How cold is too cold for server?

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[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 15, 2014
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I moved my server into the garage from my office over the summer because of heat. It sits right next to the garage door in a new attached insulated garage.

I'm in OR we've been getting in the 20's, not sure garage temp but it gets pretty cold. We'll probably see a peak low of about 15f in the winter. I'm a little worried that it may damage something. The case is a Phanteks enthoo with tempered glass so not keeping any cold out.
 
Generally low 60's I think is typical in actual server environments, but I'd guess it depends on what the company wants to spend on AC and the load in the room, etc.

Your server will run at those low temps no problem.....the real problem is moisture. I can assume the garage is not climate controlled, and the temps along with the moisture level will rise and fall as the weather varies day to day.
Think of the overnight frost on your windshield melting as the sun comes out in the morning....this is the concern.

edit: was just thinking you could build a small enclosure with a dehumidifier...could be a cheap way out.
 
Monkey34 said:
Generally low 60's I think is typical in actual server environments, but I'd guess it depends on what the company wants to spend on AC and the load in the room, etc.

Your server will run at those low temps no problem.....the real problem is moisture. I can assume the garage is not climate controlled, and the temps along with the moisture level will rise and fall as the weather varies day to day.
Think of the overnight frost on your windshield melting as the sun comes out in the morning....this is the concern.

edit: was just thinking you could build a small enclosure with a dehumidifier...could be a cheap way out.
Click to expand...
I made a thread when I initially put it out there. Some said as long as it was always on that would be fine. I know these are just opinions.

But yeah my window which is five feet away has been frozen over lately. I put in back in the office for now.

I asked because I couldn't connect to it this morning although it was running. So it had me worried.
 
Temperature it'll be fine, but as Monkey34 says, you definitely could have moisture/condensation problems. It's going to be warm inside the case, and frigid in the rest of the garage; the interior of the case will likely end up slick with condensation. If you *do* leave it in the garage, it either needs to be in a dehumidified box, or at a very minimum I would remove the side panels from the case and point a box fan at it. Opening up the case and blowing air at it will prevent it from forming a pocket of warm air inside the chassis and that'll discourage condensation buildup.

If it was me, and it had my 'good stuff' on the server, I'd bring it inside for the winter.
 
sinisterDei said:
Temperature it'll be fine, but as Monkey34 says, you definitely could have moisture/condensation problems. It's going to be warm inside the case, and frigid in the rest of the garage; the interior of the case will likely end up slick with condensation. If you *do* leave it in the garage, it either needs to be in a dehumidified box, or at a very minimum I would remove the side panels from the case and point a box fan at it. Opening up the case and blowing air at it will prevent it from forming a pocket of warm air inside the chassis and that'll discourage condensation buildup.

If it was me, and it had my 'good stuff' on the server, I'd bring it inside for the winter.
Click to expand...
Thats not a bad idea, I did have a box fan in front of it in the summer for the opposite reason. I think for piece of mind I will just leave it inside for now. Had to swap a fan out to help on the noise side of things. But I have it tucked behind a chair out of sight.
 
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