Television storage and cold temperatures

Red-Rover wrote:
Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies. The idea that destruction is caused by powering up when cold makes me realize what has been happening. Last autumn the grandchildren camped with us and set the alarm feature on the TV to turn on in the middle of the night then turn off after an hour or so. With the trailer parked in a remote shed all winter, plugged into a 30 amp service, it would have powered up every night for the entire winter with no one to witness. I discovered the alarm function being on during our first night out this season but just didn't think through the consequences.
You folks are a great source of practical knowledge -- thank you.

Frankly, I rather doubt that had anything to do with it.

Condensation happens when the television (or whatever) is cooler than the dew point of the surrounding air. If the TV is cold and the environment is cold when it is turned on, the heat will prevent any condensation that might possibly form from forming. The only concern--and I personally think it's generally overblown, but it is still somewhat of a valid concern--is powering electronics on when the device is cold but the surrounding air is warmer (and not bone dry).

I would guess the television just happened to fail, as electronic devices sometimes do, particularly those made to be as inexpensive as possible. My uncle has a television that had a partial backlight failure after sitting in and being used in his living room for a few years, no cold temperatures being involved; it's just a consumer good that breaks down, like anything else.

Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies. The idea that destruction is caused by powering up when cold makes me realize what has been happening. Last autumn the grandchildren camped with us and set the alarm feature on the TV to turn on in the middle of the night then turn off after an hour or so. With the trailer parked in a remote shed all winter, plugged into a 30 amp service, it would have powered up every night for the entire winter with no one to witness. I discovered the alarm function being on during our first night out this season but just didn't think through the consequences.
You folks are a great source of practical knowledge -- thank you.

yep, they get shipped in unheated trucks to places where it cold enough that mercury freezes! All that's required is to ensure the tv gets to room temperature well before its plugged in and powered up. As noted the worry is condensation being present when power is applied...

wa8yxm wrote:
SNIP

THink about this for a minute... Say the TV is being shipped to. oh. say Iron Mountain MI (WAY UP NORTH) or even farther north (Canada).. it sits for days in a way below zero semi trailer not heated.. Bouncing down the road in a cold semi trailer.

Another SNIP

My DW wanted to bring the tv from our first 5er inside the first winter we had it. I brought up this exact point, and I haven't had to unmount a tv yet.

Cold temp's do not bother it unless you turn it ON in cold temps or take it from say -20 to 80 degrees (and yes it need not be that big a change)

THink about this for a minute... Say the TV is being shipped to. oh. say Iron Mountain MI (WAY UP NORTH) or even farther north (Canada).. it sits for days in a way below zero semi trailer not heated.. Bouncing down the road in a cold semi trailer.

I swapped one of my CRT's for a LCD almost on day one. Wintered two years in Detroit. (or was it 3) no problems lasted many years. I finally replaced it oh about 8-9 years later when it went bonkers (never that cold again) New ones do not get that cold cause I'm full timing,and as the song says "I'll follow the sun".

Red-Rover wrote:
I am about to replace my 4 year old factory provided Legend television and am seeking a brand that will tolerate cold temperatures during storage. My present Legend has suffered what appears to be delamination. The display has a kind of shadow in different parts of the screen.
My RV is stored inside an unheated shed and a temperature of -21 degrees Fahrenheit was experienced last winter.
Years ago when LCD first became popular I read of some RV'ers removing their TV to indoor warm storage in the winter months but am thinking some brand must have engineered a fix by now?

Most will list the low operating temperature and the low storage temperature in the specifications.

Choose the tv you like, then check the specifications.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Be cautious about bringing something frozen -20F indoors.

Condensation can form on circuit boards and if there is dust that's all that's needed between IC pins to prompt a failure.

I don't use our TV for about a day. Let it warm up slowly with the camper. Taken it out of hibernation from -30C(COLD!) to 20C/70F. Never an issue and the set is a Best Buy house brand unit that is over 8 YO.

Be cautious about bringing something frozen -20F indoors.

Condensation can form on circuit boards and if there is dust that's all that's needed between IC pins to prompt a failure.

The shadow effect sounds to me more likely to be a backlight failure or at least aging/breakdown than an LCD problem.

LCDs can withstand very cold temperatures without damage. Car radio displays, GPS displays, and car dashboard displays are very often LCDs and generally stay out in whatever cold happens to be there, year after year, and don't die from those effects. A TV set is not really any different technology.

We have a 32" Visio flat screen that has been in the trailer for 5 years without any issues. We store the trailer outside without any cover and temps. here can go well below 0. I believe that most name brand televisions would give the same results.