Members Robson780 Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Hey quick question - For the past few days my band's gear has been sitting in our van. It is cold out here, but where the van is parked it gets direct sunlight blasting it all day long, and it heats up quite a bit inside. Should I be concerned, how hot is too hot for electric guitars? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lenduffy Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Yes...you should NEVER leave a guitar in a hot auto. I personally witnessed a beautiful 68 Tele's finish crack all over after the owner of a guitar store took it out of his trunk and opened the case in his air conditioned store. Not to mention the havoc you can wreak on your setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Here's what your guitars now look like: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robson780 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Yes...you should NEVER leave a guitar in a hot auto. I personally witnessed a beautiful 68 Tele's finish crack all over after the owner of a guitar store took it out of his trunk and opened the case in his air conditioned store. Not to mention the havoc you can wreak on your setup. Finish cracking isn't an issue, my guitars are played. I'm mainly worried about heat affecting wood/electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robson780 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Realistically the temperature is probably sitting at around 26-27 celsius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members normh Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Anything higher than about 100 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members volvo1800 Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Finish cracking isn't an issue, my guitars are played. I'm mainly worried about heat affecting wood/electronics. Yeah . . wood like all atom based items expands and contracts base on temperature. so you can crack it warp up the neck .. destroy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stevieb Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Man, oh man, if it was DOGS you were leaving in the van, the SPCA would be all over your ass. What we need is a SPCG... Conventional wisdom is that leaving an acoustic guitar in a hot car for one day ages it ten years' worth of normal use and storage. What's the rate for an electric? Anybody's guess- perhaps 5 years? Seven? Three? Doesn't really matter exactly what it is- the point is aging is greatly accelerated under such conditions. Wood, no matter how thick it is or what is made from it, works best when it is neither too dry or too wet. Further, glue holding the sections of a Strat or the beautiful figured top on a Les Paul could partially let go in the heat. And, you may THINK you don't care about finish checking, but when your playing is messed up because you are pealing big chucks of nitrocelluose lacquer or polyurethane off your picking hand, or your friendly neighborhood guitar refinisher is trying to revive you after you fainted at the price he quoted you, you might be singing (playing?) a different tune. Pickup windings are sometimes coated with old-tech materials that won't be happy with all that head, and the wax in potted pups does have a melting point- how did you imagine it got there in the first place? Even 9-volt batteries (in active circuitry-equipped guitars) discharge faster in the heat. And even if all that was not happening (and I assure you, it is) the daily heat/cold cycling of the guitar and strings is going to make your guitars go more out of tune, and harder to tune, than otherwise. If you MUST leave gear in the van (aren't you worried about theft??) at the least bring your guitars, in their cases, inside the hotel room or your apartment (guitars are also the easiest to steal, being relatively lightweight, relatively valuable and easier to cart off- thoughtful guy that you are, you even provided the thieves a case with a nice HANDLE on it.) If that is just TOTALLY impossible, crack the freakin' van windows a quarter of an inch to reduce the greenhouse effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jpnyc Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Heat is so bad for guitars that some manufacturers state in the manual that leaving a guitar in a hot car voids the warranty and that they even won Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brewski Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 it's a very very bad thing. Imagine if you will a 2x4 cooled and then heated - it warps. Now imagine that 2x4 being the neck of your guitar - UGH!! recommend you get that thing outta that van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robson780 Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 You guys seem to be quite concerned about this. Let me break down the circumstances. The temperature here outside has been hovering around -15 lately. The temperature in the van during the day is probably somewhere around 26 degrees celsius with the sun out. Obviously it cools down at night, and the windows are all shut because we don't want it snowing inside the vehicle. But 26 degrees (78 fahrenheit)... is that really enough to screw up guitars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 High temperatures are not the problem.The change in temperature is.My guitars live happily in the range 25-35C year round. Cycling temperatures is the issue to avoid, which is why you open cases gradually when moving from one temp to another. In your case, the cycle from -15 to +26 is 41 degrees - I would suggest you stop doing that. For the effort of unpacking the cases, why take the risk? Perrsonally I would be much more concerned about theft though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EADGBE Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 Heat can ruin a guitar. For one thing the glue can come undone. Not to mention all of the heating and contracting which can cause cracks. Here's the deal, if it's too hot for you, it's probably too hot for your guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Robson780 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 Heat can ruin a guitar. For one thing the glue can come undone. Not to mention all of the heating and contracting which can cause cracks. Here's the deal, if it's too hot for you, it's probably too hot for your guitar. I'm aware of the extreme damage, but this can only really happen under extreme conditions, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bubbluz Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 I doubt your van gets up to 25C in the sun if it's -15 outside,still,I wouldn't leave a guitar in a vehicle up here in Canada any longer than I absolutely had to.Take the guitar inside with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brewski Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 it's the drastic change that warps wood and destroys things - recommend at least you put the moister packs in the case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EADGBE Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 I'm aware of the extreme damage, but this can only really happen under extreme conditions, right? The cold weather in Canada can be quite extreme. Your gear would be better off indoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Veee number 2 Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 What's the problem with just bringing the guitars inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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