Carseat in cottage

BW1426 · Jul 31, 2008

So, we live in Northern Michigan and it gets pretty darn cold in the winter. One of the families I work for keeps a spare carseat at the cottage. Is the extreme cold something we need to worry about? It sits in the garage from Sept to June every year. Another concern is mice and while they never ate the crummy combination seat, I'm just sure the sight of the new radian will tempt them

Would you leave it in the garage or cottage (neither heated and both have pretty equal issues with mice) or would you find alternative storage.

Mommy2Five · Jul 31, 2008

I'm pretty...(whats a nice word for obsessively protective) about my seats, so I would find alternate storage arrangements.

keri1292 · Jul 31, 2008

I would put them in a storage tote to keep out the mice, but the temp wouldn't bother me. People keep carseats in their cars in Northern Michigan 365 days a year.

Victorious4 · Jul 31, 2008

Yep, I wouldn't consider it ideal, but at my regional NHTSA conference (2007) I attended a workshop about crash testing & the speaker did say they have tested seats that were stored at freezing temps & still passed the requirements (until the standard expiration timeframe) -- this reminds me was supposed to send me details & never did ... not sure if I still have his card

Anyway, I'm more worried about extremely hot temps over a period of time.

TerisBoys · Jul 31, 2008

Is there a vehicle left at the cottage? Could the Radian be store in it's trunk?

I know - still not 100% mouse-proof, but a bit more protective than just sitting.

azgirl71 · Jul 31, 2008

I too suggest a rubbermaid storage tote because of the mice. Though it is true people have carseats in thier car 365 days out of the year, they also probably have heat in thier cars. So the car seat gets some heat. I would carfully inspect it before using it after it has been in the cottage for the winter.

crunchierthanthou · Jul 31, 2008

azgirl71 said:
Though it is true people have carseats in thier car 365 days out of the year, they also probably have heat in thier cars. So the car seat gets some heat.

but wouldn't the fluctuation actually be worse for it? I mean, storing it below freezing is one thing, but going from super cold to 70+ and back on a regular basis (possibly several times a day) seems like it would be harder on it.

The storage temperature doesn't bother me, but I would take extra precautions to protect it from mice.

azgirl71 · Jul 31, 2008

crunchierthanthou said:
but wouldn't the fluctuation actually be worse for it? I mean, storing it below freezing is one thing, but going from super cold to 70+ and back on a regular basis (possibly several times a day) seems like it would be harder on it.

The storage temperature doesn't bother me, but I would take extra precautions to protect it from mice.

I honestly do not know for sure. Believe it or not it does get below freezing here and I don't feel that keeping my carseat in the car overnight or sometimes 2 or 3 days at these temps before starting it and getting heat to the car seat makes it worse off.

I just think if a car seat is stored for months at below freezing temps you *could* risk the seat cracking. I know that last winter there were a couple of posters in the Canadian forum that had thier Radians crack.

Since I am not an engineer I cannot say for certain what would happen. This is just my take.

joolsplus3 · Jul 31, 2008

They freeze and bake and re-crash-test Britaxes at their factory's testing lab... not sure about other brands...

crunchierthanthou · Jul 31, 2008

I really don't think extreme temperatures- hot, cold or even major fluctuations will cause catastrophic failure within the expiration period. I was just saying that storing at a somewhat consistant cold temperature is likely no worse than regular use through a harsh summer or winter.

I don't know about Radians cracking in relation to cold temps. I'll have to go do some searching to learn more about that.

Carseat in cottage

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