Is it OK to store drums in the garage?

[EricT43]

I've recently sized up my drum collection and storage in the house is becoming a bit of a problem. I wonder if it's OK to store drums in the garage, in hard cases? I live in the southwest, so moisture is never a problem, but it does get hot in there during the summer, possibly up to 110F or so on the hottest days. I suppose that drums are exposed to temperatures like that all the time during transportation, so maybe it won't be an issue, but I thought I'd ask here first.

 

[alparrott]

I've recently sized up my drum collection and storage in the house is becoming a bit of a problem. I wonder if it's OK to store drums in the garage, in hard cases? I live in the southwest, so moisture is never a problem, but it does get hot in there during the summer, possibly up to 110F or so on the hottest days. I suppose that drums are exposed to temperatures like that all the time during transportation, so maybe it won't be an issue, but I thought I'd ask here first.

My garage probably nears that temperature in the summer and I've never thought twice about it.

 

[AzHeat]

I’d avoid storing anything wood in the garage. The shells will dry out and crack. My brother in law just discovered the impact of the Southwest on his high dollar furniture. Let’s just say it’s far from high dollar anymore. The wood is all cracked and the fabric rotted. This after three years in storage. Same temp as the garage.

 

[IBitePrettyHard]

Your garage will be about 20° hotter than outside.

I kept an old kit in the attic for almost 10 years, and it seems to be fine. It is possible that given enough time and heat, the plies will start to crack though. I suppose it depends on the humidity. (It's quite humid here in Virginia)

There are a few other things to watch out for. The 2 plies on the Emperor heads I had on some of those drums have separated, making them sound kinda dead.

Drum cases with foam liners...they will melt or become gooey. It happened on my SKB hard case. I had to chisel it all out and I now use a towel wrapped around the snare.

 

[williamsbclontz]

I live in a real swampy boyou type of place. High humidity and temperatures. I’ve kept a kit in the garage for a few years and had no problems

Not saying that’s the right thing to do though, stacking a kit in a closet in the house is definitely a better option

 

[LikeToPlay]

I've lived in Tucson, AZ for over twenty years and with the same drumset the entire time, a 1997 DW Collectors. I've stored them in my truck bed with a tonneau cover for weeks in the summer without a single problem. That's about 160 F in there and I mean hot to the touch when you take them out. They don't care at all except for some de-tuning. They will not crack and they will not warp. Your finish will be unaffected. Drums are made with a combination of high temperatures and high pressure. In cases and in a garage in the SW is a perfect medium to store them. I've done it.

 

[GruntersDad]

Humidity is the killer. Hard cases will hold moisture. I have small portable power tools stored in air tight containers in my garage in Florida, where is gets humid. I bought large silica gel packs, the size of cigarette packs, and put one in each container. They will turn color when totally spent, and can be re-used after a rejunination in the oven. They were cheap. Tools, drum hoops, are not. spend $10.00 and rest easy.

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[JohnPloughman]

Every life should know some regret. Yours is about to be earned.

About noon, go sit in your car with the windows up. You get extra points if you can last a whole hour.

While it may not adversely affect the drums...

Wraps exposed to extremes of heat and cold...will crack. Some will do it the first time. Some will after many times.
Lacquers will develop checking and will have cracking over time.


Some one is always going to say they do it, and own the most expensive stuff and nothing bad happens.


Is your garage unfinished...i.e. bare stud interior? or is it a finished (sheetrocked) and is it insulated/uninsulated? Is the door insulated? Temperatures in an uninsulated/bare stud garage can approach 150 degrees for several hours a day with the door shut. South facing steel doors that are uninsulated can raise that temperature by several degrees. .

 

[JohnPloughman]

A few years back...………. the top picture is a drum that sold on eBay. It was left in a car, randomly parked for a few days in the summer. If I remember right, the auction originated in Florida. The 1982 era lacquer was burnt, cracked and destroyed.

the second picture is an identical drum. It is an identical drum. They were finished exactly the same. My drums don't get left in cars. They don't sleep in the garage.

 

[GruntersDad]

Although the garage won't experience the Greenhouse effect like the car, the garage will obtain the same temperature as outside. Humidity is still the killer.

 

[AzHeat]

I suppose there’s one way to settle this. Do it and report back your findings.

 

[Ransan]

If you have to that’s that. As posts below point out direct sun, if your garage has windows keep away. I was born in south plains, and raised in the panhandle, lived for 30 years, we have temperature extremes. I know the weather is humid around 80% daily in Dallas and temperate the further south and east you go in Texas. We griped about humidity in Amarillo lol... A concern would be if you are where it rains a lot, if so, I’m sure you’re aware you’d have to contend with flooding, encapsulation for moisture abatement, rust, and now being out of the house, security from piracy.

 

[notvinnie]

The issue is changes in temperature and humidity. I stored new my drums in the garage for a year (when they weren't being used), and my 12" Gretsch tom had to be replaced. That was in Newport Beach. During the day temps in there got to be around 100 in the summer, and at night could go as low as 50 or even 40 in the winter.

Don't do it.

 

[Morrisman]

I keep my drums in the garage, which reaches 100-110 in summer. The drums are in soft padded cases inside a cupboard which is lined with light insulation. The drums don’t change temperature quickly and they don’t get humid.

No issues after 15 years.