Guitars and cold air

[CoreyT]

We got hit hard yesterday with a wind storm, and my power was off when I got home around 1 PM.
It came back on around 5 PM, but went out again at 8 PM due to more wind and trees taking down multiple lines.

They are saying we may not get power restored until Friday at the worst case scenario.
My living room was 59° this morning at 1 am with an outdoor temp of 33°.
All my guitars are in cases with the exception of the little Fernandes which hangs on the hall mount all the time.

At what temp do I need to start worrying about my guitars?
Are they safe in their cases in case my home gets down into the 40° range?
It could happen if power is not restored until then.

The road I live on is closed just further up from me with multiple trees on the ground which they cover below.
http://www.kirotv.com/videos/news/video-trees-block-roads-thousands-without-power/vC2n9k/

 

[David Grantham]

I just did some research and discovered that my gas log fireplace will probably start without electicity. The unit turns on with a wall switch.

 

[John Fiaschetti]

They should be ok. You might need to set them up again if things go on for more than a couple days. I don't know if long term damage would be an issue. I suspect not.

 

[Drew]

When you get one shipped in the winter, the brown truck aint heated. Temperature variations are generally fine for guitars, unless you are talking extreme temps. The thing that generally damages guitars are RAPID temperature shifts. So, when the heat comes back on, just leave them in the case for a day. That will insure they come back to temp at a slow controlled rate and thus prevent damage.

 

[shinksma]

When you get one shipped in the winter, the brown truck aint heated. Temperature variations are generally fine for guitars, unless you are talking extreme temps. The thing that generally damages guitars are RAPID temperature shifts. So, when the heat comes back on, just leave them in the case for a day. That will insure they come back to temp at a slow controlled rate and thus prevent damage.

This. Keep them in the cases as the temp rises again. And Nitro finishes are more susceptible to crackling than poly.

 

[László]

As long as they warm up slowly, they'll be fine!

 

[CoreyT]

Thanks guy's, they will be staying asleep until the weekend anyways.
Hopefully the power will be back on by then.
If not, no playing this weekend

I am really curious what the temp is in my living room right now.
Nothing like shaving, brushing my teeth, and showering by an LED lantern early this morning.
Just like camping, but without a nice warm campfire.

 

[CoreyT]

Good to go, power came on at 5 PM yesternight.
Kingfisher and 408 get to come out Friday when I get home from work.

 

[Altair-IV]

Corey - don't worry about it. The guitar at 59 degrees is 16 degrees down from room temperature of 75 degrees. For the materials, that's 16 degees down in an absolute temperature of 534 degrees Rankine. The Rankine scale has Fahrenheit sized degrees; but the zero point for Rankine is at absolute zero. The Fahrenheit scale has its zero at an arbitrary point. So for the materials; that's a drop of 16/534 in its true heat content; which is only a few percent.

As one poster stated; the delivery trucks in winter aren't heated. Solid bodies are much more sturdy than acoustics. Acoustics have a hollow box that has to withstand the tension in the 6 strings that are trying to collapse the box. Even a small change in temperature affects the tension in the strings which is why they go "sharp" when they are cold. If you are worried about the increased tension; then slack off the tuning a bit. If your guitar is in tune; even at the low temperature; then the tension is OK for the guitar.

Altair-IV
Physicist

 

[CoreyT]

Thanks Altair, as soon as I read the first few sentences, I knew you had to be a physicist.

 

[Egads]

Glad to hear you got power back up. Our furnace went out yesterday, in the middle of a crazy cold snap (70s on Sunday; teens on Monday; sub-zero nights Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). The house didn't drop that much last night, but we were worried. I though about making a Sergio-style pile-up in the bed with all the comforters, but my wife nixed the idea.