Author Topic: Winter storage?  (Read 9815 times)

Offline 3Deep

  • !!!
  • Ludicrous Speed Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 5330
Winter storage?
« on: November 30, 2023, 09:34:52 AM »
Hey got a question here, it's starting to get cold down here in the south and my emulsion and white inks are taking a beating, I have most of my inks are on the shelf but some gal on the the floor which is concrete.  What are you cats up north doing to keep your inks and emulsion at a good temp during these winter months, I wish I had just a room to store my inks and emulsion but the shop just ain't big enough for that.
Life is like Kool-Aid, gotta add sugar/hardwork to make it sweet!!


Offline Homer

  • !!!
  • Gonzo Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 3208
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2023, 09:57:31 AM »
we have a heated ink room, One Stroke inks. Perfect combo for cold weather. Now..... if we can only teach our new UPS guy to NOT open the bay door until he's ready to unload his truck, I'd be all set. Nothing like watching him search for a box "It'S oN hErE sOmeWhere" and ALLLL My heat goes out the door... ::)
...keep doing what you're doing, you'll only get what you've got...

Online bimmridder

  • Gonzo Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1886
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2023, 10:02:34 AM »
I love it when they pick up and leave the dock door open when they leave. I may not even notice for a half hour or more depending on where in the building I am. Not good when it's below zero. (not that cold...Yet)
Barth Gimble

Printing  (not well) for 35 years. Strong in licensed sports apparel. Plastisol printer. Located in Cedar Rapids, IA

Offline whitewater

  • !!!
  • Gonzo Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1830
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2023, 11:08:28 AM »
I tell them to leave them right outside our garage door. Then when truck unloaded, we open the door and bring them in quick and close.

For our inks, they are in the shop and I have some shelves from Home Depot that they sit on. Ill attach a pic

Online farmboygraphics

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 621
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2023, 11:27:53 AM »
Heated room here too. Do you have room for a small cabinet, just big enough for your go to inks?
Or build a box that you can hang off a wall or the ceiling and heat it with a small electric heater.
Get yourself something like an Inkbird controller to plug it into for temp control.
Tees and Coffee

Offline 3Deep

  • !!!
  • Ludicrous Speed Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 5330
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2023, 02:39:31 PM »
Some bigger shelves might not be a bad idea to get some of gallons of inks off the floor, and a heated box also sounds like a good idea, these morning the white inks where stiff as all get out.
Life is like Kool-Aid, gotta add sugar/hardwork to make it sweet!!

Offline tonypep

  • Ludicrous Speed Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 5683
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2023, 05:30:13 AM »
My friends at Kerusso in Arkansas use restaurant heat lamps to warm up the white inks pre production and keep them warm throughout harsh winter days (not overnight!)

Online farmboygraphics

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 621
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2023, 06:30:45 AM »
My friends at Kerusso in Arkansas use restaurant heat lamps to warm up the white inks pre production and keep them warm throughout harsh winter days (not overnight!)

Food related items to avoid...Crockpots.
Seemed like a good idea if I used the warm setting. Not so much, cured about an inch worth of ink all the way around the inside.
Yeah, I dumped a gallon of white right in. Doing a water bath might have been the better move.
Tees and Coffee

Offline whitewater

  • !!!
  • Gonzo Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1830
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2023, 12:19:52 PM »
It's at 50 degrees all night back there. We use one stroke, no one has complained about it being too stiff or hard to use. Maybe just keeping off the floor is all ya need.

Offline 3Deep

  • !!!
  • Ludicrous Speed Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 5330
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2023, 01:02:11 PM »
It's at 50 degrees all night back there. We use one stroke, no one has complained about it being too stiff or hard to use. Maybe just keeping off the floor is all ya need.

You could be right, but I do need to more shelf space or throw out some old inks LOL
Life is like Kool-Aid, gotta add sugar/hardwork to make it sweet!!

Online bimmridder

  • Gonzo Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1886
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2023, 02:40:17 PM »
I'm really not trying to be a smart ass here. What is the cost of turning up (programming) the thermostat enough to make a difference? Compared to the time you have to eff around getting things going and making money?
Barth Gimble

Printing  (not well) for 35 years. Strong in licensed sports apparel. Plastisol printer. Located in Cedar Rapids, IA

Offline Orion

  • !!!
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 764
  • Ain't no shortcuts in screen printing.
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2023, 02:50:55 PM »
A shallow water tank with a livestock deicer in it should work. I believe that info has posted on this site in the past.
Dale Hoyal

Offline 3Deep

  • !!!
  • Ludicrous Speed Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 5330
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2023, 03:36:20 PM »
I'm really not trying to be a smart ass here. What is the cost of turning up (programming) the thermostat enough to make a difference? Compared to the time you have to eff around getting things going and making money?

Well for one I would have to heat up the whole building since we have one unit that heats and cool the whole place, I'd rather keep one smaller place warm than the whole building.
Life is like Kool-Aid, gotta add sugar/hardwork to make it sweet!!

Online bimmridder

  • Gonzo Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 1886
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2023, 04:59:06 PM »
I understand. I guess a lot of ways to skin a cat.
Barth Gimble

Printing  (not well) for 35 years. Strong in licensed sports apparel. Plastisol printer. Located in Cedar Rapids, IA

Offline Sbrem

  • Ludicrous Speed Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 6055
Re: Winter storage?
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2023, 11:01:13 AM »
20 miles west of Boston, so we see some cold, usually not too extreme. We keep the inks on shelves, and if there is an occasional issue, a few minutes on top a dryer takes care of that. Don't lose track of time, but then again the tops of dryers don't reach curing temps.

Steve
I made a mistake once; I thought I was wrong about something; I wasn't