Hey gang, I am just wonderign if its OK to have power tools in the garage oevr winter? I live in Minnesota, so the garage gets well below freezing. I would like to store some of my lesser used tools out there, so I need to know if the bitter cold is bad for em. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Also, along those lines, are said conditions at all bad for storing hardwoods?
Thanks! Rob
My stuff is in an unheated garage with no problems. The only thing I do is bring the cordless tools, batteries and chargers in for the winter.
Wood doesn't care. I keep a couple hundred BF out there in stage toward use all the time.
I wouldn't leave any tool I loved out there. Just too much of a problem come spring and condensation time, much less problems with cold tools and wet, warm vehicles.
have momma knit some sweaters for them.
dave
rob wrote:
No trouble if you let them warm up before using. Put them in a plastic bag before bringing into the house, this will keep it from frosting or condensation from forming. And you don't want to run a cold machine anyhow.
It's a shame you leave the batteryin your car when you take those lucky power tool batteries in the house. I'd think you should take it in too.
Woody
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Good Question..... Condensation, moisture & possible rust would be your only real worry during drastic temperature changes, lightly spray some WD40 or other thin lubricant on some large newspapers or brown paper & when absorbed wrap the tools in the paper before storing them in the garage for the winter, that should prevent any problems if your garage is at all damp. Here in Canada that can be a serious consideration. The cold can make the rubber on the cords & boots crack but generally only if they are getting old & brittle anyway.
As for the wood.....not my scene man! Chop it up & burn it to keep warm .
I guess you would be right about the moisture, however I have left my tools in the garage for the last 15 or so years and I have yet to find any rust or other problems with tem. I guess it depends on the climate that you live in. Here in Denver, I don't worry. Besides,I don't work well when it's cold and neither do the tools.
I wouldn't leave any
-- Woody
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I would be concerned about rust. When I have put tools in an unheated environment I have sprayed Boeshield t-9 rust preventive all over the cast surfaces.
Bob McBreen
Rob, my power tools and hardwoods (ash and oak) have withstood the cold here in No. Mn. for years without problems. They do better than I do.
John
A problem I encountered was not so much severe cold, but a cold front coming through. Moisture condensed on the cast-iron tables and fence of my almost brand-new jointer and it had a coat of rust the next time I saw it.
Took some steel wool and elbow grease to clean it up. That was 30 years ago, but I still remember it. :-(
Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a
"Wanting to meet a writer because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate." Margaret Atwood
On 17 Nov 2003 12:09:00 -0800, rob snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net (rob) scribbled
I live in the Yukon where it gets to 40 below zero (ackshally to 87 below, but that was only once and a long time ago). My only advice is to avoid licking your tools when it's very cold. :-) Oh, I've also heard that steel gets very brittle somewhere around 40-50 below, but I have never experienced metal failures due to that, so it might not be true.
Hot humid weather and a cool garage are much more likely to be damaging to your tools than cold (Rust). As long as your garage is warmer than outside (even by a degree or two), you should be OK.
Also, solid phase H2O is an excellent wood glue, stronger than wood and easily reversible. The procedure is the same as with hide glue . It works really well as long as the temperature stays below 0 degrees Celsius (32F). :-) In other words, keep your wood relatively dry so it doesn't stick together.
I also haven't had any problem with cordless battery tools left in the cold shop, but they are Milwaukee and Bosch, so YMMV.
Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" twice in reply address for real email address
"Man is a tool-using animal. Weak in himself and of small stature, he stands on a basis of some half-square foot, has to straddle out his legs lest the very winds supplant him. Nevertheless, he can use tools, can devise tools: with these the granite mountain melts into light dust before him: seas are his smooth highway, winds and fire his unwearying steeds. Nowhere do you find him without tools. Without tools he is nothing: with tools he is all." Thomas Carlyle
You have lead-acid batteries in your tools?
Mike
I don't know why, but Shop Vac says not to leave their products in a place they might freeze.
Mike
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Only reason I can think of is the Wet/Dry vac that could freeze up if not drained and dried. Mine stays out in the garage all winter for the past 10 years or so. . I only use it dry though. Ed
I live in SE Wisconsin, and during one of those really bitter cold winters (routinely -20F), well, more than a few years ago, I *WAS* bringing the car battery in. It really made a difference in the morning starting up. The car started like a warm July day even though the outside temp was -20F.
Well, while rehabbing the house, I've yet to run into a need for a car battery. I have two sets of tools - one in the shop, one in the basement. I only have one set of cordless though so they live in the garage for 3 seasons while woodworking and inside the house for 1 season while rehabbing.
My shed is a little damp & often in winter after a mild spell we get a cold snap, any exposed metal surfaces get a thin film of frost especially circular saw blades, metal bases etc, bringing them somewhere warm then results in wet tools, since wrapping them I have not seen another rusty tool in the shed, I also do the same for my hand saws, garden shears & other similar items. Only takes a few seconds to wrap them up...come spring I just toss the old papers away.
As far as powertools go just bringing them in from extreme cold to warmth is enough to make condensation form on all the cold metal parts, under some conditions a very light duty tool such as a dremel or other multitool with ultra fine field & armature windings & push together field contacts & switches can short out quite easily just from condensation. Heavier duty tools will probably not be effected at all & the condensation will evaporate as soon as the motors components warm up slightly.
I lived in SE Wisconsin too. Lake Geneva area. Well OK, it's more like NE Illinois, I guess.
On cold nights (0-20 below) I'd stick a 100W drop light on top of the battery and let the hood down gently. On bloody cold nights (20-40 below), I had a cheap heating pad sitting underneath the battery that I'd plug in.
Sure was a helluva lot easier than trying to pull a battery out in bitter cold. Block heaters and dip stick heaters never really did much for my car...
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