cold TV's?

[96Tony]

A friend had to replace the TV in his 2-year old fifth wheel, and the dealer told him it was because he left the TV in the RV while winter storing it.

Admittedly, he lives in Marquette, MI, but now I'm wondering if I need to bring mine indoors for the winter (the TV, not the RV!).

[Sam_Spade]

proxim2020 wrote:
Lots are made to take cold temperatures while lots are not.

Posts in this thread have supplied a LOT of evidence supporting the "not a problem" side of the discussion; excerpts from manuals as well as transportation and storage procedures common across the industry.

Can you provide ANY evidence supporting your claim of "lots are not" ?
I seriously doubt it.

Good advice though to check out the one you own......or are about to.....if you have a serious concern. With the price of small TVs these days so low it probably isn't worth the time to do that.

P.S. And your "numerous manufacturers" really is something much smaller than you might think. Something like 6 companies make about 80 percent of ALL the small electronics on the market these days.

[Community Alumni]

There's lots of comments to the effect of, "Well I've left my TV out in the cold and I have never had a problem with it." There's a ton of different TVs out there, made by numerous of manufacturers, and they're all built differently. CRT, LCD, Plasma, LED, even some OLED. Lots are made to take cold temperatures while lots are not. So unless someone has the exact same model as the OP or their friend, then person experiences are immaterial. The best thing you can do is find out the specs for your specific TV and determine if it's safe to leave in the trailer or not.

[Sam_Spade]

tdiller wrote:
if everything else is cold and this power supply gets warm this can cause condensation.

let your tv come warm up with the camper then turn it on.

The last part is good advice BUT you should not try to speed the warming process by opening the trailer up and letting in warm, damp outside air.

If you want to see a condensation demonstration and you live in the north country, just throw your garage door WIDE OPEN on the first day of Indian summer or of spring where the temperature is in the 60's or more. You will almost instantly have a thick accumulation of water ON EVERYTHING IN THE GARAGE where it looks like it has been raining inside. Warm air on relatively cold objects. (Of course this won't work if your garage is heated to 60 or above.)


You have the first part a bit backwards. Condensation occurs when warm air hits a cold object.....or when warm air is chilled suddenly.

Objects typically do NOT collect condensation when they are heating up from an internal heat source.

[danimal53]

i have a 10 year old LCD TV in my unheated garage (Chicago area). It's the same TV we put in the TT when we go on trips. It has never had an issue with being stored cold or even turned on in the cold. I use the TV while it's in the garage, sometimes in the winter.

[MNGeeks61]

proxim2020 wrote:
There's the operating temperature range, but there's also a storage temperature range. Check with the manufacturer for the storage temperature range. Some manufacturers storage temperature ranges aren't anywhere close to 0 degrees, something you would expect. Storing the TV in temperatures colder than the storage range can result in permanent damage. Don't run a cold TV. You run the risk of condensation forming and causing a short if you run it before it has acclimated.

x2. Our Minnesota room is unheated in the winter but well insulated. We always allow the TV time to warm up. And checked our Samsung's storage temperature before buying. Sometimes it's not the electronics but the liquid crystals themselves in very cold temps...

[beemerphile1]

96Tony wrote:

...the dealer told him it was because he left the TV in the RV while winter storing it....

BS!

[Community Alumni]

There's the operating temperature range, but there's also a storage temperature range. Check with the manufacturer for the storage temperature range. Some manufacturers storage temperature ranges aren't anywhere close to 0 degrees, something you would expect. Storing the TV in temperatures colder than the storage range can result in permanent damage. Don't run a cold TV. You run the risk of condensation forming and causing a short if you run it before it has acclimated.

[bobndot]

2oldman wrote:

bobndot wrote:

Inside a well heated garage, all you have to do is open the windows and door, no need to run the furnace.

That is a very nice setup. I'll have to keep that in mind when searching for another house. I really like that.

Make the 2nd bay into a great room for livability. You can really make it nice due to the tall ceiling with lots of large windows.

BTW, its ok to leave a flat screen in the unheated great room , just fire up the gas fireplace till things warm up before you use it. just in case . 🙂

[tdiller]

Electronic devices can handle the cold. Problem is when we turn them on. If they have been in the cold and are turned on without coming up to room temp the heat from the electronics can cause condensation. This is what will ruin things. I once had a laptop that I would leave in my car overnight. it had some sort of sensor and would warn me that conditions were such that it would have condensation issues. It would not boot until things inside warmed up. If the tv is cold the first thing that warms up is the power supply. Most new tvs do not work on 120 they convert it to a lesser dc voltage for electronics. This conversion causes heat. if everything else is cold and this power supply gets warm this can cause condensation.

let your tv come warm up with the camper then turn it on.

[Chuck_thehammer]

do truckers run heaters in the truck/trailers during winter in Alaska?
do warehouses run heaters in winter.. in Canada?

look at TV paperwork.. it should show temperature limits it will withstand.

most 30 below zero.. and 120 above.. "F"..

salesman, trying to get off the Hook. or very limited knowledge .

[Sam_Spade]

96Tony wrote:
the dealer told him it was because he left the TV in the RV while winter storing it.

TOTAL BS. He needs to find a different dealer.

This is assuming that he did not try to operate it at -40 F and actually let it warm up first.

[old_guy]

do you think dealers bring in all the tv's from their TT's during the winter. I have yet to see one do it.

[2oldman]

bobndot wrote:

Inside a well heated garage, all you have to do is open the windows and door, no need to run the furnace.

That is a very nice setup. I'll have to keep that in mind when searching for another house. I really like that.

[bobndot]

96Tony wrote:
A friend had to replace the TV in his 2-year old fifth wheel, and the dealer told him it was because he left the TV in the RV while winter storing it.

Admittedly, he lives in Marquette, MI, but now I'm wondering if I need to bring mine indoors for the winter (the TV, not the RV!).

Park it indoors and use it. Camp in it . :B

I was joking posting this pic but then got to think that a few people have bought property and built garages for storage where we ride our snow machines. A few have parked RV's inside heated garages with full hookups.
Inside a well heated garage, all you have to do is open the windows and door, no need to run the furnace. Not a bad idea when cabin rentals are in excess of $300 / night.