Hi William! A little over four years ago we rented a large freezer truck for IPM purposes to freeze a very large collection of archives that had been donated to our institution. We did not have a specific species of pest identified for low temperature treatment - it was simply a preventive measure, since we knew that the archives had been stored for a long time in less than ideal conditions. The collection consisted of hundreds of boxes of papers...too much to go through individually to check for pests in the time that we had to take the donation in.
I looked into quite a few freezer truck rental options in our region (St Louis) at the time, and found that most of them cater to the food industry. As such, it was difficult to find one that was capable of reaching the temperatures we were hoping to achieve for IPM treatment. I finally found a company with trucks we were told could maintain minus 20 degrees F. We rented one and put the archives in there for 2 weeks (longer than recommended for that temp setting, but figured better to be safe than sorry since we knew there would be some fluctuations with defrost cycles that the trucks have to go through). I also put a datalogger in the truck. What I found was that the truck temperature actually fluctuated a lot from minus 12 degrees F to minus 3 degrees F...and never actually reached minus 20 degrees F. It never rose above freezing, but it turned out not to be cold enough to kill everything. As Archives staff began to go through the collection, they found springtails still alive and well in many of the boxes. Turns out springtails are pretty cold resistant – so the temperature range that the freezer truck provided was definitely not sufficient. We ended up investing in a couple of large laboratory chest freezers capable of reaching minus 40 degrees F. In the end, we spent more money than we wanted... but the silver lining was that we now have multiple chest freezers available for low temperature treatment when we need it. :) We're still limited by size as far as what we can fit in them...but I think if I had another large object or donation that we couldn't accommodate with our current setup...I would probably be tempted to look for an anoxic option first. This was obviously just one experience and there are undoubtedly a lot of variables at play. I don't think the outside temp had a negative impact for us (we did this in January during a particularly cold spell...outside temperatures were not getting above freezing). I'm hopeful that others have had a more positive experience! Hopefully you'll be able to find more (and better) options in your region than what I was able to find here at the time. Definitely inquire about defrost cycles...but know that the temperature ranges stated might not quite match up with what actually happens. Since many of these trucks are meant to store perishables - I think maintaining a frozen environment is more important for them and their customers than precise temperature points. I would recommend putting a datalogger into the truck to at least monitor the temperature & fluctuations. All my best, Crista On Mon, 31 Aug 2020 at 10:40, William Donnelly <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello PestList Community – > > > > Our exhibits registrar is asking about renting a large truck freezer to > treat an incoming textile loan. I need to get more information from her > with regards to whether the costumes will be mounted etc. > > > > However, I wonder if any of you have experience renting these trucks and > if could offer advice on what to look for in a service provider. I am at > Winterthur Museum, so we are likely looking for a company in the > Philadelphia region, so recommendations are also welcome. > > > > Also, I am familiar with chest freezer treatment protocols, would > treatment in these large freezers be any different? > > > > Thank you in advance, > > William > > > > > > *William Donnelly* > > Associate Preventive Conservator & Affiliated Assistant Professor WUDPAC > > Conservation Department > > Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library > > Direct 302.888.4680 > > Cell 302.750.1797 > > 5105 Kennett Pike > > Winterthur, DE 19735 > > *winterthur.org* > > Preferred Pronouns (he, him, his) > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MuseumPests" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/27257F74-4FD1-4CEB-B7A0-19292409E8A8%40contoso.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/27257F74-4FD1-4CEB-B7A0-19292409E8A8%40contoso.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CAKii%2BcS5aoBiHv_-wiQZPGQUQtg7Zd7Jrejpio6z5sT%2BOM3fPQ%40mail.gmail.com.
