Arcade Game in the garage

[mrserv0n]

Hey All, I live in Michigan, and we have some cold winters as you know, I am moving next week and wondered if it is safe to put my Die hard arcade cabinet in my garage for a month till things get settled, or if temperatures get below freezing, as they will, will this damage my arcade cabinets monitor? Or the IPAC in it?

 

[LeedsFan]

I'm in the UK and when I did my cabinet project I had to do it out back in the garage over winter time. If you are just storing the cabinet then you should be fine. Just make sure that when you bring it back inside leave it standing for a while before switching it on.

I had to warm up the back of the cabinet where the tube was for a few minutes with a hair dryer each time I went to work on it. If I got any dampness in the tube it arced like crazy when I switched it on. That can kill a monitor very quickly. Once I warmed up the air in the back it was fine though.

[mrserv0n]

thanks for the tip, I figured it would be ok, but I had the same concern about moisture overtime. Thanks again

[ChadTower]

I had to warm up the back of the cabinet where the tube was for a few minutes with a hair dryer each time I went to work on it. If I got any dampness in the tube it arced like crazy when I switched it on. That can kill a monitor very quickly. Once I warmed up the air in the back it was fine though.

Oh holy crap... rapid temperature change will kill the monitor just as fast as dampness.  You know why it was arcing when damp?  Because of the rapid expansion of the glass when you heated it up... causing cracking in the seals around the anode due to different rates of thermal expansion.  You were actually killing the monitor yourself.

[shardian]

Storing is fine, but operation in that kind of cold is a no-no. That goes for computers, dvd player, gameboys, etc.

[LeedsFan]

I had to warm up the back of the cabinet where the tube was for a few minutes with a hair dryer each time I went to work on it. If I got any dampness in the tube it arced like crazy when I switched it on. That can kill a monitor very quickly. Once I warmed up the air in the back it was fine though.

Oh holy crap... rapid temperature change will kill the monitor just as fast as dampness.  You know why it was arcing when damp?  Because of the rapid expansion of the glass when you heated it up... causing cracking in the seals around the anode due to different rates of thermal expansion.  You were actually killing the monitor yourself.

I take your point about the rapid expansion. But that isn't what happened with my cab. It only arced when I tried to switch it on without doing any warming up. Once I'd left a hair dryer running for a few mins. on the shelf below the tube it was fine. I didn't blast the tube from an inch away with hot air. 

[ChadTower]

I take your point about the rapid expansion. But that isn't what happened with my cab. It only arced when I tried to switch it on without doing any warming up. Once I'd left a hair dryer running for a few mins. on the shelf below the tube it was fine. I didn't blast the tube from an inch away with hot air. 

It was arcing when cold because the gap between the tube seal and the anode was wide when cold... then closed when they warmed up.  That is the sign of a broken seal which is usually caused by frequent rapid temperature change and a failing CRT as a result.

[myntik1]

I posted a similar question a couple of months ago.  The general consensus is that it's not a problem, just bring it inside and let it gradually warm up for a while before use.  I would say a day or two to be safe.  But I'm just a schmuck who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night

[ChadTower]

That's pretty much it... ops store their games in unheated warehouses all the time.  Just make sure it hits room temperature at its own rate and don't turn it on until it does.

[bossyman15]

Whoa wait a min!

i am using a TV in my cab and its in my garage so if it was cold in garage and i power on the arcade. does that cold effect happen?

i never saw anything wrong with my TV when i power on my cab in the garage.

[2600]

Depends how you define cold.  Someone who lives in Florida has a different viewpoint of cold then someone in Canada.

[bossyman15]

Depends how you define cold.  Someone who lives in Florida has a different viewpoint of cold then someone in Canada.

well i'm in San Jose, CA where the weather are mostly in low 40s

[FrizzleFried]

I use my arcade games throughout the winter.  While my garage/gameroom is insulated,  the temps surely hit the low 40's and maybe the upper 30's sometimes (before I turn on the heat).  I've never had a problem running any of my games at that temp?

[bossyman15]

damn i can't stop watching her press her finger against the sega logo. its just too cute!

[2600]

Personally, I'd would think somewhere in the 40's would be the lower end of acceptable.  Humidity would play a factor as well.

Obviously, this isn't to say that your machine will die immediately if you power it on in the 30's.  It could have no affect or it could cause it to die in a couple months.  The electronics aren't the only thing to consider having an early death in lower temperature ranges with rapid temperature changes.

[Namco]

Depends how you define cold.  Someone who lives in Florida has a different viewpoint of cold then someone in Canada.

well i'm in San Jose, CA where the weather are mostly in low 40s

Cool, a local! I'm in Gilroy, Ca and work throughout Santa Clara county. We'll have to meet up at the next Ca extreme!

As for me, my machine is in the garage too. Stays between 55 and 45 degrees in the winter. I hate going out to play it when it's cold. A single game of Double Dragon or Street Fighter 2 chills me to the bone. Keeping a space heater blasting me from the side or back helps though. Even in 50 degree temperatures there are repercussions. If the machine is cold, I notice that my coin mech switches don't always see the coin and some of my shoddy soldering on some of the controls act up until the machine is warm. But P1 side works fine and I have unlimited credits so it's not a problem.