Long time collector needs storage advice please.

[Big Al]

Hello FAC network,

I have been a collector for over 30 years and one of the first members here on the old BBS board.

I need some advice / help on some opinions on storage options.  I have stored in a large full-scale warehouse with no problem and even in the "Public Storage" non-climate controlled storage lockers for years with no problem. 

I am doing some work on my game room/garage:
I don't want to move all the games and accessory stuff to an off-site to a warehouse;
I don't want to bring them inside my interior home since my tile is rare and do not want to risk damages/cracks/hassles; and,
I don't want to loan them to someone while the job is getting done. 

I am wanting to get a POD or similar and put in in my driveway while I complete my game room.

Question: 

Can I store pinball AND arcade machines in a "POD" type device without melting / warping the plastics / damaging / planking the playfields / or the overall machine << OR >> do you guys/gals have another suggestion as to how to safely store machines for about one month while NOT removing the games from the property.

My home is not on the water, but is near the water, so say, west St. Pete, with an unobstructed view of the sun, meaning anything from 1-sundown gets full blast sun.  My last storage unit was NOT climate controlled, everything was ok but it did warp a marquee in a dedicated game.  I am worried about how hot it is going to get in the POD.

If you give me advice, please state whether you have done this personally to your machines OR know someone who has done this successfully.

Specifically, has anyone done this and the machines came out harmed/unharmed?


Details:

My builder insulated and finished the garage area to make it a full-scale game room with a/c. 

I need to finish the floor, have someone build the bar, and that is it!  However, given I work a lot and sometimes the contractors get busy or sidetracked I anticipated the games being in the POD for 3 weeks to a month realistically.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you,

Happy gaming,
Big Al

[tktlwyr]

Big Al! 

[RAW POWER]

I would worry a bit about warping the plastics. Perhaps the pod people have data on the temperatures those things reach and stuff. I think a dehumidifier is a must as well.

[FUNWIZ]

I'd wait until October, then the sun is not as intense, and the rains are no longer day and night.  Possibly find a large insulated container, most pods don't have the room your going to need. 

[ibis]

I would think that a POD is going to be as hot as a car in full sun, so I would expect 100-110 degrees, maybe as high as 120 like most Florida attics. 

My 2 cents......humidity is a atmospheric condition, so all spaces will react differently based on the condition of temperature.  A metal 'box' outside can certainly reach a different temperature than outside ambient conditions, so in theory the inside humidity could also certainly be higher than the outside latent conditions too.  This time of year we are already in the high 80's of moisture content as an average, getting rain every day too, so it is entirely possible that anything inside that metal box would be worse off than actually inside your unconditioned garage or any other covered unconditioned space. 

Your issue....is you've left yourself no other option than to use a metal POD.  You may want to re-think about putting them in a storage unit, you've already had success as you stated that for years even, stored with no problem.  You'd be better off going that route IMO and I don't think it would even have to be conditioned.  Ive had experience with unconditioned storage units and most of them are multi storied and the inside temps were around 80-ish degrees, maybe a tad higher.  Certainly nothing that was baking hot in a multi story type application.

[Miracleman]

Might be pricey, and not sure about permits, but what about one of those air conditioned construction-site office trailers?
As long as the door is wide enough to get 'em in you're set.

[Centaur Brother]

You could get a portable ac unit and put it in the POD to control the temp and humidity. I use one in my basement and have great results keeping things nice. I bought one at Lowes some years ago and it still is going strong. The main issue I see is the exhaust and condensation. I use a 5 gallon bucket for the condensation and check it on a regular basis as it can fill up pretty fast sometimes.  The exhaust might be a little more of a challenge.
 Good luck!

[wsrainc]

My two cents:
 
I used a u-haul in my driveway for tool storage when I finished my garage, and even in December it was hot and a bit humid.

External storage containers / trucks / etc. are not guaranteed to be dry. Even if they don't leak, many storage solutions will not be insulated and could condense. Moisture inside, added with heat, is a bad situation for any manufactured wood. I can think of all sorts of crazy solutions with desiccants, insulation, forced air, layered tarps, but it just seems like more trouble than it's worth.

Given that you absolutely don't want them to leave the property, and that you have to move them no matter what, why not buy a bunch of the harbor freight furniture movers, shrink wrap/blanket all your games to protect them from dust, then set them on the furniture movers and wheel them around the garage as needed? Throw a giant tarp over all of them if you are worried about the workers messing with them, ratchet strap in place until you need to move them to the other side of the garage.

If properly wrapped, a bump here or there won't hurt them, you'll keep them secure, and you'll have minimal moving to do when your done. You'll also have a bunch of furniture carts you can use to sponsor a drunken soap-box derby.

Edit: And since you asked, I HAVE used this approach inside when I was repainting. Worked great.

[tufnel1530]

I wouldnt leave anything I even half cared about out in the heat here.

[Big Al]

Ok.  Super thanks to those who replied and spent their own time on helping me with a solution.

I just needed to hear the right answer from others here.

I am going to put the valuables in a climate controlled storage unit and put the other stuff in a pod that won’t be affected by temperature or humidity.

Thanks again for the advice.

Happy gaming
Big Al

[Neal_W]

You could lay plywood or something over the tile while moving them inside. That's what a moving company would do.

[k7]

 I can’t read this all because I’m on an iPhone, on a break from rocking out to 80s song remixes in a church in Oxford , but I saw the comments about potential heat in a pod.

I’ll tell you what, I went into a truck trailer stored in a boat park in South Miami to inspect & cherry pick games from an operator back in 2010… I guarantee you it was 175° +/- inside, when I opened the doors.

I almost passed out while standing inside after @25 seconds… I think that experience + the mold still affects me to this day.  Good luck 

[BigMatt]

I got 9 games, a giant roll around tool box, and most my other stuff in the biggest pod they can give you while i had my garage floor flaked. I ran a dehumidifier in there with the bay door closed over a hose and cord. It seemed to work well but it was only two or three days.

[Baiter]

Just to add my $0.02, after I found metal rusting in my garage, such as my pinball cart and yard tools, that was a sign that any games stored in there would be subject to the same issues.  After that I bought a dehumidifier.  When I first got it I would empty the bucket once every day or so, then every day, then twice a day, and when that wasn't enough I hooked up a drain line.  I never had rust in the garage after that, but I'll tell you that thing ran more often than not as well as raised the temperature in the garage quite a few degrees.

In other words, unless you like rust, it's not ok to stick games in any type of storage that's not dehumidified