Records not stored vertically for decades

The causal formula for vinyl deformity is (Heat > 70 degrees F+ Uneven pressure across a recrd’s surface) / Time.

IOW: The vinyl substrate on which records are pressed softens in direct proportion to exposure to temperatures >70º Fahrenheit. The duration of their exposure is inversely proportional to the temperature elevation that softens vinyl to the same extent.

Record warping is a process that begins when heat softens the vinyl enough to deform during the simultaneous application of uneven pressure across a record’s surface. This uneven pressure occurs when records lean to one side. The higher the temperature, and/or the greater the uneven pressure, the less time it takes a deformity to develop.

The closer one edge of a record’s proximity to a home heating source, the greater the tendency for an isolated edge deformity to develop. Edge warps cause phonograph styli to skip or repeat playback of a record’s outer grooves. An edge warp that extends far enough toward the record’s center can render the introductory portions of the recorded music unplayable. Severe edge warps under the influence of modern anti-skating mechanisms can toss a playback off the edge of the record. Most edge warps are irreparable.

“Dish” deformities develop when an entire record is exposed to heat while the angles at which they lean are great enough to form pressure voids over a substantial portion of a record’s large midsection.

Dish warps decouple a record from the turntable platter when they’re played. This phenomenon allows the record’s inherent resonance to color the sound listeners hear—differing in intensity with each record rotation. This, in turn, has a deleterious effect on the fidelity that leads music lovers to choose vinyl records because of their extraordinarily high fidelity to the music’s source. The good news is that dish warps are repairable, as described by Sumiko

Either deformity becomes set when a deformed record cools. Repeated heating/cooling cycles “ratchet” up the warp’s severity over time until listeners finally notice it. The bad news is that in most cases, the process is so insidious that the process goes unnoticed until it’s too late to prevent it.

The good news for you, SOIX is that per your description, your record collection hasn’t been subjected to temperatures >70 degrees F while they’ve been stored as you’ve described. So unless they were subjected to temperatures > 70 degrees F at the same time they were exposed to uneven surface pressures before you began storing them as you’ve described, I can assure you that your valuable and sometimes irreplaceable records are not warped.

Look for Diamond Record Guardian, LLC to introduce its failsafe warp prevention system at the beginning of July.

@lewm

You asked, "Where do you get your “rules of warping”?"

Thank you for asking.

I got those rules from verified facts and sound logic. The verified facts were gathered from extensive research I engaged in order to understand my 55 years of anecdtotal experience with warps in my own records added to the experiences of other record collectors posted on the internet.

The sound logic cmes from my undeclared minor in formal logic when I earned my bachelors degree in business administration, passing all of my science and math courses with nary an error.

Assuming you have your own "rules for warping", how do they differ from mine?

Thank you.

@knock1

Yours is a valid concern. And if you don’t mind, I’ll respond with verified facts and sound logic.

The interiors of functional record storage compartments must be wide enough to accommodate album sets in larger than normal jackets and to ease removal for playback and replacement afterward. So most of them are at least 13" wide. When records are stored on a horizontal surface that wide, ½" of their edges can be misaligned with the record beneath it in a stack. This leaves that edge of the record devoid of pressure. The air temperatures very close to home heating sources can approach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. And a brief exposure to temperatures that high can deform the unsupported edge. Subsequent cooling sets the deformity, creating an edge warp. And repeated heating/cooling cycles increases the edge warp.

Unfortunately, few edge warps can be repaired.

@lewm

The storage angle is immaterial as long as it comprises a flat surface that provides even pressure across the suraces of records stored therein. In fact, Diamond Record Gurdaiian’s failsafe technology stores recoreds on a flat surface rotated to a 45 degree angle so gravity forces the edges of records into alignment. Its up to our customers to ensure that the back edges of records are also aligned--an easy tqsk when one edge is already aligned with the edges of records below it in the stack.

The consensus recommendation by acknowledged experts is to store records vertically at dry temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees F. As long as those records are supported be even pressures across both surfaces, they won’t deform. But that creates its own problem. Imagine organzing your record collection in alphabetical order by the recording artist’s name. You decide to add all ten of Abbq’s albums to your collection of 500 records stored in eight compartments. You’ll be fced with a hree-way quandary: you must be willing to shift ten records at a time from one compartment to the next x 7, cross referencing your collection by date of acquisition, or leqve a gap in each storage compartment to accommodate new acquisitions. If you’ve ever tried to balance a jacketed record on its edge, you alreqdy know it will fall toward one of two supporting surfaces until it encounters the highest obstruction. That leaves portions of the record devoid of pressure. This isn’t a problem as long as the stored records are not exposed to temperatures above 70 degrees. But how many record collectors listen to their records while sitting or standing in temperatures that do not exceed 70 degrees?

New records can be subjected to extremely high temperatures during shipping, and any misalignment omong records in their corrogqted cardboard containers completes the formula for vinyl deformity. Diamond Record Guardian (DRG) recommends having your records shipped by air to minimize their time of exposuure to high temperatures. Even worse, there is no guarantee that other freight not aligned with the surfaces of your recordswon't be stacked on top of your records. The only portection from that eventuality is to have your records shipped in a rigic container, i.e. milk crates.

You can’t control how your local record store ships has its inbound stock shipped. But they won’t stay in business long if they refuse to replace or refund the price you paid for records that turn out to be warped.