Storing cars - humidity and temp...??

[murph7355]

Anyone have any pointers as to the best humidity/temp to store cars at? Particularly classics.

I've done some digging around which indicates 50-55% (inhibit rust, avoid leather, rubber drying out etc) and high teens (temp having an impact on humidity), but would be interested to hear from anyone with some experience on the topic...

[Myobb]

I store my Jaguar E-Type in a dehumidified garage at 50% humidity & have done so for the last 3 years. This seems to work out pretty well as the leather seats dont dry out to much & between 10 & 20 litres of water (depending on the weather) are removed from the machine each week.

[Myobb]

I forgot to mention I dont worry about the temperature which in my garage varies from about 6 degrees celsius to about 23 celsius. Incidently my dehumidifier does not work below 3 degrees celsius although at that temperature there´s not much water in the atmosphere.

[arh]

Quite frankly your best bet is to take it out for a good 30 mile odd drive about once a month, don't do it when it is wet or salty though. If you cant do that a dry garage, with a dehumidifier and a good breathable cover should do the job. Long term storage can cause all kinds of issues with rubber parts, brake fluid, exhausts and tyres. change the oil before storing as the acids which build up in oil dont help. put the battery on a trickle charger and start it as often as you can, then let the engine get throughly warm.

All my cars except the austin seven live outside all year round under good quality covers. I have no issues caused by this method, but then they do get driven what ever the weather.

[murph7355]

Cheers guys.

I know use is the best way to preserve a car, but unfortunately the councils in this country go rampant with salt over winter and I know how much this can wreck a car - I'm OK with this mostly, but there's no point killing some cars unnecessarily and Italians like to rust at any given opportunity.

Will be trying out a Ruby Dry. Works to 1degC and low power. Should do the job. Will set it at 50% and see what gives.

Thanks again.

[williamp]

I bought a big "bag" with dessicant containers from a German compnay. Didnt work at all, and useless customer service, so this year I am going to use it, with a powered low-temp dehimidifyer to keep the space inside dry.

[bacchus]

Myobb said:

I store my Jaguar E-Type in a dehumidified garage at 50% humidity & have done so for the last 3 years. This seems to work out pretty well as the leather seats dont dry out to much & between 10 & 20 litres of water (depending on the weather) are removed from the machine each week.

Myobb which dehumifider do you use? Price? I was never worried too much about rust, but now that I have that Alfa...

Is it good to open the garage door for a few minutes during the winter to let fresh air in?