can i safely store balsa kits in my garage attic? it does get hot here in missouri in the summer and sometimes dry. right now theyre in my basement which is cool and somewhat humid year around but i need the space. thanks

wood would be ok but any plastic or decals would probably get brittle or yellow just hope you don't develop a leaky roof where they are stored

Aerowoof is exactly right. I store mine in the attic here in Texas with no problem, but you'll need to mice proof them somehow. Mice love cardboard boxes and balsa wood. I just set traps around and check them frequently.

Paul

I am surprised I am the first to post this..but it has to be done....

Flyhi, neither of those storage ideas will work ! send those kits over here ! ha ha

Its just good to hear there is a secret kit builder area out there somewhere !

I've seen more than one kit damaged from storage in a humid basement. Usually just mold and warped wood but damage nonetheless. If you have decent ventilation in the attic it will help circulation and keep things from getting super-hot during summer. The house I'm in now had a sealed attic that got up to 140 f during summer. With ridge-vent its only 110!.

IMHO, the largest single threat to storing kits in the attic is neglect due to the incovenience of frequent inspection. Your main enemies in attic storage are: excessive heat damage,rodent damage (mice, squirrels, etc.),termite damage and,of course, unsuspected moisture damage from unobserved water leaks.If you set up a routine inspection schedule and adhere to it faithfully you can minimize all of the above risks. By all means remove any volatile chemicals from the contents of the kits before storage (paints, thinners,glues). Bear in mind that an unventilated attic frequently reaches temperatures in the 160 degree fahrenheit range and can often melt plastic (canopies, clevises,etc.). Do not succumb to the " out of sight, out of mind " syndrome. Each and every kit that you have is valuable and deserves the best attention that your time and capabilities will allow. Attic fans are an excellent investment to your home should that be economically feasible. Gary

This has been asked before, but it's a good question to remember. I went to a woodworking site and asked about wood storage. The answer I got was that heat and cold won't cause any problems, but moisture (either water or humidity) will. I'd reccomend placing the whole box in a heavy plastic bag, such as one of those 4-5 mil leaf bags, wrap it tight and tape it well. Maybe throw a moth ball or two into the bag (outside the box) to ward off bugs and mice.

I'm going to be the "POO" here and say that I wouldn't want to store any of my 20 kits in the attic unless it's one of those kind that has a ready set of stairs that you can climb frequently and stand up type headroom. Too much can go wrong. When I lived in Alabama I didn't have storage space in our home for models..no basement and a shallow attic space. I elected to use a 10' X 14' storage shed that I ran wiring to for lights/outlets and air conditioning. Used a dehumidifier when needed and had a kerosene heater to use when the weather got cool. This setup worked great and I got a neat work area to use as a bonus with windows and lots of shelves. Might be a solution to your storage problem.

Soft landings.

I had the same problem as well with storage-I started building and quit buying every time I saw a nice kit that I would say"I am going to build that someday". Well guess what-the older I get the busier I get with Grandkids and I do not find myself making it a priority to build. Hell, I am lucky to get to the flying field once or twice a week. My advice to myself would be quit buying and start building and fly even more-those nice kits will be here for a while, there are alot of people like me that continues to sell his stash off or dies and some other poor sap that is infected with this fever buys these kits with the idea that one day, some day or who knows when will build the kit. I have several kits that I am keeping but I notice one kit in particular has had three address labels on the kit box and it has never been started. Oh well, more information than you wanted but I feel better and hope you do to.

You know you've purchased a bit too many kits, plans and such and are getting up there in age when the wife says to you, "...you really should decide what you want me to do with all your model stuff when..."

Yikes!![X(] []

Soft landings.

Thanks for all the info and comments, very well received by me. I have a one car garage and there is room on the back house wall of the garage side for some shelves and that's where I will do the storage. the actual garage room has to vents, not turbines, just vents, one on each slope side of the roof if you can imagine. and i'm not quite to the stage stopping buyin gkits, still at the gonna buy that and build it someday stage. lol can't resist a neat kit.

Wrap the boxes in shrink wrap and keep the rodents away. The shrink wrap keeps the weather out and reduces changes in wood moisture levels.

I like to use the plastic storage boxes that are designed to slide under a bed. I remove the kit from it's original box and store it in the container and use packing tape to seal the lid. This'll keep insects, moisture and critters out better than a cardboard box. The only drawbacks are, cost (but far cheaper than a destroyed kit), and, if you ever intend on re-selling, the loss of the original box. There are some kits where you can fit the entire box in the container, but not the larger ones.

Scott

I posted this question quite a while ago and got some good answers as well,what I ended up doing was to set aside a section of my garage that is fairly even in temp. and not in direct sunlight,its a bit of a hassle but I do a inspection of the boxes a couple times a year to make sure there is no rodent or bug dammage.
not alot of squirles in my neiborhood but mice and those little silverfish buggs are all over the place,they like paper moth balls seem to take care of them,and the offending rodent is usually on the harsh end of a penut butter baited snap trap[X(]