Jackson, TN
Quoted from fosaisu:You can definitely turn them off when not playing.
And I would think they'll be just fine in a Seattle-area garage that will virtually never see freezing temps. As I understand it, the thing that'll kill backglasses (and maybe contribute to playfield planking) is repeated freezing and thawing with humidity/moisture in play. You've got the moisture but not the freeze/thaw cycles, so you should be good.
FWIW, I kept pins in an uninsulated garage for several years in Denver and didn't notice any ill-effects (of course here we've got the cold but not the moisture). But I eventually insulated and added a heater to keep it above freezing in there, both for the potential benefit of the pins and so that I can play on cold winter evenings!
agreed with the freezing and unfreezing. Not only dangerous to backglass but also dangerous to playfield glass.
If your garage gets cold at any point in time (winter time, freezing temps, etc) and you were to take off the playfield glass, as soon as it even lightly -touches- cold concrete that glass is going to instantly shatter into a thousand pieces. Storage is one thing, but the garage has got to be insulated if you're going to be doing regular play where there's a high likelihood of removing playfield glass, working on the games, etc. Also recommend having plenty of carpet out in the garage to rest the glass on, etc.
For what it's worth... I've had two playfield glasses shatter on me this winter by taking off the playfield glass after it has been through freezing/thawing and then resting it on the ground as I had to work on the games. It's very startling! I've learned my lesson.
