On 23/3/05, Don Sanderson, discombobulated, unleashed: >A few things about storing stuff in cars in summer. >Learned from experience with 'meltable' and 'leakable' >stuff. >As a technician I carry lubricants, tape, CDs, floppies, >squeeze bottles full of solvents, etc. > >1.) The coolest place in a car is under the seat or on the floor, >out of the sun, covered heavily with a towel or blanket or in a >cooler such as Graywolf suggested, this will keep stuff at floor- >board tempeture. Reach 'under' the car and feel the metal, cool. >The lower the better, since heat rises, as you all know. >(Actually a 'bottomless' cooler might be even better, I'll have >to try that.) > >2.) The hottest places are the dashboard, rear shelf or trunk of >a dark colored car. Unless you lay it directly on the floor of >the trunk and insulate it as above. > >3.) Leaving the windows open even 1/4 inch (6-7mm) helps a lot. >Unfortunately it also lowers security a lot on some cars. > >4.) Most importantly, there is *NO* place cool enough to store >Snickers or Milky Way candy bars in a car in summer. :-(
Excellent tips. British summers are generally cooler than summers one would experience (say) in Australia or the United States, but a car in direct sunshine with no breeze an temps in the 90s (30s C) is quite possible here in the UK. If I am working, leaving the vehicle in the sun (currently a Discovery) full of oxide tape, plastic and metal components, leads, all manner of gear, is simply not an option. I do one of two things - park under a tree, or in the shade of a building etc, or if no choice and it has to be in the sun, then I leave the engine running with AC on, locking the doors on the key. I'm never very far away from it, and can keep an eye on things, and have only ever had to do this a few times in the past 15 years. Finding shade is not a problem. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
