Kendrick Dew Heater Strap

Kendrick Premier Brand heaters are the best heaters made and they produce considerably more heat than any other brand. You don't always need the extra heat, but there are going to be times that you are glad to have it.

Premier Heaters are designed to be used with cameras and camera lenses, telescopes optics of all kinds, binoculars and temperature sensitive electronics.

Premier Heaters require the purchase of one of Kendrick's Dew Controllers. The systems are all 12 VDC with the exception of the #2021-A Digi_Klear Pad Heater, which runs on 120 VAC.

We have heater systems for virtually any optic or electronic device used in amateur astronomy, outdoor photography and medical operating rooms. They are designed to keep electronic devices functioning and optics moisture free in humid and/or cold working environments.

The Premier Heater line is the Kenrick flagship brand and are built of the highest possible quality materials, custom built to their electrical specifications. These are not off-the-shelf heaters! They use the best quality Velcro, elastic and flex heaters available for this line. The cables are cold flexible down to temperatures of -40C and the cable housing is custom make for Kendrick to their specifications. All their competitors use cables that stiffen in cold environments.

Kendrick heaters have been built to use only as much power as necessary and thereby not waste energy. They have built-in foam insulation on one side to help prevent heat loss into the atmosphere and direct the warmth generated by the heaters into the optics.

Attaching Heaters
Generally, Kendrick heaters wrap around your optics, label side out and are held in place by elastic/Velcro attachments. The heaters for Newtonian/Dobsonian Secondary Mirrors, depending on which model you purchase, are either placed on the backside of the secondary and can be held in place by using the polyester batting found inside the secondary mirror holder (heaters #2016, 2017, 2018) or will wrap around the secondary mirror stalk (heaters #2028 & 2028-S). Newtonian Primary Mirror Heaters sit behind the primary mirror in contact with the back side of the mirror. Your mirror holder must allow for removal of your primary mirror to accommodate a primary mirror heater.

Eyepiece Heaters
Customers regularly ask if eyepiece heaters are necessary. They are just as much a necessity as the heater for the main lens or mirror in your telescope. In cool environments, moisture from your eye condenses on the eyepiece glass and without heat, is very difficult or impossible to remove.

Kendrick manufactures four sizes of eyepiece heaters:

• #2004 - for eyepieces on finderscopes.
• #2005 - for 1.25" eyepieces and that do not have a huge body (For example: Plossls, Vixen Lanthanum and similarly sized eyepieces).
• #2006 - for larger bodied (but not massive) 1.25" and 2" eyepieces (For example: Baader Hyperion and Orion Stratus eyepieces).
• #2006-L - for large body (tall) 1.25" and 2" eyepieces (For example: Tele Vues Naglers, Ethos and Delos, Celestron Lumina eyepieces, Explore Scientific eyepieces, etc).

DEW-Minator Large Eyepiece Heater!

This heater has been designed specifically for the ever increasing line of large format eyepieces available to the amateur astronomer. It provides plenty of power for those cold or really humid nights yet can be adjusted (via a Kendrick controller) for very mild, low power operation if your conditions call for it.

Like all Kendrick heaters, it has a sewn in, heavy duty elastic strap to allow you to securely fit it to any of your large bodied eyepieces.

 Heater Specifications

Below, we provide a breakdown of the wattage and amperage of most of the Premier Heaters Kendrick makes. This will aid in choosing the correct controller for your system as your controller must be able to handle the amperage requirements of your heaters, no matter what controller setting you use. For example, if you set your controller to operate at 30%, the heaters will draw their full amperage 30% of the time. The other 70% of the time they will be off. This is called a 30% duty cycle.

NOTE: Kendrick competitors often quote what they consider the high power requirements of Kendrick Premier Heaters. It is important to note that the ratings quoted below are true if your controller is set to operate at a 100% setting. To clarify, if you set your controller to operate at 30%, the heaters will draw their full amperage, but only 30% of the time. The other 70% of the time they will be off. Also, these heaters are intentionally designed to generate more heat than competitors heaters as they are designed to perform under ALL conditions. 

Using the Dew Heaters

Kendrick Premier Heaters require the purchase of one of the Dew Controllers. Kendrick systems are all 12 VDC with the exception of the #2021-A Digi_Klear Pad Heater which runs on 120 VAC.

We recommend that you put your heaters in place at the beginning of an observing session and turn your controller on right away. For Premier Heaters, or heaters for Newtonian or RC Telescopes, we recommend a controller setting that represents about 20 to 40%.

If moisture has already condensed on your optics, we recommend covering the optics, turning the heaters on high and waiting 20 to 30 minutes. Once the moisture has cleared, lower your controller setting and resume observing.

Power Requirements

Kendrick dew control systems require 12 volts DC. If you are using a battery to run the system, we recommend a 5 amp hour battery as a minimum. If you want to run the system from a wall plug, you will need a 120 volt to 12 volt DC "Regulated" step down power supply with a minimum output of 5 amps.

Pictured to the right are Kendrick Regulated 120 volt to 12 volt DC power supplies which are excellent for operating the dew systems from a wall socket. Kendrick also builds portable 12 volt power packs and offers other power solutions that can be used with all your astro equipment that is used in the field. See Kendrick Power Packs for more information on the power systems they offer.

How much power do you need? Add up the current draw from all connected equipment and then multiply by at least 2. Generally, you want a power supply that can deliver twice as much power as you think you might need. Otherwise, an overworked PS is going to fail or even get excessively hot.   NEW Big-Honkin 25 Amp Power Supply (110VAC or 220VAC)! Big mounts, cooled CCD Cameras, Dew Heaters use a lot of juice. 25 Amps is enough power to run just about any device you would ever need.

Specifications