How do you guys protect your cache of parts

[ShOrEbReAk]

Gday all

I was thinking of moving my pedal building gear out to my shed as the boss lady is not happy with me doing it in the house with vapours and small parts that my youngest could get hold of.

I have the usual 40 drawer parts box and I am more worried about the resistors etc getting damaged in the heat and cold of winter. I am looking to get more drawer style cabinets in the future. Yes my shed is enclosed but moisture and heat can possibly kill parts I'm thinking.  With the parts drawer I was thinking of putting a Perspex sheet along the back to seal it there and adding a Perspex door on the front if you get what I mean. If I do that do I need to add ventilation for the heat in summer?

Any ideas or photos from people who have their setups in the shed type situation would be great to see so I and others can steal or modify your great ideas hahahahahahah

Troy

[deadastronaut]

put the boss lady in the shed 

seriously though,

i would think your parts will be fine really..

i use drawers, and i also use plastic trays with lids/partitions.

the trays will be weather proof more that the drawers...so try those.

you can get them for 1 pound in poundshops in the uk..

i'm sure most other countries will stock those too..

[exztinct01]

put the boss lady in the shed 

+1

[ShOrEbReAk]

Hahahahaha would love to put her out there trust me but then I'd have no shed

I am eventually going to line the shed inside so I guess maybe I am being too paranoid about rusting legs and heat killing IC's.

[deadastronaut]

im sure they'll be fine, ive found many old bits n pieces/components in friends sheds

unfortunately because they sadly lost their dads/grandads , but they wanted them to go to a good home.

i built a distortion from one of my friends dads old bits n pieces, and gave it to him
he was well chuffed and got a little emotional. so his dad lives on..one good turn etc .

[GGBB]

I'd personally be hesitant to do it here in Toronto - the winters are too cold and damp on occasion - metal will freeze then moisture will condensate on it and next comes tarnish if the metal isn't resistant in any way. You can probably clean up leads just fine, but I'd worry about switch and jack contacts.

[amptramp]

There are a number of IC's operating under the hood of most cars right now, so heat, even in a shed, should not be a problem.  Cold can do some damage due to parts becoming more brittle so things like knobs might snap.  Humidity is the worst problem with some penetration of materials like epoxy that are ordinarily thought to be immune.  Metal leads should be cleaned before soldering anyway, even if it is just with fine sandpaper.  Cars also have switches that have to live in an outdoor atmosphere, but they are specified for that kind of environment.  Typical jacks, switches and relays do not have a problem if the contact materials and mechanisms can survive condensation, but not every component is specified for this.

If you have electrical power in the shed for light and soldering, you could run a small amount of space heating for the winter.  Ventilation would be a good idea because water vapour has a little over half the density of air, so it will rise through vents and in the summer you might need it.

[EBK]

For humidity, you could use containers with a good seal (Ziploc bags would even work) with some dessicant packets ("do not eat!"  ).

[anotherjim]

Humidity/damp can kill IC's, especially MOS ones. Direct sunlight can do more subtle damage, fading markings/colours. Changed the colour of my Rigol scope in no time when my "shed" was originally a potting shed with huge glass windows. A lot of my parts cache did survive when I had a cellar to work in (proper mad scientist location that), but some gear did not -  impossible to see the damage being caused by condensation inside the cases until too late!

Last house move, I got permission to build a shed to my liking. It was still a standard self-assembly job, but I insulated it with high density mineral wool (Rockwool RW3) under ply sheet lining. Now I think it needs secondary glazing adding, but other than that, everything has been fine in there for over a year now. You have to be absolutely sure the roof is waterproof or you'll be trapping the damp.

So I say a shed is a fine place, but take some time & money to prepare it first -  it's impossible to work on when it's full of stuff.

S.H.E.D. = Secret HQ Electromusic Development.

[TejfolvonDanone]

Most commercial ICs and transistors are specified with storage temperature of at least -65°C to 150°C. I don't really know what kind of shed you have but I don't expect that you'll exceed these specs. 

EDIT: Also you can buy silica gel bags (little bags saying "Do not eat") which are designed to absorb moisture to avoid the condensation. Maximum 1 bag in each drawer should do the trick. (Another tip: if you put one in your guitar case you can extend the strings life a lot.)

[ShOrEbReAk]

S.H.E.D. = Secret HQ Electromusic Development. THATS THE BEST ! One of my mates does wood signs on CNC so I may get one done with that hahahahaha.

In Adelaide Australia we have blistering summers up to 47c and in winter it can drop to minus 1c overnight.

I was thinking about the glad bag ideas as when I get the parts they come in ziplock anyway so a little help from MR SILICA may also be the way to go also.

Deadastro that is suck a cool idea and I hope it's still rocking on for its owner

Cheers troy

[Addy Bart]

im sure they'll be fine, ive found many old bits n pieces/components in friends sheds

unfortunately because they sadly lost their dads/grandads , but they wanted them to go to a good home.

i built a distortion from one of my friends dads old bits n pieces, and gave it to him
he was well chuffed and got a little emotional. so his dad lives on..one good turn etc .

I love this

[davent]

You can get very big ziplock bags that would easily hold any of those multidrawer cabs and seal out the moisture. Found the giant size in a hardware store with the various clothing/closet storage solutions.

dave

[ShOrEbReAk]

Great idea dave! I may look into that option also

[mac]

I am only concerned about germs.
Silica and sealed bags or boxes.

No wife, nor kids, so I can play, store or experiment wherever I want :-)

mac

[bluebunny]

In Adelaide Australia we have blistering summers up to 47c and in winter it can drop to minus 1c overnight.

This is a walk in the park for electronic components.  60/40 solder melts at 188^oC.