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Keeping pins in Garage - Advice needed

Ads Nems

Ads Nems

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Feb 6, 2012
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Radlett
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Adam
I've run out of space in my home and need to keep some pins in my garage. Its a double garage so plenty of space for more pins without the missus nagging!

I still plan to play them but really don't want to cause any damage to them due to the unheated environment.

I would be grateful for advice on the most effective and cost efficient way to keep them in good usable condition without the leccy bill going through the roof!
 
I have had a pin or 2 in my Mums garage for years. Its dry in there but gets cold in winter. I honesty haven't had a single issue.
The pins only get switched on every few months when I visit.

If it was my garage at home I'd probably have some sort of oil heater for overnight chill protection but as I say I haven't experienced any issues.

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
 
Theres no chance of moisture building up on the circuit boards that could then blow when switching on?
 
mine is a garage and half in length,have two dehumidifiers in there.Have 6" foil backed high density foam insulation in roof and high density foam/metal insulation panels on walls.Heat it when I am in there
 
thanks poibug, are the dehumidifiers constantly on in there? Any idea how much the electricity bill goes up by using them?
 
no idea on cost and tbh I don't care,pins ain't cheap toys so a few dozen quid or whatever aint no problem.Some are humidistat controlled,mine are just on timers to come on a few hours per day.They are not high power usage.If I remember I will look at the power draw
 
Also depends if your games have real backglasses.

Seen some glasses totally ruined by being left in damp, cold conditions.
 
My South Park machine sits in a very cold conservatory, heat is very rarely on, when i went to play it the other day all it does now is make a clicking sound and all the lights just flash every second? It might be the cold so something to think about.

Worked perfectly fine before.
 
There are nine in there,varying from mid 80's up to noughties dmds.Not had any temp or humidity issues.
Re backglasses agree tho going hot then cold is bad for them.

Re the south park I would reseat all connectors and ribbon cables.Measure the cpu voltages are correct
 
Poibug said:
There are nine in there,varying from mid 80's up to noughties dmds.Not had any temp or humidity issues.
Re backglasses agree tho going hot then cold is bad for them.

Re the south park I would reseat all connectors and ribbon cables.Measure the cpu voltages are correct
Click to expand...

Problem is that i am a total noob when it comes to fixing Pinball machines, haven't a clue about voltages and how to check if they are correct, at some point i maybe should try and learn more as i do have about 8 of them :)
 
All mine are in a unheated garage but i have packets of silica gel crammed inside the cab and backbox. Never had a problem yet
 
Pins are too expensive to take the risk... if you don't insulate the garage I'd at least take the edge off with an oil-filled rad plus de-humidifier going.

I have one oil-filled rad in my insulated games room (former double garage) with thermostat set to low-medium all winter long. Never noticed a difference in elec bill tbh.
 
paddythegreek said:
All mine are in a unheated garage but i have packets of silica gel crammed inside the cab and backbox. Never had a problem yet
Click to expand...

I keep mine in a 24/7 centrally heated basement and yet I still put every silica gel packet that comes through the post into my machines :)
 
I run a dehumidifier 24hrs a day elsewhere in the house in a vain attempt to stop the single glazed windows filling with condensation during the night. I don't think they cost much to run, literally a few pence per day. They're not great though, in fact I can't honestly say I've noticed a difference at all so far. Fairly pointless.
 
My 4 pins are in the garage. I did insulate the ceilings and walls and I have an oil filled radiator in there.
I use a temp controlled plug socket so it stays around 13 degrees in there.
Put a moisture trap in there and very minimal moisture if any going on.
First winter doing this so I'm waiting on the electricity bill but for the price of these I think it's well worth it.
 
I'm just about to renew my combi boiler which is in the (integral) garage where my first (and only) pin is.
Would it be ridiculous to ask the gas fitter to put a radiator in the garage while he's about it ?
Therefore, when the heating is on in the house, it's on in the garage as well.
 
Radiators are quite cheap, as are the extra piping and valves. The marginal cost of adding a radiator to your garage should be below £100 in parts plus half an hour of labour.
 
Just throwing in my 2 cents - kept my pins in a small-ish garage that is part of the house, so it isn't always completely cold as some heat from the house will make it into the garage. In the winter though I keep 2 small electric fires out there and turn them on about 30 minutes to an hour before I turn the games on to warm it up. By the time I get out there it is around the same temperature as the rest of the house and I've never had any issues with my games.
 
Insulation is the key factor here as I am sure a lot of us are aware. Do that right and any heating costs are minimal.

Cheers

kev
 
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