protecting your gadgets from heat (in cars)

[Midget]

i keep an inexpensive but nice LED flashlight in my car. today, to my dismay, i found the light was on although the switch was off. i open it up to find that the batteries had leaked, and something must have been making the connection causing the light to (dimly) remain on.



anyhow. does anyone have any tips on how to protect your items in your car? either from heat or moisture, from leaky batteries, etc.


i keep the light out of direct sunlight-- it's in the glove compartment.





also, do lithium batteries leak like alkaline ones do?

 

[Midget]

how about contact solution? i keep a small (sealed) bottle of contact saline solution in my glove compartment as well, as well as a spare contact case and a pair of old glasses.

does heat affect saline solution?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I think the best solution is a gear bag or flight bag. Don't leave items like that in the car. You might see if you can check the temperature reading in your trunk. That might be cooler. The cabin is a greenhouse.

 

[akabu]

Not total protection but good for short duration ,an ice chest with the item wraped in a towel also crack you window a bit to let the heat out.

 

[huugh]

also, do lithium batteries leak like alkaline ones do?

I may confuse it with other type but I think they shouldn't leak. The alkaline batteries uses case as an electrode therefore when as they are runing out of their capacity the case gets slimmer and vulnerable to leak.
Lithium batteries are sealed in case which doesn't act as an electrode therefore they shouldn't leak.

 

[Cougar Allen]

If a lithium battery were ever to leak it would be extremely dangerous. Therefore they are designed and built not to leak. Don't cut one open.

 

[kozak6]

Yeah, don't leave important objects in your car.

Contact solution will probably be ok. It might swell up the container it's in, though.

And keep lighters, matches, soda cans, and aerosol containers out of your car.

 

[Gollnick]

does anyone have any tips on how to protect your items in your car? either from heat...

Yeah: Park your car only in air-conditioned garages.

Other than that, try to park in the shade. But, realistically, you can't always do that and, even when you can, if it's 95 or a 100 outside, the inside of your car is gonna get at least that hot, probably more. Reflective sun screens that go inside your windshield will keep the UV from fading your leather, but they're not gonna do anything about temperature. The opposite is true in the winter; it can get darn cold in a car overnight.

Heat will cause batteries to leak (Li are the most leak-resistant) and it will simply sap the life out of batteries. Heat will make film go bad. Medications kept in your car, even simple asprin, will deteriorate very quickly. I used some Tums antacid tablets that had been in the glove box of my car probably for about six months and they were just brittle. They worked fine, but they had clearly been affected by the heat. Even pens deteriorate quickly stored in a car.

So, the bottom line here is that you can't just stash stuff in your car and forget about it and expect it to be in good order years later. Gear stored in your car has to be inspected at least twice a year because of the extreme environment.

 

[SIFU1A]

dont leave OC cans in your car in the summer. how do i know? trust me i know lol.