Physical storage in cold area ?

[David M]

I have a second NAS that is used to backup my main NAS. But they both sit side by side. The backup is scheduled to run once per week so NAS 2 is powered down most of the time. I really need to get them physically separated and in my case, that means out of the house and into my detached garage. The garage is very nicely finished and is hard wired to my network closet in the house. My only concern is that I do not leave the heat on in the garage. Winter temperature get down below freezing but not that far below. ( I'm in the Pacific Northwest area.) I expect that this is not the healthiest environment to store my NAS but I have few choices and out of the house is the best one at this point.

Any thoughts ?

 

[Telos]

The unit datasheet covers that.

 

[David M]

Thanks Telos. I found it in the Hardware Installation Guide for the DS-920+, Page 6.

For anyone else looking, the spec's are :
Operating Temperature : 32 to 104 F ( 0 to 40 C )
Storage Temperature : -5 to 140 F ( -20 to 60 C )

Edit: added my model number above. Thanks Telos.

 

[Telos]

That data may be model specific. As you did not share your model, I could provide no specifics, other than point to the datasheet. Humidity specs are also cited for some models.

 

[fredbert]

It's best to check the datasheet for your own model. I did a random selection from the plus, value, and j series covering different numbers of bays. While the environment specifications are mostly the same it's just best to confirm for your device.

Remembering that this specification is just for Synology's device and you will add third party drives to it.

 

[Jan Janowski]

During the 2 years in between our retirement home was built, until time we moved in, I had 3x cameras, a raspberry pi as time server, a NAS, with single 2.5 used laptop drive, and 5 port switch, All but cameras hidden in the unheated crawl space of the house. Smokey Mountains is a very humid area, and winters can get down to 5-10 degrees F.
All of the devices worked then, and pi, switch, power supplies, and drive still work today, switch in unheated garage attic (cameras & NAS retired couple years after we moved in) with no ill effects or corrosion from humidity seen on any device.

Specifications are just suggestions for optimum operation! You gotta do what needs to be done.

 

[David M]

You really got me thinking a bit more on this. I can buy / build a custom enclosure for it. Even a very small, low wattage incandescent light bulb inside the enclosure with a very small vent should keep things reasonably warm and the humidity down. Worth a bit of experimenting I think.

 

[DASH]

You really got me thinking a bit more on this. I can buy / build a custom enclosure for it. Even a very small, low wattage incandescent light bulb inside the enclosure with a very small vent should keep things reasonably warm and the humidity down. Worth a bit of experimenting I think.

I was wondering whether the NAS wouldn't be dissipating enough heat by itself?
This of course depends on many factors, amongst which the average load on the disks/CPU and how well insulated the enclosure would be, but my educated guess would be that this would probably work.
What is the typical temperature of your drives?

 

[David M]

I've never checked the drive temp's. More homework. As a backup, the drives will be spooled down most of the time so I wouldn't expect too much heat from them.

 

[DASH]

What do you mean with 'spooled down'?
Do the disks often spin down to save energy?

Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about which disks you use (I guess you're talking about the DS920+)?

 

[David M]

Follow up : I built a nice little plywood box for the NAS and have it all installed out in the garage. ( I ended up putting my QNAP out there and kept the Synology in the house.) It's a tight fitting box; no seals around the door but it's a snug fit. The only other openings are two holes in the bottom - one each for the ethernet cable and power.

Outside temperatures must be down close to freezing overnight now. The drives are all at 102 - 104 degrees F. I put a thermometer in the box and left it for a while and the ambient air temp reads at 71 F. I put my hand inside and it's feels just a bit toasty. I installed a lightbulb socket with the intention of putting in a low wattage bulb for heat but it doesn't look like I'll need it unless I power down the NAS.

The conclusion for me is that I now feel more secure having my second NAS in a separate building from the main one and that environmental issues won't be a concern. It's a winner.