Dew Heaters

jsg

Hello!
I am powering 2 Primaluce dew heaters with the ASIAIR Plus; a 100mm heating strip for the main scope and a 50mm heating strip for the guide scope.

I notice that they are barely getting warm even though I set the AISAIR power to 100%. Is this normal? Primaluce says that with their own dew controller the temperature of these dew heaters can go up to 114F, but mine are not getting warmer than maybe 72-75F. I certainly do not want to buy another device just to heat the dew heating strips...

I'm wondering if there's an incompatibility with the ASIAIR Plus and the Primaluce dew heaters?

Thanks!
Jerry

enaiman

AA 100% power = maximum power allowed on that port which is different than max power for the heater.
Ideally you want to keep the temperature a few degrees above ambient and if you feel them being warm, that will be good enough.
To get them warmer you will have to power them from a separate power supply (not AA)

jsg

Thanks for replying enaiman.
Right now I have the ZWO splitter cable powering both dew heaters from one ASIAIR Plus DC output port.
Do you think if I had 2 independent RCA to DC power cables so that I plug each dew heater into its own ASIAIR DC port that it might increase the power to available to each dew heater?

Primaluce, who makes the dew heating strips, says that these dew heaters can get up to 140F using their own Dew controller. But I don't want to add any more devices or weight to my mount.

Because there's no manual available for the ASIAIR Plus, I don't know if powering the dew heaters on separate ports would provide more power to each one....

Thanks,
Jerry

enaiman

jsg It will give more power but you don't need then running at 100% - I set my heaters at about 60% and I am fine.
It is always a good idea to start on a lower setting and increase if needed.

tbhausen

Just crank them up in ASiair and see if they control the dew for your conditions and upgrade only if necessary. I'm running a Dew-Not DN02 on my gudescope and a DN04 on my main scope and I can't feel them getting "warm", but I'm hopeful the ASiair will be enough. I'm at 50% and will go up from there if/when necessary. If 100% isn't enough, I'll get a separate controller.

jsg

I'm going to first try separating the 2 dew heaters so that each one has its own ASIAIR DC output port, rather than both sharing one port. That might increase the amperage available to each heater, which would resolve the issue. If that doesn't work, I will try another brand of dew heaters..

jsg

Which dew heating strips are you using? Are you powering both using a splitter cable on one DC output port on the ASIAIR Plus?

I started on 50 or 60% power but they were not even getting warm. I think separating the 2 heaters with each one on a separate 12v output will do the trick. If not, I'll get a 2 port dew heater controller and control it directly from my Bluetti EB 55 and bypass the aisair plus.

I wonder if some brands of dew heating strips are more efficient than others.

Thanks,
Jerry

tbhausen

jsg Dew-Not does claim to be more efficient.

enaiman

jsg Same PrimaLuce heaters. Each one powered from it's own port.

jsg

Thanks enaiman, I'm going to use two cables and two ports instead of one. I think that will solve it.