Equipment Storage

[JTRS]

This is probably a dumb question but remember I'm new to this

Is it OK to leave DJ equipment in a garage, I'm not talking about security issues, it's attached to the house and it is secure and alarmed, I'm asking from a usage point of view. The garage isn't heated, and it isn't damp but obviously taking it from there to a gig will mean the kit was colder than it would have been if it had been kept in the house, it's just that keeping it in the garage would make storage and loading so much easier.

Thanks in advance of replies

JTRS

[DJWilson]

Its down to a matter of opinion. In the garage would be fine is theres no leaks!

Get some big covers for the gear and pack it all up tight in a corner.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

If it's cased and/or bagged properly it should be fine.

There is always the period of driving to the gig which should make it slightly warmer during the winter.

[Excalibur]

If it's cased and/or bagged properly it should be fine.

There is always the period of driving to the gig which should make it slightly warmer during the winter.

You've not ridden in my van, have you? :confused: :D

[ppentertainments]

It should be fine, as said if bagged / covered. I personally would not leave cd's in the garage though. I had nothing but problems when using karaoke discs stored in the garage.

[JTRS]

It should be fine, as said if bagged / covered. I personally would not leave cd's in the garage though. I had nothing but problems when using karaoke discs stored in the garage.

Funny you should say that, the CD's are the one thing I wasn't planning on leaving in the garage, it was just the lights, stands, speakers, amp and decks.

The garage is water tight and not damp.

Thanks to all who replied, my main worry was the temperature which would obviously not be as warm as the house, but you've put my mind at rest

Cheers

JTRS

[Penfold42]

I don't get this....probably because I've no garage...:o

What's wrong in taking gear in the house after you have finished for the night?

I do......as I'm wide awake, another 30 minutes is not doing any harm.

[JTRS]

I don't get this....probably because I've no garage...:o

What's wrong in taking gear in the house after you have finished for the night?

I do......as I'm wide awake, another 30 minutes is not doing any harm.


I'd personally prefer to store it in the garage because it would be quicker to load and unload, and when it's raining I won't be walking in and out with wet feet, plus it's the room it takes up in the house.

My reasons are purely time and space related.

JTRS

[PropellerHeadCase]

My reasons are purely time and space related.

Well, if you have a TARDIS, there really should be no problem at all :D

[ppentertainments]

I don't get this....probably because I've no garage...:o

What's wrong in taking gear in the house after you have finished for the night?

I do......as I'm wide awake, another 30 minutes is not doing any harm.

Thats fine until the wife wakes up, trips over a speaker etc etc :D :D

[DazzyD]

There are issues with using equipment straight from the cold. This is how I blew a speaker at a NYE gig a few years ago. I didn't give it time to warm up properly.

If it takes around an hour+ to set up at the venue, your kit should have warmed up enough to not cause any problems, though.

And like Chris said, don't leave CDs out in the cold - they don't like it!

[rob1963]

What's wrong in taking gear in the house after you have finished for the night?

I do......as I'm wide awake, another 30 minutes is not doing any harm.

Same here...although in MY case it only takes 15 minutes.

:D :D :D

[geoffrey]

Ok, Everyone’s saying go for it and store it in a garage, but after my experiences There is not a chance in hell I would ever do it again without some sort of heater just to take out any cold damp air.

All my galvanised speaker and light stands went misty (looked more like hammerite silver paint splodges).
As for my Ultimax booth stand, I was most upset as I had the chrome colour poles and bars and they looked terrible. I tried to polish them back up but they just went back to a white misty colour. (Lesson learnt, buy black in future).

Funny enough though all my electrical bits were fine and as Darren said make sure they are cased up.

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

does anyone here use one of the storage places that are popping up everywhere?

in the next street to me i have two!
Big Yellow Self Storage
Self Store

its great, ground floor, temperature controlled, sealed room and 24 hour access, 25 SQ FT costing me about £400 a year. Its manned 24/7 with about a billion CCTV cameras

[Dynamic Entertainment]

Ok, Everyone’s saying go for it and store it in a garage, but after my experiences There is not a chance in hell I would ever do it again without some sort of heater just to take out any cold damp air.

All my galvanised speaker and light stands went misty (looked more like hammerite silver paint splodges).
As for my Ultimax booth stand, I was most upset as I had the chrome colour poles and bars and they looked terrible. I tried to polish them back up but they just went back to a white misty colour. (Lesson learnt, buy black in future).

Funny enough though all my electrical bits were fine and as Darren said make sure they are cased up.

Funny you shoud mention that. My Ultimax stand is stored in the house, and im starting to get the little speckles on the chrome uprights, so i dont think that maters where you put it. Incidentally, can you buy black uprights and truss?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

does anyone here use one of the storage places that are popping up everywhere?

in the next street to me i have two!
Big Yellow Self Storage
Self Store

its great, ground floor, temperature controlled, sealed room and 24 hour access, 25 SQ FT costing me about £400 a year. Its manned 24/7 with about a billion CCTV cameras

Can you reverse a van/car etc right up to the doors?

[Excalibur]

Can you reverse a van/car etc right up to the doors?

Probably depends on whether you can use your mirrors. :p :D :D

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

the safestore place, which is the one i know

you can reverse right upto the doors of the building, they have giant trolleys which everything is loaded onto, then its 10 metres max to pull the trolley into your lockup

its 100% secure, so many CCTV cameras, plus attended by security staff on the door 24/7, its temperature controlled, so no damp or heat problems. Using discounts and own insurance, it costa bo £400 a year for a room big enough to fit all three of my disco's + extras inside. I also bought a couple big free standing 6ft shelves to help keep everything tidy and in place

[Disco Leisure UK]

We put the gear in the garage and have 2 of those heating tubes attached to the bottom of the wall which are switched on through the night and cost pennies to run, they keep the chill off, but now we are thinking of investing in a box trailer and keeping all the gear in there securely locked in the garage, when gig day comes, reverse car into garage, hook up and off we go, and the same at night just reverse back into garage and unhook...very crafty...:D

[rob1963]

Big Yellow Self Storage
Self Store

its great, ground floor, temperature controlled, sealed room and 24 hour access, 25 SQ FT costing me about £400 a year. Its manned 24/7 with about a billion CCTV cameras

Most of ther above also applies to my bedroom, but that doesn't cost me £400 a year...it's FREE!

I also prefer the added convenience of having the gear where I live.

:D :D :D

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

well it all depends really, the safestore is literally 2 streets away, so its very close!

my house is not secure, they know im not home 4-5 nights a week!
My address is all over my paperwork and website, so people know where the equipment is stored! I also offer a dry hire service, so its alot more professional for them to pickup/drop off at the safestore location, than out of my front door

I also read somewhere that running a business from home can invalidate home insurance for obvious reasons and also had an effect on your mortgage (as its not a commercial mortgage)

[DJ INDIE]

even though its water tight, just watch the condensation in winter - anything with a connection especially. andlet them warm back up first before playing. my mate had 2 huge NEXO bins he kept in his garage, which sometimes played up due to moisture on the connections - so he sprayed them with WD40 ......... and short circuited everything and wrecked the speakers! - so dont do that if there is moisture!! :)

[DeckstarDeluxe]

even though its water tight, just watch the condensation in winter - anything with a connection especially. andlet them warm back up first before playing. my mate had 2 huge NEXO bins he kept in his garage, which sometimes played up due to moisture on the connections - so he sprayed them with WD40 ......... and short circuited everything and wrecked the speakers! - so dont do that if there is moisture!! :)

Ive used safestore since oct last year and while I cant see any source of heating in the place theres never any moisture and stays pretty warm.

[mike8863]

Funny you shoud mention that. My Ultimax stand is stored in the house, and im starting to get the little speckles on the chrome uprights, so i dont think that maters where you put it. Incidentally, can you buy black uprights and truss?

Mine too, the uprights are ok, just the crossbar has gone white ish!!, cd's are always kept in the house, and just in case, i haven oil filled radiator with thermostat on it set to low, to keep the chill off, and this is on all winter, doesn't belt out heat, but ceratinly cuts down on damp, not sure of the cost though, but worth it if means the gear works as it should!!!.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

We put the gear in the garage and have 2 of those heating tubes attached to the bottom of the wall which are switched on through the night and cost pennies to run, they keep the chill off, but now we are thinking of investing in a box trailer and keeping all the gear in there securely locked in the garage, when gig day comes, reverse car into garage, hook up and off we go, and the same at night just reverse back into garage and unhook...very crafty...:D

Not really, I did that for 20 odd years before I got the van. ;)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I also read somewhere that running a business from home can invalidate home insurance for obvious reasons and also had an effect on your mortgage (as its not a commercial mortgage)

Not quite true - most home insurance will let you run a home office without penalty or changing the kind of insurance you need.

[ppentertainments]

We put the gear in the garage and have 2 of those heating tubes attached to the bottom of the wall which are switched on through the night and cost pennies to run, they keep the chill off, but now we are thinking of investing in a box trailer and keeping all the gear in there securely locked in the garage, when gig day comes, reverse car into garage, hook up and off we go, and the same at night just reverse back into garage and unhook...very crafty...:D

That's what I was planning on doing, however my driving skills going backwards with anything attached are diabolical to say the least :D

I consider myself a good driver but attach anything on to the back of the car and I'm afraid it is forwards only. Not too bad as I could push a trailer into the garage, but could be a bit embarrassing when arriving at a venue and having to unhitch the trailer whenever any maneuvering skills are needed :eek:


Not quite true - most home insurance will let you run a home office without penalty or changing the kind of insurance you need.

Very true, although I inform my insurance company there is never and extra charge. All my kit is covered on the house insurance whilst it is on the premises also.

[Disco Leisure UK]

[QUOTE=ppentertainments;333191]That's what I was planning on doing, however my driving skills going backwards with anything attached are diabolical to say the least :D

I consider myself a good driver but attach anything on to the back of the car and I'm afraid it is forwards only. Not too bad as I could push a trailer into the garage, but could be a bit embarrassing when arriving at a venue and having to unhitch the trailer whenever any maneuvering skills are needed :eek:



I'm sure its gets easy with practice, I,ve never had a trailer but I'm going to move the wifes pot plants from the drive first before the big attempt to reverse into the garage.....:D

[BeerFunk]

I consider myself a good driver but attach anything on to the back of the car and I'm afraid it is forwards only. Not too bad as I could push a trailer into the garage, but could be a bit embarrassing when arriving at a venue and having to unhitch the trailer whenever any maneuvering skills are needed :eek:Wouldn't it be possible to fit those reversing proximity sensors to the trailer? Possibly not, without a modification :confused:

[Disco Leisure UK]

Wouldn't it be possible to fit those reversing proximity sensors to the trailer? Possibly not, without a modification :confused:


Its the snaking problems mainly on trailers, reverse to the right, the trailer goes left and vice versa.....:D

[Twinspin]

I keep a fair bit of equipment in the shed. My console case and cds always come in the house. I had a problem with my console before when the denon twin cd player got wet. But that was on a wet night when been moved from the car into the venue. Since then i would never leave my console in the shed. It comes into the house after every gig wether im working next day or not.