Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Arcade Collecting => Miscellaneous Arcade Talk => Topic started by: SuperGunGuru on September 17, 2005, 10:47:03 pm
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I thought I'd ask this as the cold weather will be upon us here in Michigan before too long. I have a 6 player X-Men that I store in the garage (no choice it will not fit into the basement). Has anyone had any bad experience with storing games in a garage? I know I can always take the monitors out of it and the PC board, but is the cabinet likely to be affected in any way by the cold? The bad thing is the garage is not heated or insulated. It did go through some cold spells when I first got it back in March and I didn't see any problems, but this would be its first true Michigan winter (brrrr). I don't want to sell this baby if I can help it, but I'd hate to see it suffer any damage. Any advice is appreciated.
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I would avoid playing the game in the garage during the winter. I store games in my garage all winter in Michigan. If I need to turn them on or work on them, I bring them inside and let them sit for 24 hours before I turn them on. That allows everything to acclimate. The cabinet will be fine structurally as long as it stays dry. From what I have read, the electronics don't like extreme temperature swings. Letting the pcb and chassis sit for 24 hours allows any condensation to dry before powering up.
jim
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I would avoid playing the game in the garage during the winter.
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Search the forums. This one's been addressed a couple times.
Is your area just cold, or is it cold and snowy? If snowy, then it will be quit humid at times too. How sealed is your garage? Does water seep in when it rains or snow melts?
For me, I kept a Galaga in the garage for 1 winter. I will never do that again. Though it still worked fine after ward, many metal parts that were not rusted before, now were. Rust had appeared on the back of the CP, and the vent grills near the bottom were completely rusted and my fuse clips rusted too (enough so that when I eventually had to replace the fuse block because the fuses stopped making proper contact).
Some people say wrap the cabinet in plastic.
Some say take the electronics and monitor out of it and keep those parts in-door. Some say you'll be fine...
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Thanks for the replies guys. I will be getting this thing put up on plywood soon before it turns really cold. Our garage, while not heated or insulated, is dry. I'll also probably end up covering it with something to keep dust off it. So far I haven't done that, though I have dusted it off. I don't want to get rid of this thing unless it's abosolutely necessary and someday I'll have a proper home for it. Anyway one last dumb question: The games in the house are in the basement also on concrete. Are they okay sitting on the concrete since the basement is heated (though it's naturally colder down there in the winter)?
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My garage is finished and heated. You can store it there. I will of course, verify it's operation from time to time. No storage fees..
;D