Warming up a monitor

[portnoyd]

Our basement gets pretty cold in the winter and the coming cold snap this weekend is going to make it even colder. I want to sell one of our cabs but to do that, I'll need to turn it on. I heard that turning on a monitor when it's cold can cause it to crack, so to get around that, you could use a hair dryer to warm it up. Is that true? Just wondering on specifics so I don't overdo it.

Btw, if anyone in or near northern NJ wants a converted Rastan cab, it's yours for $50. It works great except I butchered the CP wires and you can't play it. However, I have a new JAMMA harness that I will throw in with it. If you can replace it, it'll work perfectly. The monitor was recapped a while ago, but it does have a little burn-in (from Zoo Keeper no less) that you can't see while playing. This would be a good candidate to be turned into a 48-in-1 cab imo (which I would do if I didn't already have one). Send a PM if interested.

[dendawg]

IMHO, the best thing to do would be to take it out of the basement and let it sit for about a day for it to come fully to room temp.

[portnoyd]

There is a door outside from the basement but it's not very realistic to get it to an area inside the house where it could warm up.

[crazyjackcsa]

I can't see the basement getting all that cold- my basement is unheated, and rarely drops below 50 degrees. That's not really all that cold for electronics. Even a drop down to 40 isn't too bad.

I would hesitate to use a blow dryer, that quick blast of hot, direct air would more be more likely to cause issues.

[OMF2097]

Our basement gets pretty cold in the winter and the coming cold snap this weekend is going to make it even colder. I want to sell one of our cabs but to do that, I'll need to turn it on. I heard that turning on a monitor when it's cold can cause it to crack, so to get around that, you could use a hair dryer to warm it up. Is that true? Just wondering on specifics so I don't overdo it.


Is there any way to get the basement to around 65 degrees? Electronics can take the cold normally, but I normally keep mine above 60 degrees. Being in the basement, I'd worry more if the area wasn't dehumidified before worrying about the monitor cracking.

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't think a blow dryer forces out enough heat to damage anything unless you hold it down in one spot long enough to heat it unevenly. But even heated up from said blow dryer it's never going to pass what, 100 degrees? Even a scalp-singing dryer could be safe if used properly.

I think that any time you're going from hot to cold the components are already shrinking and expanding in continuous cycles. It's probably not a bad idea to make that as gentle a process as possible though.

It also could be a good way to evaporate condensation (though a dehumidifier works best I suppose). I use a blow dryer immediately after washing the occasional dirty arcade board to make sure water doesn't get a chance to hide under surface-mounted components, mainly using the blow setting instead of the heat.

[skaar]

I think you should try to warm its heart with a cool island song.