Games in the Garage in the winter, good or bad

smokinfish

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Currently I have 3 games in my garage, robotron, joust and golden tee with silver strike. I am working on them before they get moved into the house.

Any problems if I leave them for the winter?

Thanks
 
Depends where you're at. Here in Texas most of my games stay in the garage year round :)
 
Theres a long standing debate on whether you can damage monitors by turning them on in cold weather. Your cold is not the same as my cold :)
 
i avoid turning on games if they're at or below freezing, but i've had no problems running games in my unheated garage at 40 degrees or so.

not that i enjoy spending a whole lot of time in my garage when it's 40 degrees inside...
 
I have mine in a pole barn. Before i turn them on I start the heater and let them get warm. Natural gas is $$$ so I make sure I will be out there awhile. Oh I live in Indiana.
Bill
 
No issue at all in Texas. My (insulated) garage gets down to the upper 40's/lower 50's in the dead of winter here (in the teens outside) and my game all play fine...
 
For colder climates, there are two issues: monitors and bezel flaking. Monitors because the sudden temperature differential between off and on can cause neck failures.

With bezels, especially glass bezels (and to a lesser extent marquees), the coefficient of expansion is signifigantly different between paint and the glass. As the glass gets cold, it will shrink more than the paint, which stresses the paint and can cause it to lose adhesion to the glass. In severe cases, it will cause the paint to pucker. Long streches of cold are less damaging than repeated cooling and warming cycles. Heat can produce similar effects, but they are generally less pronounced because the heat will render the paint more pliable and more likely to ride out the expansion of the glass.

Neither of these are a significant issue in Texas, unless we get a freak cold snap.
 
It's not the cold, it's the humidity. If it's like a really cold morning, and it's icy out you'll have issues, I've seen it first hand because I used to work on games on my porch a lot. It will do CRAZY things to the monitor.

Inside a garage in texas though you shouldn't have any problems.

+1 on the bezel glass, though, I almost ruined a pinball backglass by leaving it on a porch for a long period of time.
 
Bezel flaking that is good to know I could bring those inside for sure. I hadn't thought of that!

Dallas will get a few freaky cold days then the rest of winter is pretty chill. Not like you guys up north, I know I lived in Wisconsin where you had to dig yourself out in the winter mornings. One of the reasons I moved to Dallas. Its great here a little ice and they shut the city down. Thus a full day of gaming!

Thanks for all the great info! I'm learning allot here.

Mark
 
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Humidy/moisture factor is the key. Throw a tarp/blanket over them and you are good. You can power them up in dead of winter (freezing), just don't keep game on long. Once heat starts mixing with cold, that moisture turns into pure wetness. If you are a selling a game and need to boot it up for buyer to test, you are good. With that said, I picked up a game and threw it in garage. Kids went out there and played it for hours each weekend days. Never had an issue.

Kevin
 
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