How hot is too hot?

[jpdgas]

I've moved from a house with a well insulated, relatively cool garage that peaked around the 85F range to one that is basically a sweat box with no airflow. Temps seem to hover 5-10 above ambient, which means its going to be hitting the 115F+ mark at some point this summer.

So my question is how hot is too hot for gear? I know paintballs don't like heat, but what about seals, mask foam, electronics, and other paintball components? Should I expect a shorter lifespan or even damage?

[JohnB]

It may degrade it a little quicker but shouldn’t be an issue overall. I am in Phx, leave most stuff in the garage. I keep paintballs inside. I think out of the sun is the most important aspect.

[Fossilhead]

My understanding is paintballs soften and deform at 160° Fahrenheit.

[JohnB]

I feel like paintballs get bouncy and have issues when exposed to 90* plus temps. Some players out here keep paint in ice chests to keep the brittleness there.

[TencenT]

I would keep everything inside if you can, year in the garage here in Vegas ruined the seals on most of my regs and ASAs. Keep it all inside now.

[JohnB]

I am surprised at that. Tbh. I have some that have been garaged for 5+ years in az that still work. My local field keeps rentals even hotter and they run fine typically.

[TencenT]

Me too but field rentals do get usage. I think it was more a combination of unused plus heat. It could also be the huge humidity changes of moving gear from Florida to desert. That same change cracked my desk in half for instance 🤣

[flyweightnate]

Anything petroleum based follows an oxidation rule where 15F cuts the life in half (roughly). So 30F cuts 75%, 45F cuts 88%...

The biggest question is what the activation temp is. Foams and neoprene tend to be lower. Some of it degrades readily at room temp over 20 years, so you can estimate 5 years at 105F.

This is a very rough estimate that depends largely on the specific chemistry of the polymers, but it's a starting point. A powered fan in the attic and radiant barrier can make a huge difference in garage temps, and the garage door is usually as bad as the roof if south or west facing. I put foil- faced foam on my door interior and it made an enormous difference.

[jpdgas]

Thanks for the info. Space is at a premium so I'll have to pick and choose I guess.There is no attic unfortunately. It was an old addon garage and its just the wood beams and some kind of rubber sealed roof up there. The door is west facing and is junk, but I'll see if I can figure out some kind of insulation and airflow.

[GanonsGrin]

My garage had very little airflow and high ceilings so it held heat in the summer. I got a larger sized portable AC to and vent it through the window. It does ok but it still stays warmer. I had a window box unit before but my wife said it looked too ghetto for the neighborhood. it did an amazing job though, kept things cool. I use portable heaters in the winter here too. If you have a window, you have some options.

you could always go with a split unit and drill a hole in the wall if it really got desperate, which would provide both heat and cooling but the cost jumps up exponentially there