How long do you let your electonics warm up after being in the cold?

[balloonshark]

When your electronics and parts are shipped when its cold how long do you let the parts acclimate to room temperate before using them? I'm trying to avoid condensation. I normally open up the package and wait 24 hours but my RAM arrived today and its the last part I need to finish the build so I'm a bit impatient.

 

[frowertr]

If there is visible condensation, then of course, you should wait. But waiting several hours?? Eh...

 

[balloonshark]

If there is visible condensation, then of course, you should wait. But waiting several hours?? Eh...

You know how when you wear glasses outside in the winter and then go inside where it is warm your glasses fog up? That condensation/moisture is what I'm trying to avoid. I'm also assuming there are far more nooks and crannies in electronics for condensation to hide compared to glasses.

 

[yinan]

Depends if there is moving parts. No moving parts = use right away. Everything comes in sealed bags so no moisture will get inside anyway. Technically, wont stuff run better cold?

 

[balloonshark]

I'm kind of surprised at the results so far. So you would have no problem immediately installing and powering up a $400 Intel i7 cpu that has been in the back of cold warehouses and trucks for days? The chip would go from near freezing to 72F and higher instantly and you wouldn't be worried about moisture short circuiting something?

 

[yinan]

It was in at least 1 box that had at least 2 seals on it, so no. There would probably be more moisture on my hands.

 

[MustISO]

I always wait a while until it's closer to room temp. Just something I've always done with TV's, PC parts, pretty much any electronics.

 

[balloonshark]

It was in at least 1 box that had at least 2 seals on it, so no. There would probably be more moisture on my hands.

Yes but wouldn't the act of going from cold to hot quickly cause moisture?

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Transitioning from cold to hot does not create condensation. Having a cold object in a humid room of greater temperature will cause condensation to form on the object, but by the time you've manhandled it into the socket, clamped down the heat sink (which does a great job of rebalancing the temps to room temp anyhow), and built your system, it's going to be room temp anyhow.

If this isn't for a system build, same thing applies. As long as your room isn't like 90% humidity or you aren't bringing something from a sub-zero temperature after being there long enough to freeze, I wouldn't be concerned. If you see water droplets on a heat sink or inside the case or something, yeah, take care of that.

 

[frowertr]

I'm kind of surprised at the results so far. So you would have no problem immediately installing and powering up a $400 Intel i7 cpu that has been in the back of cold warehouses and trucks for days? The chip would go from near freezing to 72F and higher instantly and you wouldn't be worried about moisture short circuiting something?

I've been building computers and in the IT field since 1993. Your question has never even crossed my mind to be honest.

I am in Florida so perhaps I'm not dealing with the extreme cold situations you are speaking off

 

[Blain]

I would allow a spinning disk HD to warm up a bit, but other than that, maybe 5-15 minutes at most.

 

[Burpo]

I would allow a spinning disk HD to warm up a bit, but other than that, maybe 5-15 minutes at most.

+1

 

[giantpandaman2]

There are two things that could damage electronics.

1) Condensation
2) Thermal expansion

Going from cold to hot doesn't cause condensation, but your cold parts could make condensation from the hot air in the room. If you're that worries just turn a fan on it for a few minutes.

Rapid, uneven thermal expansion could also cause problems, but only if you had the electronics in extremely cold conditions outside of their operating temperature. I've used a laptop outside in at 32F and I've never had an issue. If it were sub-zero I might worry. Remember, many electronics are designed to work in pretty cold temperatures. Don't they still have refrigerated cases?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I would allow a spinning disk HD to warm up a bit, but other than that, maybe 5-15 minutes at most.

There are two things that could damage electronics.

1) Condensation
2) Thermal expansion

Going from cold to hot doesn't cause condensation, but your cold parts could make condensation from the hot air in the room. If you're that worries just turn a fan on it for a few minutes.

Rapid, uneven thermal expansion could also cause problems, but only if you had the electronics in extremely cold conditions outside of their operating temperature. I've used a laptop outside in at 32F and I've never had an issue. If it were sub-zero I might worry. Remember, many electronics are designed to work in pretty cold temperatures. Don't they still have refrigerated cases?

One thing you should definitely avoid is running a drive with sub-zero (C) temperature. I've killed a couple of drives doing that. Everything inside normal operating parameters should be be good to go. (0C-80C?)

Oh, and if you need to run a HDD in sub-zero temperatures, there are specialist drives available that can handle it.

 

[nerp]

The time it takes to open the packages, install the hardware, connect the wires and plug everything in and put the case panels on is more than enough time to make sure everything is warm. And even then it's not necessary, really.