RUBY2 - Posted - 05/25/2010:  03:01:49

Hi All
I normally store my banjos in the middle floor of my 3 floor stone terraced house, kept away from the windows and radiators.
I have a lesson today by skype an have got everything moved into the atic ie music stand, laptop, and banjo. All ready for when I get back home.
Now I am at work I have had a thought that it gets hot up in the atic, yesterday it was up to 28oC, luckily there is no widow direclty from the sunlight.
The temp outside has dropped luckily from 28oC yesterday outside to 11oC today.
It will still be 23/24oC up there in the atic today.
The banjo will only be up there for 5 hrs in total. I get home at 2.30pm
Do you think any harm will come to it?
Cheers
Richard

BANJOKAZ - Posted - 05/25/2010:  04:36:06

Hi Richard,
in Larry Sandbergs "Complete Banjo Repair" he states that..."On joints under pressure,hide and resin glues may begin to creep at temperatures as low as 110 o c , although the "official" loosening points are about 50 degrees higher."
Hope this been of some help to you Richard.
Let us all know how your Skype lesson goes.
Cheers John

BANJOKAZ - Posted - 05/25/2010:  04:39:49

Richard,
that should have read 110 degrees farenheit!!!!!!
John

beegee - Posted - 05/25/2010:  06:01:13

If the calculator is right, 23-24 C= 75-76 F? I don't think that is any cause for concern. I have stored banjos inside cars for several hours in the summer in the South and never had a problem.

Polle Flaunoe - Posted - 05/25/2010:  06:12:42

Richard,

Don´t worry!

Temperature changes in Europe will normally not be a problem - as long as you keep them out of the sun and never forget them in a car parked outdoors during winter time.

Severe humidity changes can cause problems - but we do normally not have these in our part of the world.

Good Luck with your lesson.

Polle

RUBY2 - Posted - 05/25/2010:  06:31:44

Thanks for that everyone.
I wasn't sure of the temperature range that was safe to keep it in so thanks for that.
Put my mind at rest.
I will let you all know how I get on with my lesson.
Cheers
Richard

3fingers - Posted - 05/25/2010:  07:21:31

For leaving any of my instruments in cars I use the general rule of thumb "If its to hot to leave your kids in the car then its to hot for banjo, guitar, mandolin etc
Extreme cold isnt good either because theres a lot of movement when it warms back up, especially from a real cold vehicle to a nice warm hall or church.

Craig

BANJOKAZ - Posted - 05/25/2010:  08:18:29

I travelled to Perthshire in Scotland in February and my banjo must have taken a day or two to settle down after travelling on warm trains and waiting on cold station platforms for connections. Best left in the case !

BANJOKAZ - Posted - 05/25/2010:  08:18:36

I travelled to Perthshire in Scotland in February and my banjo must have taken a day or two to settle down after travelling on warm trains and waiting on cold station platforms for connections. Best left in the case !

tomberghan - Posted - 05/26/2010:  07:50:18

Hi Richard,
I fly a LOT on business. I fly to Europe every month from the West-Coast-United-States and I fly to the East-Coast-United-States every month as well. I always travel with a banjo. (Yes, I have a very heavy duty fiberglass case)

As for temperature I have no new advice to add from what others have already said . . . but as for humidity, here is a trick that works well for me.

A banjo can deal with somewhat high humidity or somewhat low humidity as long as that is their normal environment everyday (I don't mean extremes such as the desert in Death Valley). But one thing they do not like is drastic changes in humidity . . . banjos like a constant humidity.

So, it is easiest to keep the banjo from getting too dry. To acheive this I use a "Dampit." You can use one or several as they are very inexpensive. ($8.50) You can buy them at any shop that sells violins or you can even buy them online . . . even Amazon.

The application s simple, you keep them in the case with the banjo and/or fix it to the inside of the pot if possible.



For my open back banjos I attach one like this: (click on link)
banjohangout.org/myhangout/pho...albumid=0

RUBY2 - Posted - 05/26/2010:  08:17:26

Hi Tom

Thanks for that. I like the damp it. A top idea!

It seems by the looks of things that my banjos, being at the moment played just at home are getting a lot less grief than a lot of others like yourself that travel with them etc.

I may get a hygrometeter just to see what my 2nd floor humidity is at so I can keep a bit of an eye on it and get a damp it gizmo if I need to. But I think I am generally worrying to much. I suppose it's better safe than sorry though.

Thanks

Richard

Richard

tomberghan - Posted - 05/27/2010:  06:57:23

>>>But I think I am generally worrying to much.<<<

Hi Richard,
Yes, I agree. I have worked quite a lot in Coventry (to the south of Leeds), and quite a lot in Motherwell (near Edinburgh to the north) and I have never known the humidity to get dangerously dry. And, although it does rain quite a lot the humidity is never so great that it is a danger for your banjos. When we speak of dangerously high humidity we are generally talking about the tropics or sub-tropics . . . but Leeds is NOTHING like that!

So, you live in a VERY friendly environment as far as banjos are concerned. It is never so dry that wood will start cracking (at least not for 300 years) and never so humid that the glue joints will start coming undone.

As for Leeds, I wouldn't even worry about it! Seriously . . . I would not even give it another thought. But if you move to Egypt or Indonesia (for instance) then I would get a hygrometeter and take prevention measures.

If you get a Dampit . . . you will only need it during really cold winter days. When it freezes the air gets very dry of course.

Because I fly so much, I use a Dampit often because at 35,000 feet the air is totally dry. My case is air tight and the Dampit puts just the right amount of humidity inside the case.

My home (when I am there) is Seattle . . . which is basically the same as Leeds!
Cheers my friend!
Best Wishes,
Tom

RUBY2 - Posted - 05/27/2010:  07:07:52

Hi Tom
Thanks for putting the time and effort into that post.
It was very interesting.
Cheers
Richard