Storage- climate cont or other

[redknife]

A farm with acreage and multiple outbuildings popped up in our area. We will likely be making an offer and list our current house. I'd need to store my larger woodworking machines to show our current house.
As you know, there are climate controlled and non-climate controlled storage units. I currently have no rust on my machinery as I protect it and it is in a fully environmentally controlled. Climate controlled units in this area are about 2x non-controlled. How long? Don't know. Until sold.

I could use advice:
1) Just go with climate control storage? I.e. The extra cost is worth the protection and/or avoidance of restoration work?
2) Coat the heck out of the equipment and use regular storage unit? If so what would you use? I generally use things like boeshield or Johnson's paste wax. Seems like I'd need something better??
Thanks

 

[KenOfCary]

I'd opt for the climate controlled option unless you are only going to be storing for a very short time. Humidity changes will cause condensation and rust unless you invest in something like this:

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/zerust-table-saw-cover.aspx

 

[Jim M.]

Chris,
I just did the same thing 4 years ago and I put my tools in climate controlled storage. I coated the surfaces with wax and covered with moving blankets. They came out beautiful almost a year later.

At the same time we gave my BIL and SIL some our our extra furniture and my older Ridgid BS and DP. They all went into non-climate controlled storage until he could get them 3 months later. The saw and drill press tables got all rusty even though I pre-treated them the same as my good tools.

 

[JohnnyR]

Moved here and stored everything in non-climate controlled unit without any major problem and would do it again. Just used top-coat. Learned from an earlier experience that the thing to really worry about are sweat drips from moving the stuff!

 

[Gofor]

If going non-controlled, use cloth covers that can breath (like moving blankets, old sheets, etc). Don't put anything like wood push sticks etc under the blanket. If you use plastic, a cheap tarp, etc, the moisture will condense under it giving you a major rust headache (learned from experience when using my garage as a shop). Boeshield or wax should both work, but for long term, I would opt for the Boeshield.

Go

 

[Brogan]

They all went into non-climate controlled storage until he could get them 3 months later. The saw and drill press tables got all rusty even though I pre-treated them the same as my good tools.

giving you a major rust headache (learned from experience when using my garage as a shop).

I was wondering whether having a shop/garage without some sort of climate control/dehumidifier would cause issues.

 

[red]

I went with non-climate controlled and coated all my equipment with LPS 3, a premier rust inhibitor. It's a spray on product that leaves a heavy film on the cast iron. This came highly recommended from many other woodworkers. I check on my equipment weekly and there is no rust anywhere and my equipment has been in storage since last October and will be until next March or so. One can goes a long way and I double coated just to play it safe. It's available everywhere, just Google it. Good luck.

I also did not cover my equipment with any type of blanket/covering. I don't like that idea.

Red

 

[unimog]

On a previous job we were importing equipment from Europe. While for sea freight the equipment was coated with oil before crating,
for air shipment this was not possible for safety reason. In these situation the equipment was packaged loosely in mylar type heat sealed pouch with desiccant inside. More expensive than spraying oil but quite effective and no cleaning required.

 

[redknife]

Thanks for all those thoughts. Brogan, I had my dehumidifier GFCI trip without realizing it for a couple of weeks. All my iron surfaces developed a light coating of rust. I can tell you that I wasn't as particular about protection as I should have been. Advice from others that regularly make due with no conditioning would be more helpful I guess.

 

[redknife]

Soooo,,, Got in to the house. I thought y'all would appreciate this discovery. I've never seen such a thing.
I was suspicious about the electrical because I saw rats nests of wire everywhere and wire haphazardly strewn about the property. Finally found the panel...in the kitchen...abutting the kitchen counter!!!

Sorry it is fuzzy. That surface barely seen bottom left is the main kitchen counter surface. About one foot away is the stovetop. Better hope your pot doesn't boil over into the main 200A electrical panel!

Its an 1880's home, redone in 1980's, apparently by someone that wanted to thin the herd of house dwellers.

 

[Raymond]

At the moment I have no AC and no humidity control in my garage. I have two iron surfaces - my lathe and my band saw. I treat both surfaces with Bostik TopCote. It has its PRO's and CON's: PRO's = Improves sliding, repels dust and moisture, contains no petroleum oils or silicones. CON's = if you don't follow the can's directions - it will hold onto dust and dirt and it will discolor the coating (not the iron), you need to reapply it after heavy use or if you get a lot of moisture on the bed (green turning or sawing green wood).

 

[CDPeters]

Soooo,,, Got in to the house. I thought y'all would appreciate this discovery. I've never seen such a thing.
I was suspicious about the electrical because I saw rats nests of wire everywhere and wire haphazardly strewn about the property. Finally found the panel...in the kitchen...abutting the kitchen counter!!!

Sorry it is fuzzy. That surface barely seen bottom left is the main kitchen counter surface. About one foot away is the stovetop. Better hope your pot doesn't boil over into the main 200A electrical panel!

Its an 1880's home, redone in 1980's, apparently by someone that wanted to thin the herd of house dwellers.

My guess is that will cause issues with the home inspection. Current code requires a 3' floor to ceiling clearance in front of electrical panels and disconnects.

 

[redknife]

My guess is that will cause issues with the home inspection. Current code requires a 3' floor to ceiling clearance in front of electrical panels and disconnects.

Agreed. In my opinion, I don't think this is safely habitable home as configured given a live panel abutting kitchen countertop. We would rewire before occupancy.

 

[ehpoole]

My guess is that will cause issues with the home inspection. Current code requires a 3' floor to ceiling clearance in front of electrical panels and disconnects.

The clearance requirement will only apply if there exists no disconnect ahead of this panel (specifically clearance must be observed if a panel must be serviced while still at least partially live). If there exists an upstream disconnnect then the clearance requirement does not necessarily apply unless local code requirements require such (though preserving such clearance is still good practice). But clearance is really the least of the safety concerns.

None of which justifies the current choice of layout. Just ask yourself what happens if a cooking fire comes to engulf the panel (such as someone panicking and throwing water onto an oil fire), at which point you will potentially have plasma within the electrical panel itself (particularly if the front cover is missing at the time) as fire is every bit as electrically conductive as copper. Literally, that fire could potentially set up a sustained plasma arc within the panel itself which hardly lends help to extinguishing things. Then of course you have to ask what happens when someone sloshes a large pot of water and you get water in the panel where you are now wholly dependent upon it being securely grounded to protect you. I dare say this renovation was never properly inspected at any time. And if this renovation was ever inspected, what other surprises lurk within, not only electrically but possibly structurally as well??? Such homes can be a real can of worms when uninspected work is done without any concern given to complying with accepted conventions and safe practices.