can't believe he stored this this way and expects to sell them!!
- Thread starter siramazing
- Start date
33&athird
Turn on & Tune in
True, I've always said that cars are easy-bake ovens from hell. Imagine, instead of a 60 watt bulb, you have a 1.21 Jigawatt bulb.
A garage is different, much more area, and if sealed correctly, not much moisture. It couldn't have been hot all the time (though haven been down in florida...), at that price, it was still worth a check, if nothing else, some could have been played, and maybe the others could have been displayed?, album art is a beautiful thing:yes:
500 records for $50? I'd have at least checked it out.
That's 10 cents each. It's not exactly like he's asking a premium price.
One record lying on the rear deck of a car will warp in the hot sun.
A stack of them, tightly packed, will most likely not warp since physics sorta suggests that the sheer weight/mass/volume will assure that at least those in the center of the mass don't have any room to warp or melt.
I'd have been more concerned with how he treated than when he played them.
That's 10 cents each. It's not exactly like he's asking a premium price.
One record lying on the rear deck of a car will warp in the hot sun.
A stack of them, tightly packed, will most likely not warp since physics sorta suggests that the sheer weight/mass/volume will assure that at least those in the center of the mass don't have any room to warp or melt.
I'd have been more concerned with how he treated than when he played them.
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ManFromPorlock
Super Member
I print out cartridge alignment protractors and glue them to scrap records to make them easier to use. That means two-thirds of the record is black and the rest is covered with white paper. I unthinkingly laid one of these down on my back porch in direct sunlight one day, and an hour or so later - vwaller! Potato chip.
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
One thing I know from experience is that you absolutely CANNOT stack them flat - one on top of another for any length of time. Maybe a record or two sitting on top of the turntable for a day or two, but that's it. I lost a mint original copy of the Stones' "Let It Bleed" that way. Haven't done it since.
I'm glad the OP put this up because it's making me think about my own collection. I have them on on Ikea shelf in the bedroom, but it gets a bit humid in there (I live in a 1st-floor apartment set into the foundation - in northern CT). That's the only real issue here. It doesn't really get hot enough for an air conditioner in the summer, but it gets cold in the winter. I have a woodstove coming (Have to make an adaptor for my fireplace - My brother is a volunteer fireman, and he's going to help me with that - He's a bit of a workaholic though, so it's hard to pin him down sometimes - Anyway, that's for another session), and once the stove is in, I'll be able to keep the bedroom door open and heat the whole house rather than closing off the living room area and heating that, and hopefully that will cure the moisture problem (in the wintertime, at least) - I still may have to keep them in the living room in the summer though. Moisture has been an issue since I moved into this place, but thankfully no overheating.
I prefer living up north. Sure, the winters are tough, but I could never live in the deep south. No way. There are too-many things that can kill you down there. Plus, I'm incredibly-terrified of large spiders (and a few other bug-like creatures that you encounter in southern states. Some people hate snakes, birds, bees (Well, actually I'm allergic to those so I have a good reason to be cautious around them), and plus there are those who hate cramped areas, dirt, or Virgos. My phobia is spiders. And I've spent many years in my younger days (I'm 39) down in Atlanta with my father while he was living down there in the '80's/early '90's (I'm from a "broken home"
), and I have many relatives in Georgia, Florida, and a few other states down south, and I've seen way-too-many things down there that make me nervous (not to mention the alligators, crocodiles, and all kinds of deadly stuff. I saw a video on YouTube not that long ago where some guy was filming this pair of gargantuan spiders living in his garage (One was a female with a big egg-sack on her back). The eggs eventually hatched and she ate the male (I honestly can't remember which happened first), and THEN the homeowner got it into a box and brought it outside, freeing it a little ways down the street. The worst part was when they put the box on the ground to free the spider, they realize that there are a bunch of equally-big spiders all around them on the ground while they are filming this. Now, I'm sorry but that stuff freaks me the hell out. Not for me. I will NEVER, EVER live down south. Ever. Maybe a quick visit once in a while because there's a lot of cool sh*t down there, but no extended stays. I can't handle it. I've tried.
I'm glad the OP put this up because it's making me think about my own collection. I have them on on Ikea shelf in the bedroom, but it gets a bit humid in there (I live in a 1st-floor apartment set into the foundation - in northern CT). That's the only real issue here. It doesn't really get hot enough for an air conditioner in the summer, but it gets cold in the winter. I have a woodstove coming (Have to make an adaptor for my fireplace - My brother is a volunteer fireman, and he's going to help me with that - He's a bit of a workaholic though, so it's hard to pin him down sometimes - Anyway, that's for another session), and once the stove is in, I'll be able to keep the bedroom door open and heat the whole house rather than closing off the living room area and heating that, and hopefully that will cure the moisture problem (in the wintertime, at least) - I still may have to keep them in the living room in the summer though. Moisture has been an issue since I moved into this place, but thankfully no overheating.
I prefer living up north. Sure, the winters are tough, but I could never live in the deep south. No way. There are too-many things that can kill you down there. Plus, I'm incredibly-terrified of large spiders (and a few other bug-like creatures that you encounter in southern states. Some people hate snakes, birds, bees (Well, actually I'm allergic to those so I have a good reason to be cautious around them), and plus there are those who hate cramped areas, dirt, or Virgos. My phobia is spiders. And I've spent many years in my younger days (I'm 39) down in Atlanta with my father while he was living down there in the '80's/early '90's (I'm from a "broken home"
), and I have many relatives in Georgia, Florida, and a few other states down south, and I've seen way-too-many things down there that make me nervous (not to mention the alligators, crocodiles, and all kinds of deadly stuff. I saw a video on YouTube not that long ago where some guy was filming this pair of gargantuan spiders living in his garage (One was a female with a big egg-sack on her back). The eggs eventually hatched and she ate the male (I honestly can't remember which happened first), and THEN the homeowner got it into a box and brought it outside, freeing it a little ways down the street. The worst part was when they put the box on the ground to free the spider, they realize that there are a bunch of equally-big spiders all around them on the ground while they are filming this. Now, I'm sorry but that stuff freaks me the hell out. Not for me. I will NEVER, EVER live down south. Ever. Maybe a quick visit once in a while because there's a lot of cool sh*t down there, but no extended stays. I can't handle it. I've tried.
outlawmws
On the Run
Vinyl warpage is very dependent on how fast the temp changes, and difference of temp from top to bottom surfaces of the record. Packed in boxes, in the "Shade" of the garage, the temps should swing slow enough to keep the records, with the possible exceptions of the outside one or two, fairly even.
I recovered a box of my sister’s records from her home’s garage out in the California central valley/delta area after at least ten years of storage there too, and none were warped. It gets humid out there near the delta too, probably not as bad as FL. but there is humidity. Unless the boxes are being dripped on, I would give even money that they are not moldy, or at lease most of them aren’t
I recovered a box of my sister’s records from her home’s garage out in the California central valley/delta area after at least ten years of storage there too, and none were warped. It gets humid out there near the delta too, probably not as bad as FL. but there is humidity. Unless the boxes are being dripped on, I would give even money that they are not moldy, or at lease most of them aren’t
siramazing
AK Member
Uhhh-Florida is south of Virginia.
Tedrick
Infinity-phile
Well, I've lived in Florida for over 25 years now. My garage gets hot in the summer, but no where near as hot as the interior of a car. Given the same outside temperature, a car will always get hotter: it's made mostly of metal, which transfers heat energy way better than wood and sheet-rock; has no large, insulating air-space overhead as is the case in a household roof; and lets a TON of solar energy in through the windsheild and windows, which have almost no insulating value. I have some records stored in my garage, and they are just fine. If it gets hot enough to warp records in your garage, there are other things besides records you should be concerned about.
Numistrek09
Super Member
Well, having grown up in Fla, i feel that i can offer some facts about the "Sunshine" state to all you non-natives. I'm sure Tedrick can back me up on most of this.
Beginning about mid June it starts raining and does so pretty much daily through mid August. Dewpoint during this time is typically between 69 and 76 degrees. So in the "cool" of the night you can feel condensation on surfaces exposed to the outside air. From mid May through mid September it is 90 degrees or warmer every day till the afternoon T-Storms roll in. Then if the sun comes back out after the storm, it becomes as sticky as a sauna. You can actually see surfaces steaming, especially roofs. Room tempature items, (like your glasses, etc), will fog up just by stepping into this air. As for the garage, max temp i remember seeing out there was 116 degrees. Now in the car i measured 177 after sitting in the August sun one afternoon.
So that's a quick run through on typical Fla summer weather. Easy for me to see why the Op doesn't have high expectations. While the albums probably arn't melted, you can be sure there is mold on some and the jackets on others have been ruined. Cardboard and paper items have a hard time in conditions like this. Makes them get soft and weaker in my expierence. Color tends to bleed as well.
Beginning about mid June it starts raining and does so pretty much daily through mid August. Dewpoint during this time is typically between 69 and 76 degrees. So in the "cool" of the night you can feel condensation on surfaces exposed to the outside air. From mid May through mid September it is 90 degrees or warmer every day till the afternoon T-Storms roll in. Then if the sun comes back out after the storm, it becomes as sticky as a sauna. You can actually see surfaces steaming, especially roofs. Room tempature items, (like your glasses, etc), will fog up just by stepping into this air. As for the garage, max temp i remember seeing out there was 116 degrees. Now in the car i measured 177 after sitting in the August sun one afternoon.
So that's a quick run through on typical Fla summer weather. Easy for me to see why the Op doesn't have high expectations. While the albums probably arn't melted, you can be sure there is mold on some and the jackets on others have been ruined. Cardboard and paper items have a hard time in conditions like this. Makes them get soft and weaker in my expierence. Color tends to bleed as well.
onepixel
.
I like that.
In the 90s when I was busy doing other stuff, I had about 600 LPs stored in the garage in San Jose. I'm sure it got well over 100° for days at a time. All of them are fine.
Arkay
Lunatic Member
I don't live in Florida, but have plenty of experience with heat and humidity (dry heat in Arizona, and wet heat in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia). In a truly humid sub-tropical or tropical climate, paper/cardboard sleeves will suffer moisture damage and mold damage within a relatively short time, especially (but not exclusively) if they are where condensation or rain can get them even wetter than the baseline humidity.
I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced it can really appreciate what tropical-type humidity is like. I know I didn't, before living in it. Those records WOULD have mold damage, for sure.
Nevertheless, I would have checked them out, because --for the reasons MarkW and outlawmws said-- they might not have warped. In my experience, surface mold on an LP can often be completely removed by an RCM without detriment to the sound. Left long enough, the mold "eats" into the vinyl and does damage the surface, causing permanent sonic deterioration, but it usually takes years for this level of damage to occur. Here in Hong Kong, a significant part of the year is what I call the "sauna season", when humidity and heat are both very high, and mold really thrives. I run multiple airconditioners and dehumidifiers in my apartment, to deal with it. Otherwise I'd have to throw out half my possessions every year, due to mold.
Mold is common, and I've thrown out some covers because of it, but in almost every case, the vinyl wasn't significantly damaged. At the price of $50 for 500 records, even if EVERY jacket was moldy and had to be discarded, it would be worth it if half of the records themselves were recoverable. Warping is something else. Ironically, I've encountered almost no warped records here. Perhaps because things are usually in the shade and kept together in boxes(?).
In any case, even with the almost certain prospect of damage, it would have been worth checking. If you opened up a box and discovered it was thick with black mold, you could probably get a huge discount from the $50 asking price, and perhaps make money re-selling the unusable ones to a recycler; they could wash and burn out the mold impurities and recycle the vinyl into new records or something else.
I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced it can really appreciate what tropical-type humidity is like. I know I didn't, before living in it. Those records WOULD have mold damage, for sure.
Nevertheless, I would have checked them out, because --for the reasons MarkW and outlawmws said-- they might not have warped. In my experience, surface mold on an LP can often be completely removed by an RCM without detriment to the sound. Left long enough, the mold "eats" into the vinyl and does damage the surface, causing permanent sonic deterioration, but it usually takes years for this level of damage to occur. Here in Hong Kong, a significant part of the year is what I call the "sauna season", when humidity and heat are both very high, and mold really thrives. I run multiple airconditioners and dehumidifiers in my apartment, to deal with it. Otherwise I'd have to throw out half my possessions every year, due to mold.
Mold is common, and I've thrown out some covers because of it, but in almost every case, the vinyl wasn't significantly damaged. At the price of $50 for 500 records, even if EVERY jacket was moldy and had to be discarded, it would be worth it if half of the records themselves were recoverable. Warping is something else. Ironically, I've encountered almost no warped records here. Perhaps because things are usually in the shade and kept together in boxes(?).
In any case, even with the almost certain prospect of damage, it would have been worth checking. If you opened up a box and discovered it was thick with black mold, you could probably get a huge discount from the $50 asking price, and perhaps make money re-selling the unusable ones to a recycler; they could wash and burn out the mold impurities and recycle the vinyl into new records or something else.
My brother had stuff in storage in Margate Florida. When He passed away my nephew cleaned it out. I got Larry's old vinyl and it was great shape. No mold,no warp.Most had been there for over 12 years packed in boxes. Shoulda at least checked them out. As similost said,"A closed mind can be your worst enemy"
hill_1958
hill_1958
... along with a few 8-tracks.
thymanst
Minnesota morning
From what I've seen down hear most of the damage alway occurs against the walls of the box - the ones in the middle are kind of insulated - IT also depends on a couple of other factors - if the garage is opened/closed alot, if the garage is shaded, if the house is properly insulated or has a fan or airflow in it.....
Shackman55
Super Member
I was in Kissimmee this past summer and I stopped at a couple of garage sales and there was one where I saw an album on the table and I asked if they had anymore and the kid said "Oh you mean those big CD's? Sure in the garage" No AC no shade just burning heat. With the doors open it was still a hundred in there, I went and looked and they had obviously been there a long long time I didn't see a single warped one. I also didn't see a single thing I wanted. They were mostly old Hispanic dance music, Cuban I think. I will almost always spend the time/gas money for a possible good score. If it doesn't work out I had an adventure, if it does I had and adventure and got a treasure! Most folks don't put the value on these that we do and when you think of the sheer size of some of these collections it is amazing they didn't send them to the dump once they started listening to CD's and MP3's
spartanmanor
Lunatic Member
Did you go to VCU? I got my undergrad degree there.
spartanmanor
Lunatic Member
My bad....North....duh. Richmond is South of where I live now.