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Storing Cabinets in Garages - Dry vs Humid Temperatures

whoatherechunk

whoatherechunk

Apr 4, 2008
4,085
11
#1
For most of my life I have had gear in climate controlled areas but life sometimes throws you a curve ball and you have to work with what you have. I obviously refuse to have any instruments or amps in areas such as garages but what are the TRUE effects of having bass/guitar cabs in spaces like garages. I currently live in the southwest and it's honestly a mix of pure dry heat with some humidity in the summer. People state that touring gear is hauled in blazing trailers and can be left in frozen over vans. People also state...have your speakers in your car ever had any issues? Well....no, but this is professional gear not some Ford Focus sound system. I've read threads that say you'll notice issues at "extreme" temperatures. Has anyone ever had any experience with storing cabs in humid areas such as Florida vs dry heat areas such as west Texas and honestly noticed any sort of malfunction of their gear? In extreme heat I can imagine perhaps glue coming undone but that must be some insane outdoor heat over a long time or perhaps rust during some insane outdoor humidity. But yea, has anyone dealt with issues to storing cabs in a garage?

It's nice to come out of retirement to ask for such advice. :bassist:
 
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#4
I can only speak to the venues that I have personal knowledge of and have played at around the country. Many venues have very expensive sound systems and they may only be open 3 or 4 nights a week. During the days that they are closed, the climate controls are off to save on money. As a result, the equipment, including all of the speakers in the gargantuan sound systems are exposed to heat, cold, humidity, etc. While that may lead to the need to preventative maintenance, it clearly can't be that big of an impact because I don't know of any venues that keep their HVAC going to protect the gear/ venue.
Having lived in nearly every climate in the CONUS and brought my gear with me, I've never had to make special accommodations for a piece of equipment 'here' vs. 'there'.
Also, something to keep in mind: If gear were that sensitive to climate change, every time we go on tour, we'd have to rent 'local' gear instead of bringing our own :thumbsup:
Again, this is only in my personal experience, YMMV.
 
#6
BadExample said:
Put out some rat poison if the garage is not sealed well.
Click to expand...

Was going to write something else and still will, but this is a BFD. Not just for your cabs, either.

I'm a lucky SoCal resident, but have noticed on my Goliath that I've been keeping in the garage here a little bit of rust forming on the lower part of the grill! Not good. Now, I'm selling it and don't expect it to live out there much longer, but I've been keeping my gigging cabs out there as well and that ended with the rust discovery. They're inside now. The practice room is now packed way too tight for my taste but that cannot be helped.

Moisture and speakers just don't mix.
 
#7
arbiterusa said:
Was going to write something else and still will, but this is a BFD. Not just for your cabs, either.

I'm a lucky SoCal resident, but have noticed on my Goliath that I've been keeping in the garage here a little bit of rust forming on the lower part of the grill! Not good. Now, I'm selling it and don't expect it to live out there much longer, but I've been keeping my gigging cabs out there as well and that ended with the rust discovery. They're inside now. The practice room is now packed way too tight for my taste but that cannot be helped.

Moisture and speakers just don't mix.
Click to expand...
Another So. Cal resident.

I keep my aging equipment in my garage covered with bed covers, blankets and stuff you can find at yard sales. Keeps the dust out, controls moisture so it still works and look good decades later.
 
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#8
My 8 10 cab has been living in the back of my PU truck (under a cap) for about five years now. Summers here hit 95 F. on a regular basis with high humidity and winters get down to five degrees with nightly averages in the twenties. Cab worked fine last week when I pulled it out. If it craps out , I'll let you all know.:thumbsup:
 
#9
I store my cabinets in the garage here in Seattle but I always make it a habit to plug the ports since I found that mice and spiders find the inside of my bass cabs very inviting. I found some inexpensive child's play balls that fit snug in the round rear ports of my Acoustic BN-112 boxes. I had a previous set of cabinets in which I added acoustic dampening and found that they contained some mice droppings and a few spiders when I opened them up. I'm no longer accepting any boarders at the Low End Motel.
 
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#10
I stored a Hartke 410XL in a small utility room at the end of a carport for a few years. No climate control and could get a little damp if it rained for a few days but nothing serious. I set on top of some milk crates to get it up off the floor and it did just fine. I got a tiny bit of surface rust on some of the screw heads holding the corners and handles but that was the extent of it. That was in the middle 90's and the cab still works fine so i guess it didn't suffer from the experience.
 
#11
Everything comes packed these days with a "Do Not Eat" packets inside.
These are desiccants and absorb the moisture in the box.
Desiccant packs can be bought in bulk on the web.

Throw a few in the bag to insure the extra humidity gets absorbed.
They can be recharged by baking them in an oven.

And BTW - Blue kitty litter is a good airline dryer, and it's cheap.
;)
 
#12
Here in Canada we get outdoor gigs in winter. Not kidding. I flew a p.a. for 36 hours, plus transport back and forth at about 0 Fahrenheit.
I've baked cabinets, out in the August sun, for hours. You could not touch them.
No failures.
 

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