Storage containers - good or bad?

[pabbage]

Morning all - just seeking some advice on storage containers. My car is currently stored in a lovely dry garage 200 miles away from me, so is not getting any use. My nearby option is a dry (allegedly) storage container. Does anyone have any thoughts on this as a solution or is it the death of the car?

Thanks Paul

[Craven]

Condensation is the killer.

[mbell]

I don't think it is the death of the car and probably fine. A container should be water tight and plenty of air around the car. If condensation forms will likely be on the container walls and not the car. My only concern would be if the container was damp or the car was stored when humidity was high.

Will the car be removed regularly or is it likely to sit for a long time?

[pabbage]

I would hope to use it most weekends … and some trips to work if the weather looks promising. I'm just worried (potentially unfounded worries) that I'll come back to it and there will be orange peel all over the body work!

[snowyelan]

If it's a shipping container (steel) I'd be concerned about high temperatures. Is there any ventilation?

[pabbage]

oh i had not thought about the heat.. I need to go and view these containers and get an idea. I'm told they're dry and well ventilated.

[billwill]

oh i had not thought about the heat.. I need to go and view these containers and get an idea. I'm told they're dry and well ventilated.

I don't think they are ventilated.
If they were ventilated, refugees would not die of suffocation in them.

[UAB807F]

We have a couple on our archery field which we use for storing target bosses. I don't think ours are ventilated, at least not obviously so but even so I can't say I've noticed a massive amount of condensation. It might be that they are fully open two or three days/week and that's sufficient.

The other thing is ours are shaded by trees, I would imagine if in open sunlight then heat might be a problem, especially if the car was stored wet ?

Security might be another issue depending on the storage site. Although they look incredibly strong a portable angle grinder with cutting disc would get inside ours very easily.

Brian

[russ240]

Depending on your climate, the heat can be quite intense. Here in Oklahoma I would be hesitant to store a car in one. I have seen heat do damage to furniture stored in a container during a hot summer.

[prezoom]

Eons ago, when I was purchasing the first of my machine tools, I was told that if one kept the interior of the shop at least 2 degrees warmer than the outside temperature, the tools would never accumulate rust. He kept his business's lights on 24 hours a day during the damp times. I have tried to follow his advice, within reason, and have never had any rust issues, other than from sweaty hands. If available, I would think a couple of light bulbs would prevent most moisture from forming inside a storage container.

[Roland]

I have stored cars in the UK in various locations. On occasions I have used garages that appear to be dry but depending on your location conditions can change rapidly. I now live in Scotland and external temperature changes can be quick, I have virtually stood in a garage on a Scottish 'hot' day in early summer, the external temperature dropped from 18C to around 4 C in 2 hours. The garage went from dry to dripping wet on every surface in the space of 30 mins.

The killer is an unheated or undehumidified garage or container with limited airflow/ventilation. I think a standard container would pretty much fall into this category and you risk at some point the conditions turning nasty in there. Maybe in the South in the UK it maybe just OK but I wouldn't risk it.

You could put a dehumidifier in the container, there are small units available. Alternatively you could put a heater in and try and keep the temp above 10C.I heat my garages to 14 C and also dehumidify, but as mentioned Scotland is a tricky location.

If you don't heat or dehumidify I would try and get at the very least some ventilation in the container. Maybe two 6" x 6" vents one low down and one high up.

You could also use a carcoon in the container, I have used these quite often and they can be good. This provides very slightly pressurised bubble of air moving around the car which is partially dried by carbon filters before being drawn into the carcoon. However be careful a potentially damp garage or container means the carbon filters may struggle to cope (since the carcoon fans could be drawing in very humid air at times), I have had this happen. So if you do use the Carcoon also put in the container vents.

I find just checking the brake discs is the best way to assess if your storage location is ok, even a slight rust bloom is a bad sign.

Regards

Roland

[Andy8421]

You can get containers with temperature and humidity control - 'Reefers' - used for perishable goods.
They need an electricity supply and I would imagine are much more expensive to hire than the basic tin box container.

[Roland]

Forgot to mention I also have an external carcoon which you can use outside. This actually worked very will but the car needs to be absolutely dry before going into it, use an air blaster to get water out of crevices etc. I use it if I run out of storage space.

The only downside is that it doesn't behave well in windy conditions so you need a sheltered location for it. Under a carport is ideal.

The external carcoon would I think be preferable to a container from a storage point of view but obviously not very secure.

Regards

Roland

[Lens4]

Very bad when the Dew factor is high they drip water ! They need insulation on top and a fibreglass roof

[Roland]

I never had a problem with the conditions in the external carcoon getting to a stage where free water/condensation was present. I think if you got weather conditions where humidity was high (much like the far east) for days then it could be an issue. Best to change the carbon filters regularly though what ever the weather.

The car needs to be bone dry and hot when it goes in the carcoon though.

Roland