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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Storage methods for amps
Storage methods for amps
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easyreeder
341 posts
Aug 24, 2012
7:04 AM
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Here's an unusual question for you serious amp wonks. I need to pack a couple of tube amps away for storage. I'm in Michigan, across the lake from Green Bay, so climate is bone dry in winter, and can be humid in the summer. Just sitting around the house these amps will eventually get a light growth of mold on the tolex during the warm months if I don't wipe them down regular (yeah, I do that all the time...).
They'll be stored indoors, but my wife might move them out to the garage when I'm not looking, so could be living through temperatures from -10 to +90 F.
I will want to get them out and use them occasionally, but if I don't find a way to stow them in a closet or garage without turning into a mold farm I may have to sell them to keep the peace.
What would you recommend? And thanks in advance for your advice!
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Noodles
282 posts
Aug 24, 2012
8:08 AM
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Electronic components such as capacitors and tubes are not likely to respond well to being frozen and thawed.
Mold needs two things to survive: moisture and food. It's easier to stop the moisture, which is probably condensation.
Having lived just north of Detroit for 8 years and in Upstate NY most of my life, I can tell you that the weather is very similar and I've never had a mold issue. Keep your amp at room temperature even when in storage. You might want to try wiping it lightly with alcohol to kill existing mold if you must. I would guess the uncontrolled humidity is your real problem.
Last Edited by on Aug 24, 2012 8:42 AM
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bloozefish
39 posts
Aug 24, 2012
8:23 AM
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I've been told to not store my amps in conditions where I wouldn't want to sleep
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Fingers
198 posts
Aug 24, 2012
11:42 AM
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Hmm i am a bit worried now! i am playing my first gig in 3 years in a few weeks time and my amp has been in a cupboard under the stairs for all that time!!! i had better check it out over the weekend.
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LIP RIPPER
622 posts
Aug 24, 2012
12:59 PM
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Something has to go. That's gonna be a tough one. ;<}
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TheATL
48 posts
Aug 24, 2012
1:07 PM
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Your biggest problem in a damp environment with audio gear will be corrosion on metal-to-metal contact. Tube sockets, mic and guitar sockets, and volume controls are usual places for this.
Of course, the best choice is not to store the amps where it is humid. But if that is not an option, here is what I do. Go get some heavy duty garbage bags. Blow one up and seal it with packing tape. Come back a while later to verify that it does not leak. If it does, get another bag and try again. Once you have found an air-tight bag, get some silica gel. That is what is in those little cloth-like packages in electronics boxes that ship from Asia. You should be able to find it in a good hardware store. If it does not come in a cloth bag, put some in a sock and tie the sock closed. On a dry, warm day, put the amp in the bag, throw in the sock, and tape the bag shut, getting as much air out of the bag as you can. Then put the bag in another bag, throw in another sock, and seal the second bag up tight.
At this point, you have done just about all you can. I have stored electronics for ten years in a damp garrage this way and when I took the equipment out of the bag, it was in great shape.
Obviously you want to try very hard not to get holes in the bags. There are a few other things to keep in mind as well.
- The silica gel will absorb a certain amount of water out of the atmosphere. After that, it is done. So do not open the silica gel until you are ready to seal up the amp, 'cause the moment you open the seal, the silica starts absorbing water. Open the gel, put it in a sock, throw it in the bag and seal it. Don't open the gel, get distracted and then start the packing job a week later.
- You can reuse silica gel. If you save up some of those packages from electronics packing (visit your local Best Buy?) you can put the silica gel packages in an oven at low temperature (250 degrees or so) and drive off the water. Take the packages out of the oven, let 'em cool for a few minutes, throw them in the garbage bag, and you are good to go.
- One last thing. If you do this but you short-cut getting dry silica gel, you are really making the problem much worse than just leaving the amps out on a shelf. If the gel is wet and you chuck it into the bag with the amp on a wet, humid day, you have now preserved that wet, humid day forever (until you open the bag). Not good.
Good luck. I would guess an amp under the stairs in a living space that is not humid is probably just fine.
Last Edited by on Aug 24, 2012 1:09 PM
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FMWoodeye
454 posts
Aug 24, 2012
5:00 PM
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I have bad knees...I mean really bad knees as well as other issues. I managed to drag my Bassman up the basement stairs a couple of months ago but have been storing it in a well insulated office in my garage since then. I think I could keep the office warm enough in the winter with a few light bulbs, that is, above freezing. Suppose I kept a shot glass full of water in the office, like a canary in a coal mine. If it doesn't freeze, would the amp be safe from the "freeze-thaw" effect?
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