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Will it be harmful to a table to be cold for long periods?

Martywolfman

Registered
Joined
Jun 2, 2018
Messages
467
Location
Bedford
Following on from my thread last week, it seems unlikely that I'll be able to get a pinball into the flat where I currently live, so my only option is at my place fo business - it's a small warehouse, so access would be extremely easy.

The problem I'm wondering about though. It does get very cold in there in winter. No colder than ambient outdoor temperature of course, but it would be pretty much at those temperatures for all of the winter months. So I'm wondering if that might be harmful to the table at all?

Obviously if I go and spend a few grand on a nice table, I don't want it to get damaged easily.

Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!
 
Condensation is a killer. A myriad of metals corrode and create a tonne of future work if Pinballs are exposed to damp air. The brightwork tarnishes. Leaf switches corrode. Electrical contacts degrade.

Standard advice is to dehumidify a cold room in winter. Much cheaper than heating it

Cold machines are also more likely to suffer from broken plastics unless you warm them up before playing.
 
Unless damp in there I wouldn't be overly worried.

I have kept an overspill pin up at my Mums unheated dry garage for 10 years. No problem at all with it.

I always remember an op down here telling me how his 6 machines survived overwintering in the unheated seasonal seafront arcade. Come March... reopened, switched on - all good.

I would however be wary with a precious backglass on an older machine.

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks guys. It's not overly humid in there - My stock is all in cardboard boxes (as in individual card packaging, as opposed to big thick cartons that they get shipped in), and that would be a real problem if they were getting condensation on them regularly - they don't. That's one thing I checked when it firsy started getting cold after I moved it, I would have gotten a dehumidifier for the place if necessary.

Of course the only problem then is, i'm not going to want stand in there playing if it's that cold anyway, so it's likely to spend the winter months largely unused, but if that could risk breaking plastics, maybe that's not a bad thing.

I suppose moving a table on before winter and then replacing it with a different table come spring wouldn;' be the worst idea in the world either, a bit of variety :)
 
Unless damp in there I wouldn't be overly worried.

I have kept an overspill pin up at my Mums unheated dry garage for 10 years. No problem at all with it.

I always remember an op down here telling me how his 6 machines survived overwintering in the unheated seasonal seafront arcade. Come March... reopened, switched on - all good.

I would however be wary with a precious backglass on an older machine.

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk


All good to an op is coin.mech and lights work ?
 
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