Drysuit storage: How far away from motors is far enough?

[fluff_astrid]

I live in a small one bedroom apartment. I can easily store my drysuit away from the fridge, but I have limited storage options elsewhere because closets are either full or every other location is exposed to possible heat/light. What I do have is a built-in cupboard next to a built in laundry cabinet. It’s separated by a wall and both have doors on them. Could I store the drysuit there or is it too close still to the washing machine/dryer? Does ozone go through walls?

The other option is try to stick it on the top of a free standing shelving unit I have in my bedroom (the shelves themselves are too shallow to hold a drysuit bag), but that will expose it to any air conditioning that blows from the ceiling ducts.

 

[lexvil]

What is the specific worry, I’m assuming you have latex seals that are the concern?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

The only worry about ozone is the latex seals. I have two drysuits and only one has latex seals. The one with latex seals I store it in a sealed trashbag inside its drysuit bag in the garage. Our garage has no electrical or gas units located there. We have no natural gas anything and our electric water heater and hvac/heater are inside our condo. The drysuit with silicone seals is also stored in the garage in its drysuit bag. I rarely use them these days (I live in Florida) but the last time I checked, both still looked fine after 5 years of storage.

 

[kelemvor]

I believe you're overthinking it. In addition to my drysuit, I've got a bunch of products made of silicone. From soldering mats to cooking utensils, it's become a very common material. None of those products have any problems that I can tell, including the ones that are regularly exposed to chemicals and high heat (~350c).

I've never done anything special to care for my drysuit in regards to O₃. If you do find yourself having to replace the seals someday, you can get the sitech ring system. Then replacing a seal becomes something that takes 2 minutes on the boat and is fairly inexpensive.

I actually bought 2 extra sets of seals when I bought my suit because people made it sound like the seals were super fragile and would get torn often. That didn't turn out to be my experience, and I've still got the first set installed.

Maybe if you've got one of those awful ozone generators in your house you might need to be concerned. Those things were all the rage like 40 years ago.

 

[hilljo88]

I've found some wear due to chlorine in the pool and sunlight but none that I can confirm due to ordinary household appliance motors. YMMV

 

[broncobowsher]

Ozone is created by the arcing of a brushed motor.
A refrigerator compressor is a sealed unit. There is no arcing (in the air) to create ozone.
Most of the motors you are talking about are either old and induction motors, again no arcing and no ozone. Or if modern are brushless DC, direct drive, and still don't generate sparks and ozone.

Of all the electric motors I own, the only ones that make sparks and ozone are some of my power tools. Drills, saws, etc.

My modern washing machine uses brushless DC direct drive (actually 3-phase derived from DC rectified from single phase AC power). My dryer uses an induction motor. I would avoid my laundry room not from the ozone factor, but from the dust and humidity factor. But a closet next to it would be fine.
A refrigerator, even one with fans, is also a non-issue.
In my garage, still not worried as I rarely use power tools. But the fumes from the chemical cabinet are a big deterrent.

 

[fluff_astrid]

Ah wonderful, thanks everyone! I guess I was overthinking it indeed, good to know there’s more flexibility here (a drysuit is an expensive investment )