Unheated Basement = Safety???

so i just moved my kit into my friend andy's basement. it will be a great place for us to shed' things out until we can play out...anyhow, its (as far as i can tell) unheated down there....theres one tiny window in the room we are in...otherwise its stone and 95% in the ground...my drums have a safe spot here at my house in my nice heated townhouse but i'm wondering if i should move them out of andy's basement before snow hits...i'm in the U.P. of michigan so you KNOW we'll get slammed with nasty this winter...as is the normal...any thoughts? i'd like to keep them there but not as much as i want to keep them period you know? lol....so if its a safety concern i'll definately snitch em' out of there before snow hits. i wanted to get a pic of the room but i didnt bring my cam.
 
I would worry about the humidity or a leak from snow melting in the basement more than the temperature. A basement won't get cold enough for it to matter much, unless you are very, very protective of them.

I would think moving them in and out of a warm/hot car or room into the cold would be worse - condensation, expansion then contraction, and things like that.
 
so are you thinking that i should just keep them at my house? he can haul his guitar light years easier than i can carry all my gear anyhow...why i opted to take my gear there is cause i've got chitlin's here that go to sleep early. i dont know...i dont really ever want to be without em' but if i want to make jamming with this cat easiest it can be, i gotta get my stuff where we can both be. i think mah gut is telling me to bring em' home for the winter.
 
I would worry more about humidity in the basement than the cold temperature. I've seen plenty of drums that have survived extremely cold temperatures without any damage. Extremely hot temperatures is another story, though.

I've heard that you should never move drums from one temperature to a radically different one, as that is when damage is most likely to occur...
 
This is nutty. Cold will not hurt drums.

As others have mentioned, humidity may. If you need to, use a dehumidifier.
 
so are you thinking that i should just keep them at my house? he can haul his guitar light years easier than i can carry all my gear anyhow...why i opted to take my gear there is cause i've got chitlin's here that go to sleep early. i dont know...i dont really ever want to be without em' but if i want to make jamming with this cat easiest it can be, i gotta get my stuff where we can both be. i think mah gut is telling me to bring em' home for the winter.

They are fine in the basement unless it is really humid, then he needs to buy a dehumidifier for his guitar and amp anyway. If you want to bring them home so they will always be there to practice, that's a different story.
 
I keep my Mapex Saturns in my basement and while it is not heated it probably never gets below 40 degrees or so. I do use a dehumidifier in the summer but I dont worry about them in the winter. If your that worried about it why not buy a beater kit for a few hundred bucks and use that at his house and leave your nice kit at home.
 
honestly guys i think it boils down to me not wanting to be without my kit whenever the fancy may hit me to pick up the sticks...on top of that, the night i took them over there my son came into my room before bed and asked where my drums went. he's 3...he then asked if i could please bring them home because he wanted to play them. that kind of thing makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. :) ehhhh...i'm getting em' back. end of story. and about the beater kit...i'm wicked poor. i have a wife who is going to college full time and i've got two young sons, i work at walmart...lol...at some point i would like to get maybe a mapex vx but...i honestly just dont have the money and i dont see me having it any time soon. its all about priorities and as far as equipment goes better cymbals are higher than having a beater kit for me. ps...i love you guys! i may never meet any of you face to face but i'd sure like to shake your hands because this forum makes me feel that good. thanks again.
 
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