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Can you keep an amp in a Garage?


FckStick Jones

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I'd like to setup a studio in my garage.

 

It's the only space I have.

 

It's not heated, but it is insulated and seems to stay above freezing.

 

How damaging would it be to an amp.

 

Should I consider building a cabinet with a dehumidifier in to house all my stuff?

 

Any thoughts?

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I don't know about your garage, so I'll tell you about my garage. Things rust in my garage, because it gets too damp, summer and winter.

 

As for cold -- the cold isn't serious by itself, it's the movement from cold to warm and back that causes the damage.

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Originally posted by FckStick Jones

I'd like to setup a studio in my garage.


It's the only space I have.


It's not heated, but it is insulated and seems to stay above freezing.


How damaging would it be to an amp.


Should I consider building a cabinet with a dehumidifier in to house all my stuff?


Any thoughts?

 

 

For an amp there are several factors, some dealing with electronics and some with the cabinet.

1. Extremes of temperature can be very hard on wood and some plastics. Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing can lead to cracks and weakening.

2. Humidity can support mildew on inside parts and deterioration of wood or particl board. Likewise, it can support corrosion of metal parts, both structural and electronic. Humidity works with freezing-thawing to destroy, since water expands when it freezes. A faintly damp speaker cone will be toast.

3. Presence of solvents and corrosive chemicals in some garages can accelerate aging and deterioration of Tolex, electronics devices, metal, and plastic.

 

Just my 2-cents.

 

You might check a thermometer and humidity meter at different times to determine what the extremes actually are.

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If its insulated then the temp should be reasonably constant, depends whether its prone to heating from the sun?

 

Electronic things in general prefer a humid environment as opposed to a dry environment, but there are degrees of humidity, some form of monitoring would be appropriate and instead of electric dehumid units, some form of chemical dessicant would be better.

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Originally posted by outofmoney

if you have a tube amp, your tubes won't like drastic, repeated temperature changes

 

:confused:

 

Tubes typically rest (off) at cool room temperature and operate at oven-hot temperatures.

 

I think other components may be considerably more temperature-sensitive.

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Originally posted by FckStick Jones

I'd like to setup a studio in my garage.


It's the only space I have.


It's not heated, but it is insulated and seems to stay above freezing.


How damaging would it be to an amp.


Should I consider building a cabinet with a dehumidifier in to house all my stuff?


Any thoughts?

 

 

Humidity is a far bigger problem than the cold, you seriously don't want condensation collecting on/in your amp. I nearly killed an amp storing it in a garage that way, when i went to get it out it was soaking due to moisture condensing on it. Miraculously when i took it out the garage, left it a couple of weeks in a warm room to dry it out and plugged it in, it was OK.

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Originally posted by Fosse Fox


Electronic things in general prefer a humid environment as opposed to a dry environment, but there are degrees of humidity, some form of monitoring would be appropriate and instead of electric dehumid units, some form of chemical dessicant would be better.

 

 

Surely you didn't mean this. You can't believe that electronics like it when there is more water floating around in the air?

 

Do you know something that I don't (and defies my every conception of common sense about corrosion and its relationship to high humidity vs. low humidity enviornments)?

 

Humidity is water, and electronics generally hate water. It tends to create unwanted oxidization on contact points and elsewhere. Water is ready to shed oxygen atoms and when they find their way into electronics, it seems they often find too many places to do it that end up making our lives poorer.

 

holy cow. they make very $$$$$ special super-dessicated cabinets to store particularly expensive and sensitive electronics in.

 

 

Not to mention that when it's REALLY high like it is in Houston, it also tends to encourage molds, mildew, and other kinds of rot on fabric, leather, and plywood and basically anything else.

 

 

so, you made a typo, right? or am i a blather ingnoramus?

 

could be both.

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Originally posted by tbx



Surely you didn't mean this. You can't believe that electronics like it when there is more water floating around in the air?


 

 

Aaah common misconception............dessication is only used when there is an excess of humidity. Most if not all electronics components will have a degree of moisture in them, its impossible to avoid!! Our air always contains water vapour. Extreme dessication in electronics components causes static, which is its biggest enemy, therefore a degree of humidity is always infinitely preferable. Obviously extremes of humidity are not good, but then I wasn't extolling the virtues of keeping amps in water baths

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Originally posted by Fosse Fox



Aaah common misconception............dessication is only used when there is an excess of humidity. Most if not all electronics components will have a degree of moisture in them, its impossible to avoid!! Our air always contains water vapour. Extreme dessication in electronics components causes static, which is its biggest enemy, therefore a degree of humidity is always infinitely preferable. Obviously extremes of humidity are not good, but then I wasn't extolling the virtues of keeping amps in water baths

 

 

 

Listen to this guy. Did you ever notice that all your computer components (if ordered individually) come in static-free bags? Think about it for a second--the lower the humidity, the more static there is in the air. . . and on your clothes, your hands, etc. I try to keep my electronics and my guitars in a room with 40% - 60% humidity.

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Some thots:

 

Condensation forms with changes of temp that are faster than what generally occurs inside. Many houses get cooler at night, but you don't awake to find condensation pooled on countertops, etc.

 

Cooler environments are generally better for electronics.

 

If humidity is a problem where you are, you might want to pick up a dehumidifier.

 

My only concern would be w/ the finish on your guitar. The new poly finishes will probably do ok, but I know that in the old days rapid changes in temp resulted in crazing of finishes.

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