Temperature Conditions

J

JDavis64

Member
I wasn't sure where this would fall under, so I put it in the general form.
So, here's my situation...

I have a garage room that was turned into a recreational area (with a pool table/stereo, that kind of deal) and I decided to use it as my practice space. It has a big heater on the wall, vinyl flooring, and a dehumidifier.

I would like to know temperature conditions would be safe for my kit and cymbals. Right now it is winter in Wisconsin, and the heater is set to 50 in the garage room, when I go to play, I set the heater to 68 at least an hour before playing, giving it time to warm up. Is that a safe range for my equipment? I read up that extreme changes may cause warping and cracking, and I always check my drums and cymbals to see if they are warm enough.

What about humidity? Right now its 30%, what range should it fall under?

My kit is relatively new, it's birch, and I would like to make sure it's in safe conditions.

Thanks much!
 
Temperature is not really a problem w/ wood. It's the humidity. However, the finish -lacquer or wrap and the glue holding the wrap - can be affected by temperature changes.

A simple way to look at it is - if it's comfortable for you, it's probably okay for the drums.

Play it safe and keep the temperature up somewhere around 60. This will help control the humidity as well.

Your cymbals should be find in all but really humid conditions and that's just in the case of tarnishing.
 
If you have direct fired gas heating in the space beware of the off moisture from the combustion process....If the space has condensation on the interior of the windows during the winter you may get some rusting(pitting) of your drum hardware.
Very high temperatures in an attic would also be a problem..say greater than 100 F. Denis
 
Big Foot said:
Your cymbals should be find in all but really humid conditions and that's just in the case of tarnishing.
Click to expand...
Temperature changes can be really hard on cymbals, especially if you don't give them time to warm up before playing. Even with proper time to warm up, they will get more fragile with time after a lot of temperature changes.
 
Your drums and cymbals will not suffer any ill effects from that environment.
You have a dehumidifier in the room. 30% humidity isn't that high. It is actually low.
Some humidity is a good thing. Dry conditions can be bad for wood also.
The temp range is no problem either.
Play on without worry and enjoy your room and your kit.
 
Well it's a garage and we can't afford to have it at 60 at all times. The heating unit is an electric wall heater. It's pretty awesome, it warms up fast. The room has no windows. I did bump it up from 45 to 50 degrees, and I do give my kit plenty of time to warm up before playing. But it will warm up in around a month or so, and I'll be ordering new heads and some drum/cymbal cleaners and protectors. So I'll take my kit apart, clean it up, make sure everythings good.

Thanks
 
Humidity of a practice room should be between 40-60%. You must also have a well ventilated room to make sure that air circulates.
You should adjust your dehumidifier to 45-50%. This is the normal humidity rate if you don't want your drum set to warp.
 
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