computers & cold temps

[butterfly]

<p><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Do I need to protect my little netbook from getting too cold in an unheated van when temps get into the 20's &amp; poss. teens?</font></p>

 

[blars]

I would not expect any problems until much colder temperatures.&nbsp; <br>

 

[gadgetMe]

I carry mine in the Suburban in the dead of winter to below zero temps and have had no bad effects.<br>Technically, I think the colder electronics get the more efficient they are, excessive heat is more of a danger than cold<br><br>Putz<br><br>

 

[karl]

My laptop lives in one or other of my vehicles year 'round - no problems in 4 years with lows below 0 F.<br>I may heed Spark's advice now though.....<br><br>

 

[butterfly]

<p style="margin: 0px;"><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks for the precaution Sparky...good to be aware of the need to warm before re-charging...</font></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font size="3" face="Tahoma">Also good to know what your experience has been Pondputz/Karl....</font></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><font size="3" face="Tahoma">Thanks so much!!</font></p>

 

[Guest]

The electronics themselves won't be affected by cold, not directly at least. The monitor may have issues if it gets cold enough, and as said, the battery should be above freezing before charging.<div><br></div><div>The real issue, is how it warms back up. It should be done as slowly as possible to keep condensation to a minimum, and you should let it sit for a little while before turning it on, to let what does build up to evaporate off.</div>

 

[VanTrekker]

I've got a little Toshiba netbook NB255.&nbsp; It's been used all winter at very cold temps with no problems whatsoever.&nbsp; It's been started regularly from temps in the teens and worked fine.<br><br>There was some discussion in the past that a liquid crystal display had liquid that would freeze and break the screen but that's pretty well been debunked.&nbsp; You can still break a monitor if the frame holding the LCD warms up rapidly and distorts - sort of like twisting it.<br><br>I guess to answer your question, I would say "no", you don't need to protect it down to around zero.&nbsp; Much below that and I would be tempted to try to keep it wrapped in blankets.<br><br>

 

[ToyotaEscaper]

<p><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Do I need to protect my little netbook from getting too cold in an unheated van when temps get into the 20's &amp; poss. teens?</font></p>

I've done that all the time. Cool hardware runs better. I used to have a desktop gaming rig that was cooled by liquid nitrogen. 40 below Celsius and I overclocked it to 3 times the default frequency.

Anyways being a nerd aside the hardware would keep itself warm decently that low the only issue might be battery life unplugged. Get a zippo handwarmer to put in the case with it if u dont want it too cold.

 

[kyonu]

Cold = no problems. What you should really worry about is humidity. That's what damages most laptops when people think its the cold.

 

[ToyotaEscaper]

Cold = no problems. What you should really worry about is humidity. That's what damages most laptops when people think its the cold.

oh yeah all that condensation getting in there.

 

[Van-Tramp]

These modern laptop batteries will not do well at cold temps. You will not be hurting them, but they will have very limited life while below freezing. The lower the temps go the less life each charge will give you. My lap top will not even power up below 20 degrees. The battery simply can not deliver enough power at that temp

 

[blars]

Other failure possibilities are grease in disk drives and fan motors seazing, and differential expansion/contraction when going from one temperature to another, espessially quickly. Condinsation is the main killer with a cold computer going to a warmer moist enviornment.

 

[compassrose]

Do what my daughter does.... She sticks her computer (turned off) under her pillow while she sleeps.

 

[GrantRobertson]

As has been stated previously, humidity is the biggest problem.

Here are some things you can do to avoid those problems:

A) Keep your laptop sealed in an air-tight bag when it is, or is going to get, cold.

Do not open up the bag until the laptop has warmed up to close to room temperature. If the room is only 40 degrees F that is OK because everything else in the room would have already condensed whatever excess humidity out of the air already. (Not ALL the humidity, mind you. Just down to a point where the laptop would not get condensation in and on it.) Even then, don't open the bag until you are getting ready to turn the thing on.

I know, it is hard to charge a laptop in a sealed bag without some ingenuity.

B) Keep your laptop, and other electronics in a small cooler. (No ice or food or anything. Just a dry cooler with your electronics and maybe some padding in it.)

This will keep them from getting nearly as cold or hot as their surroundings. A lot of photographers keep their equipment in coolers to protect them from the heat in the trunk or just the freezing cold. In the winter, if you put your laptop in the cooler just after you turn it off then the residual heat will keep it relatively warm for some time. (DO NOT leave it on in there!) This will at least keep it warm enough to prevent condensation. You can even carve a little notch in the edge of the cooler for the charging cable. Again, don't pull it out until you plan to turn it on.


Of course, if your van or RV living space is well insulated and it never really gets down below about 40 or over 100 in there, then you are probably fine without doing anything.

 

[Matt71]

Your computer will have a minimum and maximum operating temperature. If you don't have your manual that came with your computer, you should be able to look it up online. Altitude is also an issue. I recently looked up the operating specs of a 17" MacBook Pro. they are

Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -13° to 113° F (-24° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 0% to 90% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet
Maximum storage altitude: 15,000 feet
Maximum shipping altitude: 35,000 feet

I'm sure there's some wiggle room in there.

 

[ccbreder]

People have been carrying portable computers in and out from cold to hot and dry to wet from when they were first available. I have never heard of any one having a problem.

 

[LeeRevell]

Fifty degrees is a rather high 'low' limit.  :-/

 

[Matt71]

I thought 50 degrees was rather high too, but I got that straight off the Apple web site. Like I said, I'm sure there's wiggle room.