Cycleops Fluid2 stored in cold garage?

[sergen]

After weeks of research and a visit to the LBS I've finally decided to gracefully retire my 12 year old Tacx mag turbo and replace it with the Fluid2, which will be my first experience with fluid trainers.

The trainer is going to be used and stored in my garage which has no radiators or other source of heating. This time of year the night temperatures can drop to -3. It's no doubt just me being paranoid but I'm seeking reassurance that these low temperatures wouldn't damage a fluid trainer stored in a cold garage.

Thanks

 

[kopride]

After weeks of research and a visit to the LBS I've finally decided to gracefully retire my 12 year old Tacx mag turbo and replace it with the Fluid2, which will be my first experience with fluid trainers.

The trainer is going to be used and stored in my garage which has no radiators or other source of heating. This time of year the night temperatures can drop to -3. It's no doubt just me being paranoid but I'm seeking reassurance that these low temperatures wouldn't damage a fluid trainer stored in a cold garage.

Thanks

I have the same trainer and believe it utilizes silicone oil. The freezing point of silicone oil in various industrial settings is generally considered to be below -100C. I don't know the chemical properties of the fluid in the Saris trainer but it should stay fluid at -3F. It might be more viscous at the start of your session. If you are really worried, it only weighs a few pounds and can be stored under a bed if it gets really crazy cold and you aren't using it for an extended period.

 

[sergen]

I have the same trainer and believe it utilizes silicone oil. The freezing point of silicone oil in various industrial settings is generally considered to be below -100C. I don't know the chemical properties of the fluid in the Saris trainer but it should stay fluid at -3F. It might be more viscous at the start of your session. If you are really worried, it only weighs a few pounds and can be stored under a bed if it gets really crazy cold and you aren't using it for an extended period.

Kopride,

Do you also use and store your fluid2 in an unheated garage?

By the way I should have clarified that the temp here drops to -3C and not -3F! I guess that -3C would be around 20F.

Thanks

 

[kopride]

Kopride,

Do you also use and store your fluid2 in an unheated garage?

By the way I should have clarified that the temp here drops to -3C and not -3F! I guess that -3C would be around 20F.

Thanks

You're fine. Below find a link that lists the freezing temp of silicone fluid, the fluid in the trainer, as being below -70C. It might get a bit more viscous until it warms up, but very little. That is why they use silicone because it has very stable properties and viscosity across a broad temp range, even as it gets hot. A less stable medium would lose viscosity as it gets hotter, which is the usual concern, and silicone gives a predictible power curve even when you are using it hard. I am a lawyer not an engineer but I do deal with chemical cases and have to research this kind of stuff all the time.

http://www.swantek.com/html/msds/443.htm

I keep my trainer in a basement that is cold but usually temps stay above the freezing temp for water.

 

[grahamspringett]

Frozen trainer fluid would surely make for some great resistance training?

 

[flapsupcleanup]

It's no problem, my garage is the same, very cold in the winter. But strangely enough, when I start riding as the temp of the trainer goes up, so does it's resistance. In a 20 minute constant power interval the tire speed slows down almost 10% from the start to the finish.