Leaving Drums in Heat

Class A Drummer

Pioneer Member
I might have to leave my drums in my car for about 15-25 hours in 90+ degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Will this do damage to them or am I ok?
 
I would not do that at all unless I really didn't care about the drum kit. You have a better chance of causing damage than not.
 
Ouch! If you absolutley have to I would keep the windows cracked,put sun shades in the front and rear windows and wrap the drums with blankets. Had to do it hear in fl and didn't re-tune until after they cooled down.
 
Park in the shade (e.g. a secure parking garage). Windows open a crack. Freeze some water in large pastic pop bottles (10 - 20) or get ice from the store.

GJS
 
I accidentally left a set of drums in the heat once. The finish wrap was completely ruined. I guess it expanded from the shell or something. And that was only for about 3 or 4 hours. So I can only imagine what a much longer period of time would do to them.
 
the '74 Ludwigs that Ive toured with for years sat in many hot trailers for long periods of time on lots of tours......and they are perfectly fine

in cases of course


........just sayin
 
Heres a trippy little example for ya.

Someone gave me a Dixon Birch Mahogany 13" snare shell in black satin in perfect condition (he used the hardware for a 20 ply snare shell he liked better).
Its been in my car for about a week and it has been in the 90's for only about 2 of those days.
The outer laminant ply is coming off in sections around the bearing edge Ha Ha.

Of course it is a shell with no hardware and its totally exposed, but thats definately proof that its not a good idea.
I could take pics if needed, but I'm a bit lazy...lol.
 
That kind of heat can definitely damage a wrapped kit,cause bubbling and separation at the seams , esp if not in cases,that said I have Luddy s/l kit with the black cortex which is more like a formica and it has been left in the car, and a trailer for days at a time in plus 90 degree temps and it looks like the wrap has pulled at the seams,but no exposed wood so far.I would recommend casing them and covering with a light colored cover/blanket of some sort.
 
People get wrapped drums so they don't get scratched, but the wrap can separate from the shell in the heat. Another reason for lacquered drums. I would think that 120-140 degrees F shouldn't be too much for a lacquered drum. This will be my first summer that I keep my lacquered DW's in my van. They used to be kept in my garage, but I decided to keep them in the van to eliminate loading and unloading the van. So my beautiful DW's will bake for sure this summer. I don't expect any problems. I mean, don't they bake lacquer finishes anyway? Anybody know what temp they get baked at?
 
A straight fact is that temperature & humidity extremes, especially in combination, are not good for wood. Rapid cycling will be especially destructive. Older drums may well "get away with it" due to decades of conditioning, but those extremes are best avoided. Different shell constructions will react differently too. Ply shells will theoretically resist damage better than other forms of shell. I certainly wouldn't want to subject stave, steambent, or solid shells to such conditions. Would you leave a Stradivarious in the car in that heat? I don't think so.

Drums in good cases will fare better because the case reduces the speed of change & guards well against large humidity fluctuations.
 
Somewhere I have a lute that I borrowed from my University. It had been in a room that had extreme temperature variations for a long time. The instrument requires some serious repairs as a result. Drums are not as delicate as a lute, but it's best not to leave drums in a situation with extreme variation in temperature.
 
I accidentally left a set of drums in the heat once. The finish wrap was completely ruined. I guess it expanded from the shell or something. And that was only for about 3 or 4 hours. So I can only imagine what a much longer period of time would do to them.

Yep had simular experience myself. I had to rewrap everyone of my shells...totally sucked. Looking back though that was stupid on my part for leaving them out in the heat in the first place. IMO never, never , never leave your drums in a hot place for a long peroid of time. Unless your just looking for a good reason to change the wrap on your shells.
 
Heat is more dangerous for wrap than the shells. I live in Arizona and I've stored by drums in places with no A/C and I haven't had any problems with shells deteriorating in any way. Direct sunlight will have a larger role in destroying a drum set than heat. One of my kits is lacquered and the other is wrapped and I haven't had any problems with either in 100+ degree temperatures. But I will say that if you can avoid storing your drums in heat, do it.
 
It'll definitely drop the pitch as the heads expand & soften ever so slightly. I had my set in my Mom's van back in high school and after a few hours of baking I was amazed how they sounded. I liked it, but they went back to normal pretty quickly.
 
My company makes violins, and we ship all around the country. Though we've never had damage occur due to cold, we have definitely damaged them in the heat. Whole containers of instruments sometimes. The same would apply to drums.

You have glue that softens or even liquifies in that kind of heat depending on the type. You may have varnish, which depending on the type will do all kinds of ugly things in the heat. Pit the two against the wood, which wants to move like mad in that kind of heat, and you have a recipe for disaster. Expanding wood and softened glue = delamination. Plastic wrap will wrinkle, haze over, and come unglued.

Putting a drum set in a heated car is the same as saying "OK, I am going to destroy my drums now". I would rent a kit for a distant gig before I would risk that. There must be another way for you to go.
 
I'll let you all know how my DW's fare after spending the summer in my van. They were always stored in an unheated/unairconditioned garage anyway since 2008 when I got them. I'm such a fan of not having to load and unload my van now that it will take a catastrophe for me to change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they wont delaminate, after all they bake the lacquer, right? At what temp?
 
I'll let you all know how my DW's fare after spending the summer in my van. They were always stored in an unheated/unairconditioned garage anyway since 2008 when I got them. I'm such a fan of not having to load and unload my van now that it will take a catastrophe for me to change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they wont delaminate, after all they bake the lacquer, right? At what temp?

Get ready for the "catastrophe"...lol.

But seriously, even if you dont see the damage, I'm betting there will be some kind of shell/glue deterioration, warping, etc..

How big is your shell pack?. Is it really that hard do move them in and out?.
Just leave the hardware and store the shells in a good place.
 
Back
Top