For the fellow that do not have a basement or a spare bedroom and are using a space you have to heat in the winter and cool in the summer, what temp range do you tolerate? My space has no heat since our dog passed, it does have a little window AC. Temp ranges from the mid to high 30's on those cold nights, to 90-95 in the summer. I run Lionel from Post-war on, and MTH and K-line locos.
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I suspect those temperature extremes are okay. Humidity is the concern.
Humidity and wild swings in humidity do a lot more damage than just cold or warm temperature, Mike is 100% correct.
The basement where my layouts are is heated but I run the heat only when I'm down there. In the Winter it gets down to about 58 F and in the Summer up to about 78 F. Humidity is very low in the Winter and I run a dehumidifier during the warm months that keeps the humidity between 50 and 55%. I think high humidity is more of a concern than temperature for layouts and model trains. Lately, I have gone downstairs when the temperature is 58 F. I turn the heat on and begin running the trains shortly afterwards with no apparent adverse effects on the trains or transformers.
MELGAR
CALNNC,
The trick is to keep your devices above the dew point. Cold by itself, per se, is not a culprit. It's cold things that now have warmer, moist air introduced to that same environment. They sweat. Think of setting a cold beer on the kitchen counter. What happens? Your cold locomotive would experience the same phenomena in like conditions.
It's a huge problem here in New Hampshire where we can have 20 degree, dry Canadian air one day and 55 degree and moisture-laded air from the gulf stream the next day. My unheated tractor sitting in the barn looks like it was out in the rain.....ugh.
Thanks. The humidity I can handle, has not been a big issue, but it does swing from the 20's on some days in the winter to about 75-80 in the summer. I will get a dehumidifier. I do turn on the electric cube heater and air when I need it, but there are days when I never have time to get to the trains. I have the same problem 'endless-tracks' has, we just had a rain event where it was cold, in the low 20s's and dry, to warm, damp, wet, to the mid 50's, and the humidity went from about 33% to 90% in 24 hours, all the vehicle windows sweated up, an my tractor also looked like I had left it in the rain. The train room did not endure that great a swing though, residual house heat leaking into it perhaps.
I have my entire train room (somewhat sealed) in a crate right now while we do some remodeling in the house....and hoping for the best since it's in an unheated shed. Locos and electronics, though, are in the house. Not taking chances with the weather swings during the winter.
Ambient humidity is only felt by people and warm-blooded animals that perspire. Likewise, wind chill. Cars do not **feel** wind chill. It's the dew point that drives what objects contend with. If you can keep things above the dew point, your trains will be happy (and your tractor).
Having said that, a dehumidifier in the summer helps you feel better because you sweat but really doesn't alter much for the inanimate objects. They get more seasonal relief from your cube heater keeping things above the dew point.
My train room is the heated bay that comprises 1/3 of our detached garage barn. Summer humidity and resulting wood expansion is the main concern, so I run a dehumidifier as soon as the interior temp approaches 70 in May/June and leave it enabled until early October. Humidity is held around 55%. In winter, I set the minimum temp to 40-45 degrees when the room isn't occupied and the low 60s when it is. Temps here can get down into single digits, but 20s are more common in January and February (these days). I haven't had any interior condensation issues, over 3 years of running this cycle. The same can't be said for the uncontrolled areas of the barn.
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