Car storage - cocoons

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
Mike,
Yes I have the inflatable 16ft cocoon which is capable of being outdoors as well.
I don't know anything about all the magic being talked about in the sample
advert you published. VCI - Vapour Contolled inhibitors - Oh really? In England that might just be descibed as a either a de humidifier or bullshit. I think the latter though I'm not a chemist or metallurgist. Mine has two upper 'skins' - a green porous one on the 'inside' with a silver coloured water proof one outside and the porous one continuously leaks the air from the two fan system (each similar to a computer cooling fan) The set up also has a charger system which looks after the car battery and the cooling fans and in the event of a mains failure the car battery will take over. The bottom part is a heavy duty plastic 'floor' that you park the car on, with a large continuous zip all aound that seals the upper to the lower. It takes about 10 minutes to inflate. Mine makes no claims about funny inhibitors or anything else for that matter though the blurb says the car could be parked in the cocoon with a warm engine and totally wet and it will dry out and it has drying out slots on one end.
I've never use a dehumidifier in it - I've never needed to but I think ferrous metals
could still be affected.
I'd recommend them - especially where your car could be affected by dust and birdshit - though I suppose any good cover would do the business - and probably a lot cheaper. I note that you say you don't have electicity at the hangar but a leisure battery typically from a camper van would keep a cocoon inflated for many weeks at a time - if the car battery was not involved.

Dave M
 
Thanks for your reply David...maybe some dessicant thrown in the sealed bag would work.

Or the inflatable king with a car battery charged by a solar panel on the hangar roof?

Problem with the inflatable kind is that I park my plane in the hangar too and the horizontal stab clears the car by about 1 inch....maybe I need another plane or a larger hangar?

Regards,
Mike
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
Park one of the main wheels on the side where the car is on a small wooden ramp. The tailplane will lift up quite a bit. I used to use this in Gander and taxied onto the wooden ramp only on the right hand side to get maximum fuel into the 9 drum quick disconnect ferry fuel kit in the DHC6 Twin Otter - but the only door I could then get out and access again was the pilots door as the rear door was then too high and the tailpane was well above reach. (With the maximum I could then file Gander to Shannon direct just under the MNPS area).
A dessicant 'draw through' (like a coalescer) filter would probably work but throwing silica gel in the cocoon would probably attract the moisture and deposit it around the dessicant.
 
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Yes I've used and owned the Classic Car Cocoon. I bought one about 5-6 years back. I've had it on a couple of cars now and it's worked great. Even though I use the cocoon I still do keep the car in th garage in the winter and I always make sure to zip the cocoon back up tight when it's not in use. I've spoken with the guy that runs the company and he's very cool, referred friends to him and each time we've ended up talking about cars...
The VCI technology is sweet and apparently it's been used by the military for years now. Hope that helsp my man, I think they do custom too if you are trying to get one for your plane?!
 
I've never use a dehumidifier in it - I've never needed to but I think ferrous metals could still be affected.

A friend in England stores his car in the basement of an 18th century tannery. It's like something straight out of a Dickens novel--you touch the stone walls and your hands come away wet and slimy.

Being a frugal sort, he built his own cocoon system out of balsawood and thick clear plastic sheeting; the whole thing is suspended from a single point in the center, and a rope and pulleys are connected to an old Jaguar windshield wiper motor which is powered by an inverter. With a flick of a switch, the whole apparatus lifts straight up into the air and he can drive straight out.

He has an exhaust duct at one end, with flexible pipe leading back to the air intake of a dehumidifier, whose exhaust is then ducted back into the cocoon. Thus he recycles the air over and over, in a closed system, and the dehumidifier heaves any moisture through a hose to the outdoors.

He once went to Death Valley, CA in the summertime and measured the humidity there, then used the same instrument to measure the air inside his cocoon. There was actually LESS humidity in the cocoon! At some point, he became concerned about making the air too dry, and now he's managed to 'trim' the system to mix ambient air with dehumidified air, for a favorable balance.
 
All,

Further to what I wrote above, I asked my friend for details about his home-made car storage systems, and this morning he sent the following:

====

I have made two dehumidified bubbles, the first, in my work shop, consists of a very thin polythene body shop car cover attached to a wooden rectangular frame (just a bit bigger than the car) that sits on the floor with a rubber seal. The car sits on a rubber mat. I inflate the bubble with a dehumidifier that attaches to one end with Velcro. I can raise the bubble/framework off the car with an elaborate pulley system in the roof with an electric motor.

The second bubble I made at my girlfriend's house (picture attached) was supposed to be a temporary bubble that consists of a sheet of thick polythene for the car to sit on then a very thin polythene bodyshop car cover thrown over the car. To seal it to the ground I came up with the idea of "sand snakes" I sewed up some 8' lengths of vinyl and then filled them with sand. These snakes sit on the cover and seal it to the ground. Two down either side and one front and rear. I then attached the dehumidifier to the bubble with duct tape (no need to detach it) uncovering the car to drive it out only takes about two minutes. I can leave the front sand snake and dehumidifier in place and just move the others out of the way.

This temporary bubble has now been there for 18 months and is still working perfectly! I can take the car off the road for the winter and leave it there for 5 months without the disc brakes rusting at all.

JohnnyWoodssandsnakecocoon.jpg


My first bubble (the one in my workshop) has an air re circulation system that vents the air out of one end of the bubble and ducts it back into the dehumidifier. The bubble averages 45% relative humudity (anything below 55% is perfect), the rest of the workshop varies from 70% to 90%! This is no longer the case as I now dehumidify the rest of my 110 year old workshop.

The best car storage system in my opinion is the air chamber with its tent like internal framework. Unzip the front door and drive out. I intend to buy or make one of these at some point.

Airchamber Indoor Vehicle Storage | Indoor Vehicle Protection

It's very important that a dehumidifier is used instead of the fan supplied. I have not yet tested which is most effective, having the dehumidifier inside the airchamber with the fan hole sealed up or having the dehumidifier outside the chamber blowing the air through like the original fan. The air vents through all the zippers.

I have, however, tested my inflatable bubbles with just a fan and found the humidity inside the bubble to be the same as the rest of the workshop; the only benefit is the circulating air. This is a big benefit over still, stagnant air but not nearly as good as dehumidified.

The car storage system I don't recommend is the Carcoon

Carcoon Storage Systems International LTD - Carcoon Home Page

This is because it takes a long time to get the car out and the plastic is very thick and heavy to roll over your paint every time you want to drive your car.

I have spoken to the people that sell both of the above products and they all say the same thing; you don't need a dehumidifier...BS! They also say it will make it too dry, insisting it will dry out your leather, rubber seals etc..BS! I have kept my Pantera in my dehumidified bubble for 10 years at 45% relative humidity and have suffered no ill affects at all. I can't understand why I am having to replace my tyres every 6 months though.. Just kidding! :laugh:

====

Okay, so there's some first-person testimony from a guy who's been there, done that on the cheap. His comments regarding the potential for damage to the paint are worth noting--he's well-known in the UK for his fanaticism regarding the care of paint and bodywork (he's the Euro importer for a high-end car wax called Harly Wax).

I don't have to contend with these problems myself, since I live in inland California, where it's hot and dry much of the year. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for sharing that Mike. You can't beat serious, long term, first hand experience. And you need to be very cynical about what retailers tell you.
 
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