What will cold do to collection?

[nmtg9]

I am looking at converting my garage into a man cave (well half of it anyway) in the new year.

 

The biggest problem is during the winter in the cold. It can get reasonably cold (but rarely down to, say, minus 5 outside at night). One wall of the garage is the side of the house so some warmth will get through. It doesn't freeze up in the garage but it does feel cold.

 

What effect might this have on comics in filing cabinets that are bagged and boarded? What if they were kept in comic boxes rather than filing cabinets?

 

Damp shouldn't be a problem and heat in the summer should be ok too, but not sure about the cold?

 

Neil

[VintageComics]

Cold doesn't post a problem.

 

What I would worry about is temperature change. From what I understand, constant temperature is not nearly as bad as fluctuation.

 

Another thing to consider is that taking a cold book and then putting it into a warmer or humid environment is going to cause condensation on the book, much like it would on a glass with ice in it.

 

So, storing the books in the cold isn't a problem. It's everything else that you'd have to consider.

[Dr. Balls]

Cold doesn't post a problem.

 

What I would worry about is temperature change. From what I understand, constant temperature is not nearly as bad as fluctuation.

 

Another thing to consider is that taking a cold book and then putting it into a warmer or humid environment is going to cause condensation on the book, much like it would on a glass with ice in it.

 

So, storing the books in the cold isn't a problem. It's everything else that you'd have to consider.

 

+1

 

Your garage will probably dip down to 40 degrees in the cold parts of winter, and another 10-15 degrees lower than that during sustained cold spells. (if it's got insulation in the walls and minimal leaks) Like Roy said, I'd be concerned with the fluxuation of storing your books in an environment of 30 degrees in the dead of winter to (presumably) 70-80 degrees in the heat of summer. That's a pretty big swing for paper products.

[Brian48]

In my experience, cold will not have a factor on paper. My BIGGEST concern is whenever the temperature dips and jumps suddenly, which can happen here in the northeast. This will cause condensation to form on all metal surfaces and quickly results in rusty staples.

[Drakeprimeone]

Not sure what your budget is in creating a man cave but you may consider going all the way with it and insulating the garage walls. Not only will you be able to store comics but your man cave can double as a second living room / game room etc.

[fantastic_four]

Another thing to consider is that taking a cold book and then putting it into a warmer or humid environment is going to cause condensation on the book, much like it would on a glass with ice in it.

 

Reynold Jay is a dealer who owns a building that was formerly an ice cream parlor, and he stores comics in the walk-in freezer they had. He says he wrapped them somehow so that condensation formed on the plastic and not directly on the books, but I forget how he did it exactly. Aside from not keeping the books at a stable temperature, condensation would be the major concern if the temperature gets below freezing.

[VintageComics]

Another thing to consider is that taking a cold book and then putting it into a warmer or humid environment is going to cause condensation on the book, much like it would on a glass with ice in it.

 

Reynold Jay is a dealer who owns a building that was formerly an ice cream parlor, and he stores comics in the walk-in freezer they had. He says he wrapped them somehow so that condensation formed on the plastic and not directly on the books, but I forget how he did it exactly. Aside from not keeping the books at a stable temperature, condensation would be the major concern if the temperature gets below freezing.

 

He freeze wrapped every comic. They were sealed individually in an airtight bag with most of the air removed..

 

I bought several of his books and they were spectacular but I'm guessing most people won't go to those lengths to store their books.

 

 

[fantastic_four]

He freeze wrapped every comic. They were sealed individually in an airtight bag with most of the air removed..

 

I couldn't remember if it was every comic or if he just wrapped each box. Every comic makes sense, but good lord, that seems like a TON of work.

[VintageComics]

I bought individual comics. He may have freeze wrapped multiples.

 

[Kevin.J]

Neil, I had 2 filing cabinets of drek in the garage for about the last 15 years up until last Christmas when I dished them out, it was only drek like I say but I didn't notice any ill effects to the books at all.

Given that we only live about 25 miles apart I reckon you should be okay climate wise.

One word of note though, I also had a load of cardboard sheeting what I had packed tight into a corner, I had intended to use for packing when I was going to sell them years ago, when I went to move that, some critters ( I assume mice ) had hollowed a big nest area, maybe 1 foot radius into the bottom of the packed cardboard

The garage is solid brick with no obvious point of entry, millimeters actually under the door as an only option.

[nmtg9]

Thanks everyone. (thumbs u

 

I think keeping them in filing cabinets will be more protective than the standard white boxes. Don't know what I will do with the fifty or so white boxes that will be empty.

 

I am going to consider insulation for the walls, but it depends on price.

[Kevin.J]

How secure is your garage Neil and can anyone see in when the door is opened, you know what I am thinking

[shadroch]

Thanks everyone. (thumbs u

 

I think keeping them in filing cabinets will be more protective than the standard white boxes. Don't know what I will do with the fifty or so white boxes that will be empty.

 

I am going to consider insulation for the walls, but it depends on price.

 

 

You have 50 boxes worth of insulation staring you in the eye.

[F For Fake]

I bought a couple of these on a lark, and afterwards wished I'd bought several more. They were really gorgeous.

 

Oops, quote didn't work. I'm referring to the freeze-wrapped comics here.

[ChrisInBaltimore]

He freeze wrapped every comic. They were sealed individually in an airtight bag with most of the air removed..

 

I couldn't remember if it was every comic or if he just wrapped each box. Every comic makes sense, but good lord, that seems like a TON of work.

 

Not only does it sound like a ton of work, but it also sounds like a ton of wasted money. Can you imagine his power bill? Why would he waste all that money on a freezer that he doesn't need to be running? He could easily use it as storage without power running. We did that at a restaurant I used to work for when the thing went belly up. It cost a fortune to remove the old walk in so we just turned it into dry storage.

 

[fantastic_four]

Not only does it sound like a ton of work, but it also sounds like a ton of wasted money. Can you imagine his power bill? Why would he waste all that money on a freezer that he doesn't need to be running? He could easily use it as storage without power running.

 

He did for most of the year--he lives somewhere around the Great Lakes if memory serves, maybe Michigan, so he said he left the power in the freezer off most of the year and the temperature was naturally under 50, and when he did have it on it barely ran.

[VintageComics]

He freeze wrapped every comic. They were sealed individually in an airtight bag with most of the air removed..

 

I couldn't remember if it was every comic or if he just wrapped each box. Every comic makes sense, but good lord, that seems like a TON of work.

 

Not only does it sound like a ton of work, but it also sounds like a ton of wasted money. Can you imagine his power bill? Why would he waste all that money on a freezer that he doesn't need to be running? He could easily use it as storage without power running. We did that at a restaurant I used to work for when the thing went belly up. It cost a fortune to remove the old walk in so we just turned it into dry storage.

 

He wanted to preserve old books.

 

I bought books that were 20-30 years old and I have to admit, they looked damn good.

 

 

[the blob]

put some insulation in the walls. forget the comics, what fun is a man cave if you are freezing during the winter? on the other side get one of those edenpure heaters --http://edenpurestore.com. true, that's going to move temperature up and down, but how different is that than your home when you have the thermostat at 58 when you aren't at home and move it up to 66 when you are?

[dgarthwaite-migration]

You do have to be careful about condensation. Sometimes I inspect crates that come in from overseas. Even a fully sealed crate can have moisture condense onto the contents inside. I've seen parts come out of crates dripping wet. Thankfully most of what we get has a moisture sealed bag around it with several pounds worth of dessicant inside the sealed bag. I would really avoid storing comics at any temperature below freezing.

 

Frozen food in a grocery store is done by flash freezing. Ice crystals don't have time to form therefore the texture and consistency of the food remains the same. If something is frozen at a gradual pace, any moisture inside will grow as daggers stabbing through whatever is in their way. That's essentially what freezer burn is if you've ever tasted food that was thawed and refrozen.

 

Conditions that are too dry can reportedly be bad for comics too, but there isn't a lot of info as to why.

 

It's best to keep them in a moderately low humidity and I would avoid any conditions that incurred a wide range of thermal cycling. That's just my personal opinion.

 

Then again, if you aren't trying to preserve them for four generations or more it may not matter.

 

DG

[mintcollector]

I am looking at converting my garage into a man cave (well half of it anyway) in the new year.

 

The biggest problem is during the winter in the cold. It can get reasonably cold (but rarely down to, say, minus 5 outside at night). One wall of the garage is the side of the house so some warmth will get through. It doesn't freeze up in the garage but it does feel cold.

 

What effect might this have on comics in filing cabinets that are bagged and boarded? What if they were kept in comic boxes rather than filing cabinets?

 

Damp shouldn't be a problem and heat in the summer should be ok too, but not sure about the cold?

 

Neil

 

I can tell you that climate controlled storage that some of the top museums and auction houses use is between 55 to 85 degrees. This is the norm. Therefore, I woukd ask what is the lowest and highest temperature this room will get to in the middle of summer and the dead of winter?

 

I store my collections in both vault storage and climate controlled storage. The key is making sure it is humidity controlled as well. To be truly climate controlled (by definition) it must be both temperature and humidity controlled.

 

Hope that helps.