Carbon Fiber guitar left in the car

[DavidE]

Is it safe to leave a carbon guitar in a car during the day if it's 80 degrees outside? Raining and Emerald.


Thanks for the link. I guessi know what I'm using Friday.


What about a Parker Fly Classic?

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by DavidE

Is it safe to leave a carbon guitar in a car during the day if it's 80 for outside?

I don't know what CF guitar you are interested in but RainSong's CEO, Ashvin, chimed in regarding this very question in this thread

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...26587-p-2.html

[darrwhit]

I use an Emerald on the road, often leave it in the trunk in a softcase, in hot weather (up to ~100oF). Never had a problem.

[tommyld]

I wouldn't tempt fate if I had options other than a hot trunk, but also wouldn't worry. Especially with Emerald's one piece construction! I've had a couple get uncomfortably hot in trunks with no issues.

[jonfields45]

I left a thermometer in my silver Civic's trunk for a few years. The temperature, in direct east coast summer sunlight (PA & SC) seems to worst case raise the trunk temperature 20F relative to the outside temp. The least appropriate epoxies go plastic around 150F. The stuff we used (and likely still do...I retired) in electronics was good past 150C (~300F) as that was the temperature of our reliability test ovens (the parts self heat in test and are much hotter in spots). I suppose a black AMC Pacer in Death Valley at high noon might be a problem, though you should think about how much of your car is glued together. For most situations I would not worry about it.

[guitararmy]

Besides the heat in a closed trunk, I would worry about theft. Either the instrument or the whole vehicle....

[Earl49]

I do certain things if I have to leave a guitar in the car:
- don't park in the direct sun (shade is good)
- leave it out of plain sight for theft prevention (in the trunk rather than passenger compartment)
- have the guitar in a good hard case or thickly padded gig bag
- wrap the hard case inside a sleeping bag for more thermal insulation

The same things generally apply to either hot or cold. I prefer to not let guitars get cold-soaked, because then I have to wait to open the case before playing. I used to live in Alaska where cold was the issue. Now I live in Idaho where we have some winter, and during the summer it can be over 100°F in many places. CF guitars are much less finicky than wood and would likely survive just fine without this level of care, but I tend to treat them all the same way.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

I don't know what CF guitar you are interested in but RainSong's CEO, Ashvin, chimed in regarding this very question in this thread

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...26587-p-2.html

Here are the quotes from the boss:

Originally Posted by Ashvin

Hi:

I thought I would chime in with some info.

RainSongs will not have a problem with humidity extremes. The instrument can get wet and the carbon/graphite integrity will not be harmed (obviously, electronics, tuners, strings etc. are exceptions).

The instrument is unaffected by freezing temperatures. One of our Dealers (Colorado) left one outside in the snow overnight and played it the next morning as a "test". (He is no longer a RainSong Dealer )

As far a extreme heat is concerned, I guess it comes down to the definition of "extreme". In our early stages of production, we had some faulty resin systems that could not tolerate high temperatures. In the instruments that we have built for the last 10 years, we have not had a single complaint about heat-related damage (knock on wood ). So, I would say that a RainSong stored in a case in a car should be fine.

I hope this helps.

Ashvin

Originally Posted by Ashvin

A few more thoughts ...

On RainSongs, the bridge is glued and bolted to the soundboard. The neck is bolted to the body (the fingerboard part of the neck is glued ... but this is a non-structural joint). So, the neck and the bridge are not dependent on the strength of the epoxy glue.

The soundboard to body joint is glued using aerospace grade epoxy. Please note that the whole guitar is made of carbon fiber and epoxy. If you are concerned about the joints coming apart because of failing epoxy, you should also be worried about the whole structure collapsing because it is ALL made of epoxy.

I repeat, we have not had ANY heat-related issues reported on RainSongs built for the past decade.

Thanks!

Don't know about Emerald, but I have kept a Rainsong in the back of my SUV on and off for years. In fact one spring we went up to our place in the local mountains where it dropped to 18 degrees at night. Not too found of cold weather, the following morning we drove down to Palms Springs where it was in the 90's. My Rainsong was in the back of the car the whole time happy as a clam.

[epluribus36]

To me this is the beauty of my Emerald; it's a one-piece guitar, or as close as I can find anyway. I should be able to leave it in one of those pink 150-degree tents at Sheriff Arpaio's county jail complex, although of course I wouldn't.

The only thing I can't figure out is why my x20 has a truss rod. The neck should never move, I wouldn't think.

[codecontra]

Originally Posted by epluribus36

To me this is the beauty of my Emerald; it's a one-piece guitar, or as close as I can find anyway. I should be able to leave it in one of those pink 150-degree tents at Sheriff Arpaio's county jail complex, although of course I wouldn't.

The only thing I can't figure out is why my x20 has a truss rod. The neck should never move, I wouldn't think.

The truss rod allows guitarists to adjust the neck/action to their individual preferences.

Plus, as my old and wise guitar tech recently opined, we really don't know just how these CF necks will fare over the long term. Basically we assume they will never move, but there is no guarantee. If they do, I would rather have a truss rod to be able to make the necessary adjustments.

[AZLiberty]

As someone who lives in Phoenix, where it can easilly get up to 116 in the shade, and over 140 in a car in less than 1/2 hour...

I don't think I;m going to chance it.

[dkoloff]

I have had a Composite Acoustics in my car for 3 years and never and issue and have had Emeralds and Rainsongs in as well and have never had an issue. I am sure there is a temperature whether hot or cold where there could be an issue but I have not found it yet.

[DavidE]

Auditioned a drummer for our full band tonight, so I gave my singer my Old Fly Classic to bring to the gig tomorrow. I'll leave the Emerald X5 in the car for backup. It was going to be too hard to get the Rainsong under the cargo cover with the rest of the gear. Maybe next time.

[Earl49]

I don't worry at all about cold and CF guitars. My Rainsong has ridden in the enclosed but unheated back of the pickup truck while driving all day to Fairbanks in -35° temps. Touring pro's have told me their Rainsong's have ridden around Alaska in the unpressurized cargo hold at -65°F without issues - part of why they chose CF as their working guitar.

Heat is my real concern. There is a reason that carbon fiber airplanes (except military) are always painted white, and that is heat reflection to prevent weakening of the resin / fiber composite. I would not leave any guitar in a car sitting in the sun in Phoenix heat. Most of the epoxies and other materials do just fine at 150° by all reports, but why risk it? I'm not shy about bringing my guitar into the restaurant for lunch stops. That is what the other chairs at the table are for.....