effects of heat on sandisk memory cards

Kevin CTMP · June 9, 2010

Does anyone have any information about how high temperatures will effect sandisk ultra II memory cards?....I left some of them in a card wallet in my car for a few days, temperatures outside with in the high 80's...the cards seem to work fine, but I'm a little leary on using them for a wedding just to find out they've died on me. Everything I've looked up says that they should be alright, but I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience

thanks

Kevin

www.ctm-photography.net

WillCAD · June 9, 2010

Don't use them for a wedding. They're probably fine, but there is a possibility that they've been damaged by the heat exposure. Temps in the 80s can cause temps in a sealed car to reach triple digits, especially if it's parked in the sun, and temps that high can damage sensitive electronics.

Inside a CF card is a circuit board with several components and chips. Excessive heat/cold exposure can cause the boards to expand and contract at different rates than the solder, which loosens the soldered connections. Those cards may work for several more years without a problem, or they may give way the next time they get warm from being used in a camera or stored in a warm place.

I hate to say it, but I think you should err on the side of caution and not use those cards at a shoot. Retire and replace them.

hgernhardtjr · June 10, 2010

You should have NO problems with them. Sandisk rates their Ultra II cards at operating temps of 0 to 70° C (32 to 158° F) and non-operating temps of -25 to 85° C (-13 to +185°F).

I have never had any problems with mine, and I am sure their temp ratings are very conservative.

gecko0 · June 11, 2010

should not be a problem at all. as hgernhardtjr said, the operating temps are well above/below anything they were exposed to.

Qarik · June 11, 2010

no problem. I work as a silicon chip test engineer. They get qualified to much higher temps then that.

pathfinder · June 11, 2010

But you can bake cookies in a parked car at 180 F -- http://bakingbites.com/2007/09/car-baked-chocolate-chip-cookies-step-by-step/

vintagemxr · June 12, 2010

As it happens, before I retired, one of my specialties was answering the questions about how hot things get inside of a car (I was a test engineer for a car company).

Here in AZ that max interior cabin air temp in a car on the most extreme days (black car, windows closed, vents off) is about 80°C just below the headliner.

However, interiors parts, especially in direct sun through the glass or even an open window, can quickly reach temps up to 100° - 118°C. Fully shaded areas like the glove box or trunk can go to 60°C.

So where the disk was left in the car will make a big difference in the actual temp it reached.

Doug

Jane B. · June 12, 2010

vintagemxr wrote: »

As it happens, before I retired, one of my specialties was answering the questions about how hot things get inside of a car (I was a test engineer for a car company).

Here in AZ that max interior cabin air temp in a car on the most extreme days (black car, windows closed, vents off) is about 80°C just below the headliner.

However, interiors parts, especially in direct sun through the glass or even an open window, can quickly reach temps up to 100° - 118°C. Fully shaded areas like the glove box or trunk can go to 60°C.

So where the disk was left in the car will make a big difference in the actual temp it reached.

Doug

With you located in the states I am surprised at you giving the temps ONLY in C when F is what most in the US think of temps in.

Also, I was a kid when he did it many years ago but my Dad sold cars and at on point stuck a thermometer in a white car and in a black car and there was a noticeable difference. At this point, more than 50 years later, I don't remember how much.
Jane B.

vintagemxr · June 12, 2010

Jane B. wrote: »

With you located in the states I am surprised at you giving the temps ONLY in C when F is what most in the US think of temps in.

Also, I was a kid when he did it many years ago but my Dad sold cars and at on point stuck a thermometer in a white car and in a black car and there was a noticeable difference. At this point, more than 50 years later, I don't remember how much.
Jane B.

Jane, I worked for a German car company so all my work was done in metric units of measurements. I never did learn to do the temp conversions in my head, for some reason.

Generally, black objects will heat up faster than white ones and get slightly hotter but the end difference isn't as significant as people might think. With cars, the amount of window glass can have a much bigger effect on heating than the color of the paint on the car. It's actually a fascinating subject if one is geeky enough.

Doug

chrisjohnson · June 13, 2010

Kevin CTMP wrote: »

Does anyone have any information about how high temperatures will effect sandisk ultra II memory cards?....I left some of them in a card wallet in my car for a few days, temperatures outside with in the high 80's...the cards seem to work fine, but I'm a little leary on using them for a wedding just to find out they've died on me. Everything I've looked up says that they should be alright, but I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience

thanks

Kevin

www.ctm-photography.net

When I was involved in a business supplying the auto industry we were asked to spec components up to 125 degrees celsius - fitting somebodies theoretical model of just how hot it could get in an automobile - hot enough to barbecue a dog, albeit a bit slowly.

We ran some tests and figured that our standard components would in fact carry on working but we were not going to give a guarantee.

Of course 99% of components are not designed for this - they are specced for more normal conditions. Even then I do not recall anyone getting sued for failing to meet the heat specs or anyone even losing an order; hardly anyone asks to verify the test results even. There are many elements that can fail in a system and unless there is an epidemic failure that drastically exceeds expected warranty provisions, nobody is ever going to investigate or take corrective action. Reliable suppliers will normally look to exceed specifications because they are aware that association with epidemic failure might lead to a bp event such as currently happening in the Gulf of Mexico - extreme longterm damage.

I think your problem is more emotional. When you stop trusting your kit you need to take action. Taking reserve parts on a paid photo shoot is just plain common sense. As is refreshing parts which have been exposed to extreme conditions.

WillCAD · June 13, 2010

vintagemxr wrote: »

As it happens, before I retired, one of my specialties was answering the questions about how hot things get inside of a car (I was a test engineer for a car company).

Here in AZ that max interior cabin air temp in a car on the most extreme days (black car, windows closed, vents off) is about 80°C just below the headliner.

However, interiors parts, especially in direct sun through the glass or even an open window, can quickly reach temps up to 100° - 118°C. Fully shaded areas like the glove box or trunk can go to 60°C.

So where the disk was left in the car will make a big difference in the actual temp it reached.

Doug

For the record, here are the temps that vintagemxr quoted, converted to F.

80°C = 176°F
100° - 118°C = 212° - 244°F
60°C = 140°F

hgernhardtjr wrote: »

You should have NO problems with them. Sandisk rates their Ultra II cards at operating temps of 0 to 70° C (32 to 158° F) and non-operating temps of -25 to 85° C (-13 to +185°F).

I have never had any problems with mine, and I am sure their temp ratings are very conservative.

So, Ultra II cards (my own card of choice, btw) are rated for non-operational storage at up to 185°F. But in a sealed car (in Arizona in summer) it can get way hotter than that.

My guess is that in Pittsburgh, where the OP lives, car temps will be somewhat lower, say on the order of about 20%. But that means that interior surfaces could still reach 170°F - 195°F, and shaded areas like a glove box can get up to 112°F.

I also wonder if SanDisk's rating is for a single exposure, or multiple heat/cool cycles, such as leaving the cards in a car for several days.

As I said before, those cards are probably fine, but to me it just seems prudent to not take the chance that a vital piece of equipment might suffer a malfunction during a paying shoot.

Dan7312 · June 13, 2010

In your head C - F conversion

double it (the C temp)
subtract 10%
add 32
and you get the F temp.

-40 C

X2 -> -80

- 10% -> -80 -(-8) -> -72

+ 32

-72 + 32 = -40 F

vintagemxr · June 14, 2010

Dan7312 wrote: »

In your head C - F conversion

double it (the C temp)
subtract 10%
add 32
and you get the F temp.

-40 C

X2 -> -80

- 10% -> -80 -(-8) -> -72

+ 32

-72 + 32 = -40 F

Dan, thankfully, when I retired to private life I immediately reverted to working in °F like God intended us to.

The other commenter is correct about losing faith in components. At work I did a great deal of documentary photography and other measurements where the instruments used CF cards and I'd toss a card as soon as I had a hint of a thought that it might not be reliable. Memory cards are cheap compared to re-running a test or, in the case of commercial photography, the impossibility of re-shooting a wedding.

I will say too that I used SanDisk Extreme memory cards in my FLIR thermocameras all day long out in the sun and the camera would get too hot to hold without gloves but I never lost a memory card in one.

The cards I did have die over the years were usually the cheap ones in co-worker's PnS cameras. As the techs used to say "Cheap tools can be very expensive."

Doug

Antontrax · June 22, 2010

Ah Fahrenheit, A system of measurement based on freezing brine and his wife's armpit.:D

vintagemxr · June 23, 2010

Antontrax wrote: »

Ah Fahrenheit, A system of measurement based on freezing brine and his wife's armpit.:D

It does show a certain Joie de vivre.

Doug

effects of heat on sandisk memory cards

Comments