Winter storage
 

I live around Chicago and we get fairly big temperature swings over the winter. I keep all my planes in the garage (attached). I have my batteries in the planes and they are set to charge for one hour a day with a timer and the wall wort chargers.

I put after run oil in all the engines, but I am worried about the temperature fluctuations and the monokote. I'd rather not bring them inside, but if I have to I will.

Any thoughts here...And please don't tell me to move somewhere warmer, I know that one already ;)

Paul

RE: Winter storage
 

You should not have any problems, jsut go fly them and worry about it. I suppose that if you have a really expensive plane with very detailed covering then you may want to bring it inside.

RE: Winter storage
 

Here in northern Iowa we get alot of snow and very cold trmp, and I store my planes in my heated shop. I keep my Tx and Rx batteries stored seperately from the plane and keep them always on a charger. I cycle the batteries once a month. The planes engines are winterized every fall with after run oil (both glow and gas).
I've heard of people useing plastic ceran wrap andwraping there planes in it to keep the moisture out and keeps the covering from wricleing and looking like an old prune. I havent resorted to this and just use a heat gun in the Spring time. all has worked well for the past 16 yrs. for me.
In the Spring I check all the glue joint I can including the hinge joints, and run at least one tank of freash fuel through the engine before flying.
NEDYOB

RE: Winter storage
 

I'm in Minnesota and store my planes in an attached garage like you.

No problem

Except, sometimes if the MonoKote gets very cold, it can crack if you bump into it with something hard like a car door (Guess how I found that out)

RE: Winter storage
 

Cool (pun intended) thanks. My planes are all out of the reach of any bumping implements.

RE: Winter storage
 

Take the wheels off and replace them with skiis. Fly that way until spring and the snow is gone, then put the wheels back on and go fly some more.
Keeping your batteries on the wall warts for an hour a day is what I do and it works well to keep them fully charged. I think your monocote will be fine even in a cold garage.
Happy flying,
Paul

RE: Winter storage
 

I do not have access to power where they are stored...any concerns with pulling them down every 2 months and re-charging that once (versus daily 1 hour routine)?

RE: Winter storage
 

That's what I do

RE: Winter storage
 

I keep mine in the garage. I do not even charge my batteries. When summer hits I charge them up test them out and fly. I have been flying on same battery for about 4 years not and have not had any problems . I do want a battery cycler but I keep putting it off. With the engine I just run the gas out and that is it. So far I have not had any problems.