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How bad would it be for the electronics if just left out there in midwestern winter? Always looking to make the sim more permanent!
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I'm in Iowa and haven't taken anything inside for the last three winters without any issue. I was always told that electronics aren't affected much by the cold. My garage is fairly well insulated though and rarely gets below 35-40 degrees.-
Did you have to even think about it? Im in chicago. I'd hate to compromise the $800 projector I'm about to buy . The computer I can handle moving if needed. -
I brought both in the first few weeks but it was kind of a pain and I'm lazy so in the garage it stayed. I leave a tv out there too and it works fine every time.
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Extreme heat is a bigger danger to a computer than cold. So really you should probably worry more about those 100 degree summer days than the cold winter nights.Comment
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I’m in Canada and leave everything in the garage all year around and no issues. Even when it’s -20 Celsius outside the garage will go as low and -5 to -10 and no issues. Although this year I added a small electric heater for my own personal warmth, which will also keep things just above freezing...
it’s probably not great for batteries and hard drives below freezing, but again I’ve had no issues doing this for 5+ years...Last edited by Virtualadam; 12-11-2020, 11:21 PM.Comment
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I live in the Chcago area and for three winters I’ve left everything in the garage without any problems. The garage in question is insulated.Comment
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Harry homeowner laptops and desktops are designed to operate in the 10-50 C range. In my garage the temp gets into the 30 F or so on colder days. At that temp the processor sometimes screws up for awhile until it wars up from the internal heat generated. It then runs fine but may require a restart. Since I don't operate very well at 30F I have a heater to get the temps at least into the high 50's F. At that temp I can comfortably swing with no added clothing over what I would be wearing outdoors in a similar temps.
As to storage the computer, GC2 and projector have been sitting in the garage year round for 4 or so years. The only possible problem might be condensation internally when it goes from warm to cold on high humidity days. The saving grace is in lower temperatures the dew point is also low so there is little condensation indoors.Comment
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Just for piece of mind and keeping the garage warm for your own comfort, you may want to pickup a cheap electric heater. I got this one on Amazon for under $100 “Comfort Zone CZ220 5,000W”. Wish I would have put this in sooner - I have a digital thermostat which tracks power usage and shocked at how little it costs to keep the garage above freezing over the winter, and on while I’m in the garage during cold days....its in the range of a few dollars a month...and this is in cold Canadian winters...Comment
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Virtualadam , your setup sounds awesome! I'm in Eastern Ontario with some pretty cold winters as well.. any idea what a rough annual cost is to keep the garage above zero and warmer when you golf? I'd LOVE to leave my projector out in the garage but haven't had the courage to do so yet. Thanks in advance! That Maestro Smart Controller looks great! -
Hey StodgyBarley, this is my first year so haven't gone through a full winter yet, although for November the heating costs are around $2-3 CAN, and expect December to be twice that ($4-6). Again this is just keeping it at 5 degrees above freezing, and ALSO heating it up further a few days (~4) days a week when I'm playing. -
Virtualadam thanks so much!!! I'll have to look into something like this long term!! Appreciate it!
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I get all that about the heater, and I'm in Northern Indiana climate (not far from Michigan)..
Maybe you don't have the heat we have in Summer (we can have 2-3 days up to 100F-38C, and many days 90F+-32C), how are you planning on handling the high heat/humidity in Summer months? I was thinking the only way to cover both (heating/cooling) efficiently was with a Mini-Split of some sort (around $600-$700), as trying to do both with a separate heater/air conditioner would be almost as much and no where near as efficient? Also, I know that high heat/humidity is more of a problem with computer/IT equipment, so would think even if you don't have that many high-heat days, that even a few might cause problems - especially if there are several high-humidity days too.Comment
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Sure I realize that - but still don't think it's an option for me to setup/take down CPU/Projector every day in summer months I want to play... and besides, with a large family at home, I'm hoping that I get a lot of use out my Sim in the Summer too, probably almost as much as Winter.
I guess I'm just super particular about playing in high heat/humidity than others are, I can't stand it... so probably going to turn out that I'll play in Sim when it's too hot/humid in Summer to play outside (which is about 90% of the days during the Summer, and getting hotter all the time thanks to climate change).
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