Cottage Q&A
QUESTIONWe were wondering if it's okay to leave things like the television, VCR, cordless phone, and other electronic items at our unheated cottage over the winter. Will they be damaged in any way?
ANSWER
It's a good question, though we uncovered some contradictory answers. Calls to the customer helplines at two companies - Sharp and Panasonic - made clear that manufacturers hedge their bets when recommending how customers handle and store their products. Sharp says several of its audio products specify they shouldn't be stored at below -1ºC, though each product tends to have its own specs. Panasonic says most of its audio systems and cordless phones should not be stored at below 5ºC.
It's not the cold per se, but the condensation produced during wide temperature swings that might cause corrosion problems, explains Ted Swierczynski, a repair technician for Radio Shack's Toronto repair depot. Edward Lemberk, service manager for Brentview Electronics in Toronto, adds that rubber components - often present in equipment that has moving parts, such as CD players - can become brittle and fragile. John Verstraten, owner of Parry Sound TV & Appliances, begs to differ, though. There's no problem at all, he says, as long as owners don't operate electronic equipment while it's very cold. "You can't just walk in on a winter visit and turn on the TV," he warns. "You need to get the heat on, and wait till it warms up - or you could blow out the transistors and integrated circuits, which aren't designed to operate at extreme temperatures." The same goes for rubber parts, which will be brittle and stiff when cold, but will work fine again when they warm up.
Now for some advice all our sources agreed on. Unplug everything each time you leave, because even a surge protector won't stop power surges from reaching your equipment in a thunderstorm. And remove all batteries, which could leak after freezing and do real damage.
* Published in the Winter 2002 issue of Cottage Life
