Cold Weather and Drums

Captain Bash

Captain Bash

Silver Member
I see from the news that the USA is being hit by a spell of cold weather, how’s this working out on your drums and or drumming. For example, I live in the wet and mild UK, my gig kit is stored in the un heated garage but our temps rarely fall below freezing.

Are drums ok at -10 C blimey.
 
Regarding wood....

It's OK for wood to get cold. It's OK for wood to get reasonably warm. It's NOT OK for the temperature/humidity to change quickly.

The most noticeable result will be that clear poly/lacquer/nitro finishes will check/crack. Other issues are the formation of condensation (cold drum set in hot room) and the wood drying and getting brittle (hot drumset into a cold storage shed). Other issues are ply separation, adhesive failure (on wraps) and warpped wraps.


When wood gets hot (>~150F), it becomes amorphus and can warp under pressure. Not OK to leave in a sun baked car or next to the radiator.
 
Condensation is the worst IMO, got to wait the extra time for the the drums to warm up, moisture is not your friend anywhere on a drum kit.
 
I live in a dry climate 90% of the year, and have noticed the wrap on my Catalina Club bubbling in certain areas.
The kit isn't exposed to extreme temp fluctuations so I know I'm safe there. It is the one I gig with & is in and out of cases a lot.

The way I see it, this is the drum set calling for me to send the wrap to the landfill and expose the mahogany underneath.
Something I've given thought to for many years.
 
Those days it's raining like hell over Paris, when I need to get de drum kit out, I take care not to leave the drums or the stands in their bags for few days when I store them. The drums are stored in a room (heated) but I don't want humidity trapped in the bags. Think of the drums, the hoops, but also, all the chrome stands when going from wet to dry atmosphere.
 
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I know that my tuning goes off when it's really hot or cold, so I assume that's from the temp change itself, but since I can fix it with a drum key, I don't worry too much about it.
 
SamSmith said:
Low temperature spoils the tree, it gets wet, freezes, and crumbles. Spoils all fasteners and screws - frost forms on them and, subsequently, rusts. All the same can be attributed to the plates. In general, such cold will have a detrimental effect on any installation. Of course, it will take more than one winter for them to fall into disrepair, but nevertheless. I have thoughts about installing a radiator that will keep a constant temperature, at the same time I will change the old radiator in the bathroom, I know one place, there is a Big selection of bathroom radiators to choose from. In the meantime, I try to throw the snare drum and cymbals in winter (if I need to take them somewhere) into insulated covers and also cover them with some material so that they don't overcool, even if they need to be carried from the car to the house.
Click to expand...
My drums completely deteriorated when it was cold, and all because of my indifference
 
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