winterizing electronics

[Robert M]

Silly ? ok , but its been a long time ,now since I got back into the larger fully lcd electronic boats.
Was just wondering because in the past all of my elect units where not flush mounted. I stored them in my garage for the winter.
My current boat has flush mount radar, chart plotter, sounder, auto pilot, etc. Im just wondering if anyone has had problams with frozen screens.
should I just yank them for the winter?
I,m prepared to to take the rookie comments on this one.

 

[El Mar]

I would be more worried about theft than temperature.

If your boat is in a secure location, leave them in. If not pull them.

 

[Grey host]

It is not that hard to to remove them and the LCD displays do not do well with temperature change moisture can build up inside them and cause numerous problems remove them bag the terminals in a ziplock and store in a warm place a large Tupperware bin works well you can also put a moisture removal pad in the bin with them wipe them down and clean the screens

 

[Raider Ronnie]

If you got Raymarine stuff remove your DSM and store it inside your house where it's warm.
They don't like the cold and have a known history of an internal solder joint going bad.

 

[greg]

I remove my lcd displays, more for theft than any other reason.

But at the very least you should spray some sealant (wd-40, t9, doelectric grease, etc) on your connectors. Corrosion will be more of an enemy than cold.

You can look up the specs, but my guess that the lcd's are rated for -40 non-operating on the low end.

 

[Robert M]

thanks guys. I figured as much, hell ive froven cell phone screens that where left in my truck overnight in sub freezing temps. Common sense should have answered this question. my radar, chart plotter, fish finders, auto p, are all flush mounted. I was trying to be lazy, but I should of known better.