Winter glider storage?

[soartech]

Anyone have thoughts on would would be a good way to store a glider
trailer outdoors in winter? Remove the battery or keep it on trickle
charge? How about covering the trailer with a large tarp? Leaving a
small electric heater on low (500 Watts) to keep it slightly warmer
and drier?

[Mike the Strike]

Drive it down to Arizona and keep flying in winter! Guaranteed warmer
and dryer than Chicago.

Seriously, I would remove batteries and keep them in a warm dry
environment. Not sure if the tarp wouldn't trap more moisture than it
would keep out. Years ago, I had to keep electronics dry in a small
(4'x4'x4') metal enclosure in a very cold wet environment and found
that using two 60-watt light bulbs in series worked quite well. 500
watts sounds a bit high. There are a number of heating products now
that might work, including heating tape.

Mike

[Tim Mara]

the tarp is a really bad idea.Mold loves cold and damp!
tim

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[Brad]

Where are you located?

Here in the Pac NW at the very least put a bunch of Dri-Z-Air pots in
the trailer, make sure you monitor them, and that is still no
guarantee that your paint won't blister. At the very best store the
trailer indoors with a small fan and a boat heater.

There is no electricity available where I keep my trailer, I've had
lot's of bubble problems with my finish, which is Prestec.

Brad

[Rodger R]

I have used a room dehumidifier to dry out my trailer. Pulls a few hundred watts and only runs when needed. I live near the ocean and get condensation when I open the trailer to work on the glider. Once dry it stays dry for quite a while. I don't know about leaving it on unattended. Anything that draws hundreds of watts has the potential to burn stuff up. Some models are prone to icing up at low temperatures.

[soartech]

My reasoning for using an electric heater is that if I can keep the
inside temperature at least a few degrees
above the outside temperature then it will always stay dry because the
dew point can never be reached.
I think the tarp can only help keep the moisture out and the heat in.

Mike, thanks for the data point on the small enclosure and 30 Watts of
heat. Based on trailer volume I would
think that 500 Watts would be about right.
4x4x4 = 64 / 30 W. = 2.1 Watts per cu. ft
32 x 5 x 5 = 800 / 500 = 1.6 Watts per cu. ft.

[Eric Greenwell]

There is no need to remove the battery. As long as it's fully charged at
the beginning of storage, it will lose only 1% - 2% of it's charge per
month during cold weather, meaning 40 deg F or less.

I don't think a tarp will help any, but just having it under a roof of
some sort, like a car port, will keep it from cooling less than in the open.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

[Andy]

A dehumidifier works for me - maintains humidity in the mid-20's and
keeps corrosion way down. Of course, I don't have to deal with
freezing temperatures.

http://tinyurl.com/7ykc5qp

9B

[n5...@comcast.net]

I've wintered my glider outside in the PNW, but it is NOT preferred. Of course, it is best to put your trailer under a carport or, if possible, in a garage (which is where I store mine now and would never go back outside).

Gently heating the inside of the trailer is a essential. Be careful with all heat sources. Electric heaters should have auto off in case they tip over for some reason. They should have some type of insulation from direct contact with the trailer (bricks work nice). Light bulbs have been known to cause fires, so I would avoid them. My preference is a chick incubator available at your local rural hardware store. It is low voltage and usually insulated.

Air flow is essential. Don't plug up the vent sources.

Dri-z-aire needs regular attendance. Follow the instructions provided.

Good luck.

[John Cochrane]

If it's going to freeze, an unattended dehumidifier isn't a great
idea. Alas.
Inside, heated, dry storage is best of course.
Most hangars are not well sealed, and your solar dryer doesn't work
anymore. I picked up a lot of corrosion over a winter from a glider in
our club hangar.
Hangars also have a really cold slab of concrete under them. When
spring comes, this means everything is cold and dripping wet inside
the hangar. worse than outside, where the morning condensation will at
least eventually dry out.
Small heaters are a great idea. I got a "air dryer" from iboats.com
(run by Bruno Vassel, glider pilot). It's 100 watts, designed to be
left alone, and won't bust like a light bulb. Over several winters
this has helped condensation a lot.
The daily condensation and hopefully drying out is a big problem for
glider storage alas.

John Cochrane

[johngalloway]

On Nov 13, 10:05 pm, John Cochrane <john.cochr...@chicagobooth.edu>
wrote:

Unlike the older condensation type an adsorption dehumidifier doesn't
have any problems in sub-zero temperatures. They are less efficient
at low temperatures but there is no internal icing as they keep warm
inside because of the the little internal heater that dries out the
silicone disc. If the dehumidifier is running before the temperature
drops too much and if the trailer is sealed, and all ventilation
switched off to minimize new air entry, then the inside of the trailer
and the glider stay feeing bone dry with the automatic control set for
60% humidity. A side effect of the way they work is that the air they
pump out is warmed and it is noticeable that the temperature inside my
even my uninsulated metal trailer is a few degrees warmer than
outdoors. I have left one in my trailer over the Scottish winter for
several years without any problems - even last winter when we were
under snow for many weeks on end.

John Galloway