Cam and hot weather

rustypixel

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What do most of you do when the weather gets really hot? I live in the US in the NE and we often get temps up into the 90s which translates to 130+ inside the car. I'm assuming it's typical practice to remove the camera and either store in the car or take it with you. Just curious.
 
I don't do anything. If your camera is a quality brand with a capacitor (versus battery) you should be fine. My SG cams have sat in my car for 8 hours on an asphalt parking lot on 100 degree days with no problems.

If you have a battery based camera you'll likely have issues eventually so they're generally not recommended.
 
As above- good cams don't die from stting in my closed workvan parked in full sun in SC USA summers. The one issue you may encounter is trying to run the cam in those conditions, or using one in parking mode similarly. Again it hasn't killed any of mine but some cams have over-temp shutdown and sometimes a cam will 'freeze up', stop recording, and not respond to button pushes. Unplug the cam, give it a few minutes to cool, plug it back in and you're good-to-go.

Best practice is to not park where the cam receives direct sun and to pull the cam, storing it in a shaded and cooler place in the car. Also note that high-performance cams and multi-channel cams place more workload on the processor and so are less heat tolerant during use. Definitely avoid non-supercap cams with LiPo batteries; those batteries simply do not endure well in the hottest environments.

Phil
 
I went with the VIOFO 139 so I hope that quality enough. Interesting information to know. Thanks for the replies.
 
It's a relatively new cam and I know of only a couple people who have used it in extreme heats- mine arrived too late to do any heat-testing but it won't be long before I'm sweltering again :cool: The few hot day's it's seen with me showed no shutdowns and no problems so far...

Phil
 
1) Choose a cam with a high operating temp tolerance (if using parking mode), or a high storage temp tolerance (if not using PM). 2) Park with the cam facing away from the sun; this alone should reduce temp by approx 10 degree F. :)
 
Heat should not be a problem with the camera just sitting there waiting for you to return and start the next drive, it is only if you want to use parking guard while parked things get a bit tricky at least if you live in a hot place.
Parking so your windscreen / camera dont get direct light is one way to extend parking guard use on hot days.
Cameras with a lipo battery for backup power source will encounter problems, it is far better looking for a capacitor based camera if you live in a hot / cold place.
 
The Australian outback 47°C in the shade,
normal_IMG_1761-47C-degrees (2).jpg
you might want to add heatsinks and a 40mm fan,
IMG_20200803_162844081~3_1618546414585.jpg
but you probably don't need a camera in the outback, unless you need to prove a kangaroo hit you!
 
Hot giggety thats hot, for sure i would like to have a large body of water nearby.
 
We did swim that day. It was a very interesting experience. It was an extremely dry heat and as soon as we got out of the water, the water was evaporating off our skin so quickly we were actually shivering, so cold. After about 30 seconds when our skin was dry the heat hit and we were back in the water. We really didn't want to get out of the water, not due to the heat, but due to the first 30 seconds of cold.

Anywhere behind glass, in the car etc was an oven with the solar radiation, so sunscreens up everywhere.
 
It is strange to be in those conditions, i have tried it too, it is like you sweat salt as what ever fluid in it evaporate instantly.
It is not fun working in those temperatures, even if you are only working half of the 7 hour work day, you simply die if you try to put in just a average work effort.

Last big ship i was on, every day i climbed up the stairs and ladders to up high in the smoke stack ( wearing gloves cuz you can not touch the steel up there ) There i had to inject some Copper sulfate looking stuff stuff into the exhaust as that would clean them.
It took about 2 - 4 minutes to do, but it felt like hours, and when done you wasted no time enjoying the view down the the engine room, O no you almost fell down the ladders and stairs as quick as you can.
Temperatures up there must have been on the wrong side of 70 degrees you did absolutely not sweat up there.

I have tried to be in much warmer rooms, but wearing some clothe othat then the ship engine room shorts and T shirt, like a 180 - 200 Degree C warm oven where you cure powder painting ( must wear air mask cuz thats far too warm to breathe )
And 5 seconds after you have entered your brain scream OUT ! OUT ! OUT ! and you still have to pick up the stuff that have fallen off the conveyor and get it out.
Similar getting my smoke diver education, some rooms you have to put out are initially way over 200 degree warm and you have to cool the room a little before you enter it to put out the fire, but there you wear proper gear so you dont really feel the high temperatures as much.
 
I think the real problem in over heated cars in not the dashcam, but the fridge from out point if view!

We always leave the windows open a touch, but we have window wind shields on the four windows. Just leaving the windows open 5mm makes a hugh difference in keeping temperature down.

Another thing I have done is add acoustic insulation to the car. The foam, about 35 to 45mm in places in the roof slows the heat entering the car a lot. So apart from the acoustic benifits, thermal benifits are a very close second.

I have added another 25mm of foam in the ceiling since this photo was taken. The thermal properties are brilliant, summer and winter, but also use a windscreen sun shade, very common in Australia.
normal_IMG_3748.jpg
 
Another thing I have done is add acoustic insulation to the car. The foam, about 35 to 45mm in places in the roof slows the heat entering the car a lot. So apart from the acoustic benifits, thermal benifits are a very close second.

I have added another 25mm of foam in the ceiling since this photo was taken. The thermal properties are brilliant, summer and winter, but also use a windscreen sun shade, very common in Australia.
what's your thoughts on the Car Builders product, I've used Dynamat on some previous cars but was looking at the Car Builders stuff instead this time, interested in your opinion on it
 
It is getting too far off topic so I will start a new thread. Suffice to say that there is a lot more to do than any of these similar products.
 
I had no problem with my camera when using it at a high temperature. If you want to be certain and safe, I would recommend that you prevent exposure of the camera at direct heat or sunlight. Parking it in a shade would be ideal as well.
 
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