My arcade stuff is in a garage and it's getting cold outside

Ozymandiaz1260 · Post by **Ozymandiaz1260** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:57 pm

Is it ok to leave my cabs and boards in an uninsulated garage during the winter?

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:12 pm

I believe the operative word here is, "spiders."

Dragon1952 · Post by **Dragon1952** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:37 pm

Not a good idea as moisture will creep into them and corrode the delicate circuit board of the monitor and remote adjust board. In time it will cause problems that you don't want! Must be kept in a more dry place.

From experience......!

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:15 am

The biggest problem IMO is if it gets really cold at night and then really hot during the day. These kinds of temperature cycles can crack imperfect solder joints and lead to problems that are extremely difficult to track down.

Ozymandiaz1260 · Post by **Ozymandiaz1260** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:18 am

I keep all of my boards in sealed plastic tubs and I have the machine on for at least an hour everyday (in the evening), does that make any difference? The Egret II is too wide to fit through the door to the house, so there isn't really much I can do about that

KBZ · Post by **KBZ** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:20 am

don't know how cold it gets.

I have a friend outside of Ottawa who had a cab in his garage. It just died over the winter. However the winters we get around here reach -40C

Alien Soldier · Post by **Alien Soldier** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:58 am

It's time to install the heating in your garage

IlMrm · Post by **IlMrm** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:52 am

Ozymandiaz1260 wrote:The Egret II is too wide to fit through the door to the house, so there isn't really much I can do about that

With the control panel taken off it should squeeze through. That's how I got mine to fit through my door.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:37 am

if its wintertime in california you mean i wouldnt worry about it

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:18 pm

Ozy,

I had 3 cabs in my garage over winter in Evansville 2 years ago. 2 Astros and 1 impress. The impress encountered a fault with the screen where it would flicker once it warmed up. Thats the only problem I had and could never fix it.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:57 pm

I don't know how different arcade stuff would be from simple console stuff, but I used to sleep with my window open all year round. The only reason I don't now is because the screen window doesn't fit right, and having the window open is like a free invitation for creepy crawlies.

Anyways, spending years and years of winters in an effectively freezing room seemed to have no adverse effects on any of my consoles =/ Even playing them when it was freezing didn't seem to do anything. The TV would act kind of funny until it warmed up though ^_^

Ozymandiaz1260 · Post by **Ozymandiaz1260** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:38 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote:never fix it

Post by **system11** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:25 pm

PCBs should be fine as long as you don't get moisture in the air and store them in the open. Cabs though - cold is ok as long as the air is -completely- dry, and avoid turning them on without warming the room up a little first. Cold garages tend to kill screens I'm afraid, it's just how it is. If you can afford to, run a heater in there. Doesn't need to be warm, just enough to cause the air to circulate.

Ozymandiaz1260 · Post by **Ozymandiaz1260** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:37 pm

bloodflowers wrote:If you can afford to, run a heater in there. Doesn't need to be warm, just enough to cause the air to circulate.

This sounds like my best option so far...

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:04 am

My guess is your worrying about this too much. Many of those machines in Japan are right in the doorway during the winter and its gotta get near freezing temps over there.

I never had any problems at all leaving my cabs in the garage during snowy and icy days.. My impress problems started in the summer and in the winter because it was cold it delayed the flickering symtoms for about an extra 10 minutes (bonus).

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:26 am

Daigohji wrote:I believe the operative word here is, "spiders."

Why did everybody ignore this comment?

Spiders get into stuff in my basement, even.

Arvandor · Post by **Arvandor** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:37 am

Because for most people, spiders are a part of everyday life. Unless you vaccuum your house like an obsessive compulsive -_^ And even then, there's the garage, etc. Maybe there aren't many in the middle of a big city? I live too near the mountains, so spiders are a constant.

There are very VERY few spiders worth worrying about anyways. Even the ones that suck to get bit by probably aren't going to kill you, unless you're allergic or something.

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:28 am

I had a lot of monitors break during the freezing months. Havn't had any boards break. Maybe it's bad for the caps to get that cold? Keeping them on is a good idea, I guess each cabinet would be it's own 100 watt heater. I know that some of the cabs in a monitor just get fatigued from dealing with choppy voltages, but I also know that turning them on and off is also very straining on them. I don't know which is worse for them- maybe you should leave them on all winter?

You'd have to change games so you don't burn the screens

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:54 pm

I have 40+ cabs in a garage. I have weather sealant around the garage door, and I do have a ac/heater unit in there (as well as insulation). That said, I never run the heat in the winter (Houston winters require a vent, really), and have not encountered any issues. Of course, my garage is more conducive to the cabs than anything else. But, there is never anything wrong with a cab that some time and money can't fix.