Carcoons - are they any good?
Discussion
I use(d) a carcoon in a public parking garage. The concept is nice, but I find the execution is lacking. The filters are too rough for the garage, so both fans blasted the car with very fine dust. There was surprisingly a thick layer of black buildup on the car where the two fans are.
The second issue is that the carcoon has no way of lowering the humidity inside the bubble. I tried to get around this by putting a very small dehumidifier into the closed carcoon and set it to 60%.
[-]As a result the climate inside the carcoon stayed constant and I thought that all was well, until I took the car out of the bubble and found that all rubber materials and seals as well as some plastic parts were completely dried out and crumbling. [-]
Update: turns out that it really was the built in hygrostat of the dehumidifier that was broken. It is accurate at 50-55% most of the time but sometimes it fails to shut off and takes the humidity down to 20%. Since vent was closed, it took hours for the humidity to creep back up. It took me a USB humidity logger to figure this out….
Fortunately that was just the winter beater, but still. Putting an inaccurate/broken dehumidifier in a carcoon is a very very bad idea. Lesson learned.
I now store my cars in the garage as usual and use the carcoon to dry the classic cars for 24h after driving in the rain. I don’t trust them for long-term storage anymore.
The second issue is that the carcoon has no way of lowering the humidity inside the bubble. I tried to get around this by putting a very small dehumidifier into the closed carcoon and set it to 60%.
[-]As a result the climate inside the carcoon stayed constant and I thought that all was well, until I took the car out of the bubble and found that all rubber materials and seals as well as some plastic parts were completely dried out and crumbling. [-]
Update: turns out that it really was the built in hygrostat of the dehumidifier that was broken. It is accurate at 50-55% most of the time but sometimes it fails to shut off and takes the humidity down to 20%. Since vent was closed, it took hours for the humidity to creep back up. It took me a USB humidity logger to figure this out….
Fortunately that was just the winter beater, but still. Putting an inaccurate/broken dehumidifier in a carcoon is a very very bad idea. Lesson learned.
I now store my cars in the garage as usual and use the carcoon to dry the classic cars for 24h after driving in the rain. I don’t trust them for long-term storage anymore.
Edited by EricE on Monday 14th October 10:27
The point of the Carcoon (and how it differs from the imitators) is that it gives a controlled environment in which condensation can't form, assuming you've dried the car first by leaving the drying vent open for a bit.
I've had one car in a Carcoon for about seven years, in a dusty and damp steel-framed farm building - looks just the same as when it went in.
I've had one car in a Carcoon for about seven years, in a dusty and damp steel-framed farm building - looks just the same as when it went in.
I'm very happy about my Carcoon Veloce. I stupidly thought I would give the opposition a go next time and regret not just buying another Carcoon.
They are well designed for getting the car in and out. The last thing you want is a rigmarole every time. It makes it less likely that you will use the car.
They are well designed for getting the car in and out. The last thing you want is a rigmarole every time. It makes it less likely that you will use the car.
NomduJour said:
The point of the Carcoon (and how it differs from the imitators) is that it gives a controlled environment in which condensation can't form, assuming you've dried the car first by leaving the drying vent open for a bit.
I've had one car in a Carcoon for about seven years, in a dusty and damp steel-framed farm building - looks just the same as when it went in.
Condensation can, and does form inside Carcoons, although not that often. I iuse a dehumidifier in mine, but it is not in a closed garage.I've had one car in a Carcoon for about seven years, in a dusty and damp steel-framed farm building - looks just the same as when it went in.
Another vote for the veloce.
EricE said:
I use(d) a carcoon in a public parking garage. The concept is nice, but I find the execution is lacking. The filters are too rough for the garage, so both fans blasted the car with very fine dust. There was surprisingly a thick layer of black buildup on the car where the two fans are.
The second issue is that the carcoon has no way of lowering the humidity inside the bubble. I tried to get around this by putting a very small dehumidifier into the closed carcoon and set it to 60%.
As a result the climate inside the carcoon stayed constant and I thought that all was well, until I took the car out of the bubble and found that all rubber materials and seals as well as some plastic parts were completely dried out and crumbling.
Fortunately that was just the winter beater, but still. Putting a dehumidifier in a carcoon is a very very bad idea. Lesson learned.
I now store my cars in the garage as usual and use the carcoon to dry the classic cars for 24h after driving in the rain. I don’t trust them for long-term storage anymore.
There is something wrong with your car or dehumidifier. 60%RH won't dry out rubber or plastic. RH in professional stores is lower at 55 in general and no issues.The second issue is that the carcoon has no way of lowering the humidity inside the bubble. I tried to get around this by putting a very small dehumidifier into the closed carcoon and set it to 60%.
As a result the climate inside the carcoon stayed constant and I thought that all was well, until I took the car out of the bubble and found that all rubber materials and seals as well as some plastic parts were completely dried out and crumbling.
Fortunately that was just the winter beater, but still. Putting a dehumidifier in a carcoon is a very very bad idea. Lesson learned.
I now store my cars in the garage as usual and use the carcoon to dry the classic cars for 24h after driving in the rain. I don’t trust them for long-term storage anymore.
Edited by drmark on Saturday 5th October 20:34
nta16 said:
some people take the time to read the instructions before using a product others don't and then blame the product for the mistakes they have made themselves
if the cap fits then pull it on to your head until it breaks
We asked the manufacturer about putting a dehumidifier into the carcoon before we bought the dehumidifier. if the cap fits then pull it on to your head until it breaks
The answer was (quote):
carcoon said:
We have several people who use a similar set up ,using a small dehumidifier inside the Carcoon will give you the best protection possible
Particularly in the condition you describe
Kindest regards
The humidity in the garage where we store the cars can sometimes spike up to 85%-90% so using a dehumidifier in the carcoon seemed like the perfect solution because dehumidifying the whole public garage in it would not be cost effective.Particularly in the condition you describe
Kindest regards
It could be that the dehumidifier doesn’t work right, but the humidity inside the carcoon was always around 50-55% when I checked using an independent hygrometer that was in the carcoon all the time.
I figured its the constant stream of relatively dry air that might dry the rubber out, but I see you are using the same setup just fine so may try it again.
Edited by EricE on Sunday 6th October 10:12
i dont bother with a dehumidifier and i have set up humidity loggers inside the airchamber and outside in the garage. the inside humidity in the chamber is generally 5-10% less than the garage its sat in, and the temperature range is a couple of degrees less each day, which is the idea behind them that they stop the rapid warming/cooling which causes condensation to form. one winter so far inside it and no sniff of damp or mould. my other garage runs a rotary dessicant type dehumidifier which works so much better than the coolant cycle type, but does consume leccy at about 70-700w depending upon how much work its doing. this keeps the entire garage at around 50% all year round, but no issue with rubber drying out etc as yet.
My cars live in a wooden garage with concrete floor, and both pass the winter in a Carcoon. I chuck a block of silicone in each, forget the car for most of the winter, and they come out as they went in. Except this winter, until Xmas, I don't even have a car here. Boo hoo.
ETA I may well be able to source some second hand if any are interested. I know - or used to know - where there were a dozen now unused. I'll know in a day or so if they are still there.
ETA I may well be able to source some second hand if any are interested. I know - or used to know - where there were a dozen now unused. I'll know in a day or so if they are still there.
Edited by lowdrag on Sunday 6th October 15:27
A side effect of using the Carcoon was that all the oxidised aluminium components in the engine bay came out with less oxidation. They did not look like they had been polished, but just looked clean.
The fans were near silent from memory. The battery conditioner connection was just bare wires for connecting to the battery with a small snap connector about 2 foot from the end that connected to the battery. Even when my TVR in the carcoon lived outside, after 4 months in the chamber over a wet winter, there was no surface corrosion on the discs. The car always came out exactly as it went in.
There were no hoops to secure the Carcoon, it just relied on the weight of the car. It seemed to cope quite well in the wind, but my better half kindly made me some covers for the mirrors out of soft dust cloths just in case the inner lining rubbed on the mirrors.
I have no connection to Carcoon, I just think it is an excellent product.
The fans were near silent from memory. The battery conditioner connection was just bare wires for connecting to the battery with a small snap connector about 2 foot from the end that connected to the battery. Even when my TVR in the carcoon lived outside, after 4 months in the chamber over a wet winter, there was no surface corrosion on the discs. The car always came out exactly as it went in.
There were no hoops to secure the Carcoon, it just relied on the weight of the car. It seemed to cope quite well in the wind, but my better half kindly made me some covers for the mirrors out of soft dust cloths just in case the inner lining rubbed on the mirrors.
I have no connection to Carcoon, I just think it is an excellent product.
I have updated my previous posting as it turned out that the dehumidifier in the carcoon was indeed faulty, so the dried out rubber and plastic were really not the fault of the carcoon. We still refuse to put the higher value cars into a carcoon with a dehumidifier in it because of the problems we have experienced.
That still leaves the problem that the carcoon itself without a dehumidifier doesn’t do much to protect the car in a very humid and dusty environment, but I will stop questioning the concept and just use it as advertised.
If nothing else the Carcoon Veloces are much more convenient than the cotton car covers we have used previously and they don’t touch the paint surface either.
That still leaves the problem that the carcoon itself without a dehumidifier doesn’t do much to protect the car in a very humid and dusty environment, but I will stop questioning the concept and just use it as advertised.
If nothing else the Carcoon Veloces are much more convenient than the cotton car covers we have used previously and they don’t touch the paint surface either.
Edited by EricE on Monday 14th October 10:47
Robert Elise said:
Has anybody used desiccant bags in conjunction with a Carcoon?
Seems a great double act...
Carcoon doesn't dehumidify but circulates air. The larger desiccant bags should last a few weeks before needing regeneration.
Not much cop. A proper humidifier takes anything from 4 litres a week to 4 litres a day out of a typical Carcoon to maintain 55% RH depending on weather. Dessicant bags only a handle fraction of that. Problem with Carcoon is not a truly closed environment due to fans.Seems a great double act...
Carcoon doesn't dehumidify but circulates air. The larger desiccant bags should last a few weeks before needing regeneration.
drmark said:
Not much cop. A proper humidifier takes anything from 4 litres a week to 4 litres a day out of a typical Carcoon to maintain 55% RH depending on weather. Dessicant bags only a handle fraction of that. Problem with Carcoon is not a truly closed environment due to fans.
Well, i'm going to experiment anyway - nothing to lose, i bought a Carcoon before i knew about PermaBags. Scary that the bag is more expensive than a Carcoon!? it is probably better, yet simpler with no fans or battery tender.In the Carcoon I'll use 4 x 1kg bags just inside the main zip for easy access and regen every 2 weeks.
lowdrag said:
My cars live in a wooden garage with concrete floor, and both pass the winter in a Carcoon. I chuck a block of silicone in each, forget the car for most of the winter, and they come out as they went in. Except this winter, until Xmas, I don't even have a car here. Boo hoo.
ETA I may well be able to source some second hand if any are interested. I know - or used to know - where there were a dozen now unused. I'll know in a day or so if they are still there.
Hi Lowdrag, did anything come of this?ETA I may well be able to source some second hand if any are interested. I know - or used to know - where there were a dozen now unused. I'll know in a day or so if they are still there.
Edited by lowdrag on Sunday 6th October 15:27
Hi, I've ordered a carcoon veloce but it won't be with me till the new year.Now I've gone to put the car on the Ctek charger and its flickering on fully charged and also the half charged symbol, so I think I'm ready for a new one. My question is, is the one which comes with the veloce any good or is it better to get another Ctek.
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