(Topic ID: 269758)

How hot is too hot?

By ISayIts4MyKids

3 years ago


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  • 12 posts
  • 10 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by Tomass
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    #1 3 years ago

    Hi!

    New potential pinhead here. Trying to convince my wife we need to fill our living room with pinball machines. She thinks they should go in the garage. During the summer the garage probably gets up to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit (about 49 degrees Celsius). Is that too hot for a pinball machine? In the winter it gets down to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I am in the California Bay area. Do you think my temperature guesstimates are realistic?

    #2 3 years ago

    I wouldn’t- Unless you installed some sort of climate control. I kept an EM out in the garage while I was working on it, but I got super paranoid and removed the backglass. Still couldn’t relax about it and it ended up in the living room until I sold it.
    I’d only keep a machine in the garage temporarily if I had no other option.
    Fortunately, my wife was cool enough to cave in and allow me to put the machines in the living room, but that limits me to 2 machines, lol.
    I plan on getting more, but the problem is I built a soundproof recording studio in a section of the house which would be PERFECT for a bitchin’ collection. Haven’t been playing music as much as I thought I would and I’ve been mulling over nixing the studio and filling the space with machines.
    Maybe there’s a spot at your place you could “reallocate” as a man cave or something?

    #3 3 years ago

    Garage is a no go in that heat.

    #4 3 years ago

    Thanks guys! I really appreciate the feedback. We already have two couches in the living room and no friends so I don't see what the problem is?? How hot can a pinball machine safely get?

    #5 3 years ago

    Insulate the garage door and install a mini split.

    #6 3 years ago

    I guess I'll go against the majority here. I'm not far from you at all and currently have 12 games in my garage. The walls are insulated, as is the garage door. Does it get hot in there in the summer? Absolutely. Have I ever seen any cosmetic, electrical, or mechanical issues due to this? Nope.

    My previous house in Dublin, CA also had a similar number of games, insulated walls, and a non-insulated door that faced afternoon sun. It got even hotter in there, but again, no issues.

    A bit more anecdotal feedback is that my Dad also lives within a few miles of me and has had 20+ machines in his garage for over 20 years. Again, no issues.

    The *ONLY* time that I have seen issues is when we had three games stored in the house. Those three games unknowingly got their cabinet art sun bleached from being too close to a window. I suppose that could be a concern in your case if the games went in the living room.

    To be fair, if my collection included EMs with their fragile backglass artwork, I would unquestionably be more paranoid. Most of the games in my garage are system 11 and later, though, and almost all of them use a translite for the backglass, which seems to have shown itself to be very dimensionaly stable over the decades.

    PS. You can probably fit more games in a garage without your wife caring than you can inside of the house

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    #7 3 years ago

    Hell no... unless you put AC in there and insulate the doors

    #8 3 years ago

    Thank you all! Especially you Pwedge since you are pretty close. Is there a "temperature" that would be bad? We live in a row of condos so I'm not sure if I could insulate the garage door. Although I do like that idea for both temperature and noise.

    #9 3 years ago

    I am in Sacramento, which sees MUCH higher temps than OP, and lower temps. Long story short: you will be fine. Lots of collectors all over our area who,have had games in their garage for decades with no issues. If you are really worried, insulate and install a mini split, or at the very least a thermostatically controlled exhaust fan.

    #10 3 years ago

    I have a friend with two uninsulated sheds in his backyard holding about 20 machines for years. He also has games outside on his back porch.

    I don't know if I'd put the cream of the crop into these conditions, but for most "player" games I wouldn't have a problem with it.

    #11 3 years ago

    Agree insulated garage is fine in our area.
    But really agree on the point about wife.

    Good luck!

    #12 3 years ago

    Don't listen to some of the bad advice people are giving you, saying to not get a machine. Fist off, get the game and put it in there. Then tell the wife that heat is not good and you need to move it into the livingroom to protect the value of the purchase.

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