grade pier with you. I’ve used metal piers attached to robust concrete foundations and never had an issue. It was also easy to attach items (web power switch, PCs, webcams, etc.). Metal piers aren’t that expensive, and you can have local welding shops make them for relatively little coin.

[@AZ4Runner]

Nice DIY pier! you got a great deal on the mount as it came with that pier mount assembly. I really need to try and convince the wife that I need one in my Observatory. Did you paint the concrete or did you leave the tube intact and paint it? Clear skies

[@DaveUrbanAstro]

Go for it! It's pretty cheap to do. Like you said, I got the pier head along with the mount, but I checked and Starizona has them for around $225, which is the cost of a new filter! The materials from Home Depot was around $50, so not too bad. It is definitely worth it, much more stable than a tripod!

[@AZ4Runner]

@@DaveUrbanAstro Yeah, I just bumped my Tripod in the Obs last night, now I gotta recheck PA.

[@DaveUrbanAstro]

@@AZ4Runner That new tri-pier might solve that problem!

[@jolucas2395]

How deep did u make it? Can u explain the building of the base? Thanks

[@DaveUrbanAstro]

I live in Phoenix Arizona, so I have no frost to worry about, and I have caliche clay for soil once I go down below 2 inches. Caliche clay works almost like concrete believe it or not! So to answer you questions, I have the pier down 18 inches, and I chiselled out a hole in the caliche so that the tube fits snuggly down into the hole. It is all still pretty tight so far!