CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Frank D]

Can a Sony CRT front projector be stored in a shed outside without doing damage from the cold? The operations manual says storage down to -20 C. I live near Toronto and it is possible to go below that (I believe -25C to -35C in some cases).

[Brooklyn]

I found that the cold can wear/crack the rubber coating on the HV leads. I am also not sure what the freezing point of glycol is, but it is pretty low. I don't know about -35 C though.

[Elaine Benes]

More damaging than the cold will be all the moisture, and infiltration of dust if you're near a road with any amount of traffic.

I've had a few projectors in the garage for an extended period, and it gets REALLY damp in there with all the extremes in temperature. The moisture and temperature changes can corrode connections throughout the projector....
All that being said though, I've had a couple pj's in the garage over the winter(Kington, ON) with visible no ill effects from the cold...

[dc_pilgrim]

Mice got into a PJ that was in an out building when I bought it. Found droppings and ripped up paper.

[Frank D]

Wondering where Curt keeps all his projectors?

[rabies_70]

I saw a picture once of a whole bunch of them in his driveway, I think there was a tarp on them, and if you looked real close at the picture, you could see a crazy eyed gypsy looking woman peering out through a curtain on a window from the house next door. The real crazy thing is, I swear I could just barely make out what appeared to be her jabbing a pin through a small doll that looked very similar to Curt. Anybody else got a copy of that photo?

[Meese]

Any additional thoughts on cold storage of CRT projectors? I have a used Barco 808 and Sony G70 that I don't have ready to sell yet but I need to store them somewhere. I have a nice workshop but it's unheated and it can get to -30C/-22F here in the winter. Rodents/dust are not a problem.

[Tinman]

[ecrabb]

I'd try to put those bad boys in a basement or at least a garage so it wouldn't see quite such extreme swings as -22F at night and 30 or 40 during the day (in the shed in the sun, maybe?). That's a 50- or 60-degree swing. Of course, it's very slow, so maybe it wouldn't be a big deal...

More than the temps, I'd worry about humidity. Not now because it's super dry, but in the spring. In early spring, you have the temps well below freezing at night, then warmer humid air the next day while things are thawing, you get condensation all over EVERYTHING. Metal chassis parts would be especially bad because it would stay cold, then have humid air condensing. Used to happen to my motorcycle all the time. Cold in the garage, go out in the morning, open the garage door, 40-degree humid air rolls in and hits all the 25-degree metal and you get water ALL OVER EVERYTHING.

Maybe you could wrap them in plastic and seal them up so air wasn't really circulating over them?!?! Not completely sealing it, but just impeding constant air movement.

SC

[AnalogRocks]

Toronto's one of the most humid places around this time of the year, and I can tell you stuff left in a shed will absolutly get wet. I even get rain INSIDE my car due to the humidity and temperature change. If you leave it in the shed be prepared to fix it next time you need to use it.

[AnalogRocks]

Toronto's one of the most humid places around this time of the year, and I can tell you stuff left in a shed will absolutly get wet. I even get rain INSIDE my car due to the humidity and temperature change. If you leave it in the shed be prepared to fix it next time you need to use it.

[Meese]

Thanks for the advise. I'll be attempting to acquire some basement space for them.

If anyone is in the Twin Cities area and wants a great deal to store them permanently, let me know.