Crappy Cases

[emmojo]

I want to share my experience with Gator cases. I will attempt to be brief. I had one of my kits that I occasionally gig with, stored in my Gator hardshell cases. I recently took them out and was shocked to find corrosion on my floor tom. I suppose I should add that this kit is not one of my vintage kits, but my Dw's that I bought not quite 18 months ago. I couldn't freakin believe it.
I emailed Dw, and within 2 days I received their response. They asked for pictures of course, and also asked if I had ever stored them in Gator cases? Holy crap! Sounds to me they know something about these cases. I just emailed the pics off today, so i haven't heard the explanation on the cases yet.
My purpose to posting this is two-fold.
1. Has anyone ever heard of this being an issue
2. If you are using the gator cases, I strongly recommend removing your drums from the cases until we get to the bottom of this. I will let everyone know what Dw says as soon as possible.

[The Ploughman]

Just my opinion, but I think its a bad idea to transport any set in hard plastic cases, lined or unlined, winter or summer, through changes in temperature and humidity,... and then bring them back home and store them in the cases. In the winter, you take them from a warm home, into a cold outside, transport with or without heat in car or truck, bring them inside, set up and play, case up, same transport to home. The plastic will naturally condensate inside. Its a perfectly normal thing to happen.
Summer can be almost as bad, depending on how much you cool your house.
I never leave a set cased up in the hard plastic cases.

Maybe I am just paranoid.

Edit.............. Apparently there is a problem with gator specifically. I do not make a practice of posting links to other forums, however, I do hope this will be acceptable.

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82042&highlight=gator+cases+rust

[SlingerLynn]

Emmojo,

I've never had an issue with my DWs in my Humes & Berg Enduro cases. For the last almost 10 years, the only time the drums aren't in the cases are when I'm changing heads, tuning them up or setting up and playing. Of course, they aren't left in a garage, they're either stacked in my closet or the corner of my bedroom. I've transported them in the winter, summer and rain with no issues. I live in a very humid area also. I know you'd have to come up with a few hundred dollars, but I highly recommend H&B Enduros. Maybe you can contact Gator and get them to refund your expenses, or at least buy back your cases - I know it's probably a shot in the dark, though, but it never hurts to try.

I lined all of the cases except the bass drum case and one of my snare cases myself. I used 3M Auto Interior Spray Adhesive and headliner material for the ones I did myself. No issues out of any of them. Gator must be using some caustic chemicals in their glue, or it could be chemicals in their foam or whatever liner material they use.

Years ago, I cut up old white T-shirts to use as dividers in my cymbal case and they quickly started causing some weird streaking on my cymbals where they were held against the fabric. Someone with a little smarts explained to me that washing leaves behind chemicals in the fabric, and that was the cause of the streaking. So, it could be the glue or the chemicals in the liner or a combination. That's just a guess, though.

I hadn't planned to buy Gator cases for my new-to-me old Slingerlands, but I definitely won't be even considering Gator any time soon after hearing about this. I wonder if anyone else has had issues with any other case manufacturer.

Thank you very much for sharing that! I hope Gator will own up to their problem-causing cases and help you out, emmojo.

[vintagemore2000]

I want to share my experience with Gator cases. I will attempt to be brief. I had one of my kits that I occasionally gig with, stored in my Gator hardshell cases. I recently took them out and was shocked to find corrosion on my floor tom. I suppose I should add that this kit is not one of my vintage kits, but my Dw's that I bought not quite 18 months ago. I couldn't freakin believe it.
I emailed Dw, and within 2 days I received their response. They asked for pictures of course, and also asked if I had ever stored them in Gator cases? Holy crap! Sounds to me they know something about these cases. I just emailed the pics off today, so i haven't heard the explanation on the cases yet.
My purpose to posting this is two-fold.
1. Has anyone ever heard of this being an issue
2. If you are using the gator cases, I strongly recommend removing your drums from the cases until we get to the bottom of this. I will let everyone know what Dw says as soon as possible.there was a similar problem from a forum member on the DFO about a year ago and come to find out that this is a large reoccurring problem with certain year Gator drum cases due to the glue that was used in them at that time.

[Tinman]

If you are going to store something for a long period where there is no air flow, I would suggest adding some packets of desiccant to capture any residual moisture. You see these small packets in many items (especially electronics) when you unpack them.

[emmojo]

Thanks for all the replies. I did not hear back from Dw today, but I'm certain I will. I have for decades stored kits in bags as well as plastic hard-shells (SKB), without any issues. I also have always included at least one packet of silica, just in case.
Keep in mind that there was only rust and corrosion on one of the 5 drums, which makes things even more interesting. I will keep you posted!

[Tinman]

Keep in mind that there was only rust and corrosion on one of the 5 drums, which makes things even more interesting. I will keep you posted!
That makes me think that there was some contamination, either of the drum or the case.

[emmojo]

That would make sense except for the fact that I always wear white cotton gloves when I set up and tear down. Each drum is wiped for prints and smudges then placed in the case. While the drums are out of the cases, each one is placed inside each other and closed. Not much chance for just the one drum to be contaminated.