Power loss

Lost power due to a heavy snowfall on Friday afternoon. We're not expected to have power back until possibly Sunday am. The house is down to 48 degrees. Should I be concerned about the guitars?

That's a good question. Don't know where you live. How low do you think it's gonna go before the power comes back on?

Other people here will probably have more reasoned and sensible opinions than mine, but what I would do is think about what happens when the power (and therefore the heat) comes back on and the house temperature changes from 48 to 70 in an hour or two. The issue is not how cold it gets, it's how quickly will the guitars be exposed to a change in temperature- What's that gonna do to the finish on your guitars??

Why don't you consider putting the guitars in their cases (even putting them in shipping boxes if you have any around) and treating them like you just got packages on a cold day from UPS; i.e., let the guitars stay in case/boxes for a day and gradually assume the new temperature. Leave them in a closet that doesn't get warm, even!

Of course, you could do it "Chicago Style":

An old swing player who lived in Chicago told me how they used to 'uncork' guitars from their cases on cold days before WWII. You'd get to the club 2 hours early, set your cased-guitar on an empty table and have a drink. After you got through with the drink, you'd go to your guitar and, without opening the case, merely unlatch the case lid. Then, have another drink. After you were through with the second drink, you'd pop the cover on the case, but leave the guitar in the case. Then, have a third drink. By the time you'd finish the third drink, both the guitar and the musician were ready for the Gig!

I think 'Chicago Style' could work for you if you're a slow drinker....

Not sure where you're located or what your forecast is as far as cold temps. If it would stay somewhere in the area of 48 F you likely won't have much problem although it surely wouldn't hurt to put 'em in their cases, that would help a bit. And, when the power does come back on it would be best to heat your guitar room up gradually to avoid huge sudden swings in temps. I tend to like it cool so keep my guitar room in the 55 to 58 degree range and it hasn't caused me any problems.

You have my sympathy. I went through that over the Xmas Holidays for about 5 days. I did have a back up heating source though for the guitar room.

Best of luck, stay warm and best wishes for good health for all of your guitars.

I'm with Harry on this one. I'm sure once power went out, it's been a rather slow loss of heat over time. What you have to be careful of is the warm up period. I think guitars can handle this kind of cold but fast temp changes are when things get troublesome. If you have a part of the house that isn't quite as warm as the rest, you might wanna move them around and bring the temperature up SLOWLY on them. That would be my recommendation. :cold:

In the cases, wrap them up in blankets, if you've got a foam mattress topper, wrap them in that, put a quilt over them, tuck them under a bed or in the closet...and then WAIT until the temps are stable...and WAIT some more...the wrapping up will slow the cold drop and the heat warm up...it's the speed of the change, not the temps themselves.