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[Jeremy Young]

I'm considering moving my equipment storage from indoors in my house, to outdoors in a shipping container, for the sake of freeing up some living space in a way that's significantly cheaper & easier than finding a larger place to live.

I baby my gear, keeping it warm and cozy inside with me in the house, but perhaps a little cold won't hurt things as long as it's dry?  I'm in the warmest spot in Canada, but it still dips below freezing for a few weeks a year, and summer gets up to the mid-80's (F) for a month or so.  I'd be storing microphones, power amps, digital mixers, LED lighting, speaker cabinets and lots of cabling out in the sea-can. 

Anyone else doing this?  Any issues with smells due to a lack of mechanical ventilation?

I suppose the biggest challenge would be drying-out gear after an outdoor event. Perhaps I could still bring those items inside when needed for short periods of time, or run an extension cord with a small space heater/fan out to the container?  I don't have enough power available for a fully insulated/heated "construction office" type of container.  Which also means that in cold weather, any space heater I use will only be effective as a spot-heater in an otherwise cold metal shell of a box.

Stories, advice, reassurances welcome.  Thanks for reading.

[Brian Adams]

Most of my stuff lives in trailers and unheated/uncooled buildings all year, summer and winter, and the temperature variations are much more extreme here than where you are. Occasionally over 100F in the summer and under -10F in the winter. My gear has been fine for years. Some of my cases have a little corrosion on the steel ball corners, but I couldn't tell you whether that's from their storage situation or from outdoor shows. Nothing inside the cases has ever shown any sign of corrosion or any other effect from heat/cold/humidity.

As for a container, make sure it stays waterproof and keeps the critters out. There's not much that's worse than the smell of mouse piss in a hot container.

At work we have one container that houses more sensitive stuff, and we ran a cable and installed a dehumidifier inside it. It drains to the outside, and it stays dry in there all year round. Humidity is much more damaging than heat or cold on its own, so if you have power available, that would definitely be something to think about.

[Tim McCulloch]

This has been discussed on this very forum at least once a year for as long as I can remember.  Use your favorite search engine and you'll have HOURS of reading pleasure...

Major tours of Bands You've Heard Of truck the gear though all kinds of weather and most providers have very limited storage that could be described as 'cozy.'   "Above freezing" is for the comfort of workers....

Brian is spot on about humidity - it's more of a problem than temperature in and of itself.

[Bob Leonard]

Amen brother Tim. Allow the hardware to acclimate to the room temperature before turning on and you're all set.

[Frank Koenig]

There's not much that's worse than the smell of mouse piss in a hot container.

Too true! LOL

To the OP with respect to storage, control the humididty (and the mice) and you'll be fine.

--Frank

[Douglas R. Allen]

If you go will a electric space heater I've had the best luck with these types.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DeLonghi-5118-BTU-Oil-Filled-Radiant-Tower-Electric-Space-Heater-with-Thermostat-and-Energy-Saving-Setting/50449738

I put a small fan in the room to move the air around inside.

Also to help with frost if you want to cover stuff up inside always cover them by wrapping with a tarp from the bottom up. Lay the tarp on the floor and put object on it. Wrap the tarp up and around. Tie up on the top.  If you set object down and drape the tarp over it moisture will go up when it warms up some in the day and be trapped inside. This cycle will repeat and rust / damage stuff.
If you own the container be sure to put a thick mil rated plastic on all walls and roof inside, if you want put plastic on the floor with a rug etc on top of that. Tape it up on all seams. The idea is with your heater on you'll want the least amount of heat to escape.  Be sure to check the door. At night put a bright light inside and look around the door outside. Looking for light coming out. Insulate where needed. 

Douglas ( I see -30 below up here ) R. Allen

[Jeremy Young]

Thank you everyone for putting my mind at ease!  Some great tips here. Think I might be earning myself some brownie points at home with this move too.

[Debbie Dunkley]

I have a couple of these mini de-humidifiers that are handy if you do not have an electrical outlet close by.
I have used them and they work very well. Just keep an eye on them to make sure you catch them when they need drying out. They can be used over and over.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0XFCS/ref=asc_df_B000H0XFCS5218755/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B000H0XFCS&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167123712426&hvpos=

[Jeremy Young]

That would be most-helpful, thanks Debbie!  The storage units I'm looking at are water-tight and critter-tight, but if I try to run an extension cord through the door it kind of defeats the point of the heavy duty rubber gaskets.

[Brian Adams]

That would be most-helpful, thanks Debbie!  The storage units I'm looking at are water-tight and critter-tight, but if I try to run an extension cord through the door it kind of defeats the point of the heavy duty rubber gaskets.

Don't run it through the door, run it through the side and use epoxy putty or another sealer to seal the hole around the cable.

[ProSoundWeb Community]