Storing Equipment

[carol stro]

Well we now have our own kit (hoorah).
We are thinking of creating an area in the garage to store everything as space in the house is limited. However, we are concerned that the semi-dry suits and BCDs will be ok. Will it be to cold? Will mice get to them?
Is anyone else storing their kit in a garage?
If so, have you encountered any problems?

As always your comments will be apprecaited.
Thanks
:-)

[Dominic Humphries]

Suits & stuff should be fine.
However, you don't want to keep your cylinders (if you have any) out there - even with the minimal moisture in compressed air, you can get condensation and therefore rust problems if they get regular temperature changes.

[Alan Taylor]

Well we now have our own kit (hoorah).
We are thinking of creating an area in the garage to store everything as space in the house is limited. However, we are concerned that the semi-dry suits and BCDs will be ok. Will it be to cold? Will mice get to them?
Is anyone else storing their kit in a garage?
If so, have you encountered any problems?

As always your comments will be apprecaited.
Thanks
:-)


Dear Carole

Congratulations on becoming a 'new' BSAC sports diver and starting the never ending route of kit purchase. May i recommend that you attend the BSAC Equipment Care SDC as soon as possible, this and many other courses are available through the Club. The course will teach you how to get the longest possible life and enjoyment from your kit.

Keep on Divin'

Alan

[Iain Crampton]

Suits & stuff should be fine.
However, you don't want to keep your cylinders (if you have any) out there - even with the minimal moisture in compressed air, you can get condensation and therefore rust problems if they get regular temperature changes.

I think you exaggerate the risk to cylinders - most of our club kit is stored in a garage, including cylinders and they seem fine, if you have condensation problems then I suggest you need a better filter for your compressor. We do insist that kit is returned (more or less) dry, though, to prevent damp/mould on everything.

Most important for a garage is good locks :-) and good strong hooks to hang things off. You should have no problems.

Iain.

[Dominic Humphries]

I think you exaggerate the risk to cylinders - most of our club kit is stored in a garage, including cylinders and they seem fine, if you have condensation problems then I suggest you need a better filter for your compressor.

One of my club's members had a brand new cylinder fail its first visual as a result of the amount of rust inside it.

It may not be a huge problem, but it CAN be A problem. It's not really a huge hardship to keep cylinders indoors, so why take the chance?

[Nick McV]

A member of our club had his nice compressed neoprene DUI dry-suit hung in his garage. Unfortunately he also stored peanuts, used for feeding the birds in his garden. One day he went to collect his suit and discovered that the little fluffy grey tree rats had used the feet to store a great quantity of peanuts stolen from the sack. Unfortunately, they had chewed a hole in the crotch to gain access. Moral? Never let a squirrel anywhere near your nuts!

Seriously though, make sure your garage has adequate ventilation so that damp doesn't hang around in the kit, or condense on your car and rust that!

A drip tray under the kit should help if you need to hang it up soon after the post-dive fresh water rinse, so you can empty it and avoid water hanging around in the garage or soaking the concrete floor. You may even consider painting the floor with some garage floor paint, at leat in that area.

Cold shouldn't be a problem if the kit is dry.

Make sure that there are no edibles stored in the garage that would attract rodents of any variety.

Happy Bubbling!

[Lindsey Doyle]

:=I think you exaggerate the risk to cylinders - most of our club kit is stored in a garage, including cylinders and they seem fine, if you have condensation problems then I suggest you need a better filter for your compressor.

One of my club's members had a brand new cylinder fail its first visual as a result of the amount of rust inside it.

It may not be a huge problem, but it CAN be A problem. It's not really a huge hardship to keep cylinders indoors, so why take the chance?

I can see that a damp atmosphere could cause cyls to rust on the OUTSIDE, but how does the water vapour get INSIDE the cylinder to rust it (except when it's being filled of course)? They should be stored upright, closed and with just a few bar of pressure in them.
HTH.

[Dominic Humphries]

how does the water vapour get INSIDE the cylinder to rust it (except when it's being filled of course)?

Other than from fills? I don't know.
But since cylinders tend to get regularly filled, they regularly get some water in them. Not ALL of it gets removed by the compressor..

They should be stored upright, closed and with just a few bar of pressure in them.

If you're putting them INTO storage, fine. But if you just keep them in your garage between dives, you aren't going to leave them permanently empty.

[Adrian Kelland]

One of my club's members had a brand new cylinder fail its first visual as a result of the amount of rust inside it.

Either the cylinder was supplied having been stored open or the compressor filters were not doing their job (maintenance...)

So, who among us has ever inspected the inside of the cylinder straight after purchase?

Not me.

Adrian

[Andy Nye]

I can see that a damp atmosphere could cause cyls to rust on the OUTSIDE, but how does the water vapour get INSIDE the cylinder to rust it (except when it's being filled of course)? They should be stored upright, closed and with just a few bar of pressure in them.
HTH.

** because the ever changing temp in a garage,,,,i.e hot in day/cold at night....Cylinders should be kept when stored in a constant temp envoriment with only -/+ 3 temp difference **....may not be what physic teachers/ lecturers advised but HSE dive courses do,

Andy

[carol stro]

Thanks everyone for your useful (and amusing) replies.
I am certainly learning lots.

Happy & Safe Diving

[ECM]

A member of my branch has found that the latex seals on membrane dry suits absorb water over a period of time and should be stored in a dry atmosphere. He thinks that storing them indoors at least doubles the life of the seals (all other things being equal).

I haven't tried this myself but it is worth considering.

Regards

ECM


Thanks everyone for your useful (and amusing) replies.
I am certainly learning lots.

Happy & Safe Diving

[derek perry]

Hi Carol
I've been storing kit in my garage for 20 years, with NO problems. I always wash it out after use and hang it in the garden to dry, obviously not leaving it unattended or overnight.
I purchased a very old large double wardrobe and hang all my kit up in it once it is dry. I put lengths of plastic sink waste pipe down the legs to ensure ventilation, even in the wardrobe.
One person mentioned good locks. Important, especially if your kit is insured on the household insurance because they very often have low value clauses for theft from garages. If insured separately then check the small print.

Finally I agree rodents are something to bear in mind. A friend went to get his brand new dry suit out of his shed to find several holes gnawed in the legs. Expensive lesson learnt.

Best of luck

Derek