Will Cold Weather Harm Hammond?

[Doctor Robert]

Hello, folks!

So I have the opportunity to buy an A-100 but am fast running out of space to keep my ever-expanding collection. About the only spot left in my house is reserved for my eventual acquisition of a theatre organ. I do, however, have a large indoor (but unheated) storage facility where I keep my RV and classic cars. My question is this: If I bought this organ, would the Ohio winter do damage to the instrument? It may have to remain there until Spring. Thanks!

[JoeyB3]

Highly unlikely. 6 months in a cold storage room doing damage to a 40+ year old beast? Please!!.....

[AllenAnalog]

While deferring to the Hammond experts like JoeyB3 as far as working experience, I'll toss in my 2 cents for what it is worth.

Any electronic parts, and particularly electrolytic capacitors, do not like temperature extremes and wide temperature swings. It shortens their life and can cause them to change value. Age causes value changes and extreme temperatures accelerate that process. That's why I've always spent extra $ when storing organs and audio equipment to keep them above 40 and below 85 degrees. Ohio can get mighty cold in the winter, sub zero as I recall. So even though this organ has survived 40+ years it is, in my opinion, not going to do the future life of the electronics any favors by subjecting it to ambient Ohio winter temperatures.

[Doctor Robert]

Thank you for pointing those things out. It certainly makes sense. I don’t want to do anything to degrade the instrument. It’s going to be murder trying to do it but I think I need to see if I can squeeze it down the stairs into the basement somehow. Hopefully the wife won’t kill me for bringing another organ home!

[JoeyB3]

Any electronic parts, and particularly electrolytic capacitors, do not like temperature extremes and wide temperature swings. It shortens their life and can cause them to change value. Age causes value changes and extreme temperatures accelerate that process.

That is an absolutely valid point -
However....those 40+ year old caps are likely already out of spec....considerably. Another 6 months is not going to make them any worse.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you for pointing those things out. It certainly makes sense. I don’t want to do anything to degrade the instrument. It’s going to be murder trying to do it but I think I need to see if I can squeeze it down the stairs into the basement somehow. Hopefully the wife won’t kill me for bringing another organ home!

Don't kill yourself, Doc....as long as it's indoors it will be fine for a few months. Hell....my CME sat in a storage container for YEARS (or so I was told) before I got her and then I stuck her in the garage from November to April. It's all good.

[David Anderson]

I've also seen a lot of damage to equipment stored in places that are not temperature-controlled, one of the problems being moisture. Temperature swings can cause condensation to form on it, which is not a good thing. It also seems to be bad for the finish, though I don't know precisely why. Then there are mice, which often inhabit storage areas.

I would only do it as a last resort.