Can I store liquor in a warm area?

[pete6032]

My sun porch is not really air conditioned and it can get up into the 90s and very sunny in there during the day. Is it OK to store liquors such vodka, gin, whiskey, and rum in this room or will the exposure to warm temperature and excessive sunlight spoil their taste?

EDIT - I also have the same question about putting a flatscreen TV in this area. Would exposure to sunlight and high temps be bad?

 

[mmntech]

You not have anywhere else in your house to store your booze? Distilled liquors will probably be fine but you can't store beer, wine, or liqueurs in those conditions.

I wouldn't stick a TV in direct sunlight either.

 

[Smoblikat]

If the bottles are unopened its 100% fine, if they are opened, just make sure the cap is on them and you will be fine too. I wouldnt expose them to direct sunlight obviously, but if they are in a box in the heat theyre perfectly OK. Beer and maybe wine wont fare so well though.

Electronics hate heat though, so if you want to keep a TV in there for a long time, I suggest putting a regular fan blowing into the vents on the back of the TV to keep air moving through it.

 

[balloonshark]

Direct sunlight will kill the vitamins in the liquor :sneaky:

I was watching a realty show that followed a liquor or restaurant inspector. He went to a Chinese restaurant. He picked up a bottle of rum and gave it a swirl and he saw worms D:. I have no idea how it happened or if it is common. The only connection I could make is that rum is made from sugar cane.

 

[lxskllr]

Sunlight is bad for pretty much everything. Spirits can take heat, but if they have cork tops, they can dry out, and the alcohol will evaporate.

 

[Drako]

Just put it in your belly.

 

[Auric]

Is your manservant ill?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2374963

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'd be scared the bottles crack or explode from the heat. Anything in such intense heat will want to slightly expand. Alcohol may even increase this effect.

There's these devices they sell, it's kinda like an upright cabinet but made of metal and insulation, you plug it in and anything put inside stays cold. I would buy one of those and use it for the alcohol. We call them fridges here.

If you want to put a TV in there for the sake of using it, I would just air condition the place. Not only would that heat be bad for the TV, who actually wants to be in a room that's that hot?

 

[premdayalprem]

put it in your house

 

[thecoolnessrune]

For the TV, you need to protect it. Most televisions top out at max operating temperature around 100 degrees, and a minimum of 40 degrees. Neither of these include direct sunlight. Direct sunlight on any television is very bad, and will very rapidly increase the temperature inside the television beyond its recommended operating temperature. You will want to enclose the TV in a case that blocks it from direct sunlight. If the temperature is in the 90s, you should also have a thermally controlled fan. If you will have the TV out there when its below roughly 50 degrees, you also likely need a heater in the unit.

The TV Shield is an option I've seen at several of the sites I've been to at my job. They do a good job of insulating the front and back of the TV from direct sunlight, and have a fan mount that will automatically turn on the fan depending on the outside temperature. Places that have them completely outdoors (like Six Flags) also opted to have heaters installed in the unit that turn on when the temperature is in the high 40s I believe. They turn off when the internal temperature is above that. To keep humidity in check in high humidity environments (and when it rains), The TV Shield uses large silica gel pads that stay in the enclosure. Every once in a while, they remove the gel pads and bake them in an oven for several hours, which dries them out and makes them good to go again. The enclosures cost quite a bit (about as much as your average consumer LCD), but that's the cost of keeping a sensitive electronic device outside