Hi, I've searched the forums but haven't come up with anything on shuttle storage. I read that the shuttles are to be stored in a cool and moisty environment, 8-10 degrees celsius and 70-80 percent humidity. The only thing I can imagine would be my refridgerator. It has ~6-8 degrees celsius and I have no idea about the humidity level. Is this the preferred way of storing shuttlecocks ? PS. I'm looking at long period of storage. Somewhere like one to three years I'd guess..
I think that temperature is not an issue. Important is just humidity. Relative humidity is close to 100% in the fridge. So fridge is OK if you can dedicate a space in there for long period. Alternative way is to steam the shuttles before usage. That's the way I use. But in my case a tube will not survive more than 3 months in the shelf. I buy just 5-10 tubes in a time...
Short term, I have a basket setup above the shower so the shuttles get nice steam bath daily and when I need them, I pick some out a day or two before actual day of usage. Long term, I have them stored in my parents' basement.
Thanks for the info Mag.. I searched the forums for "Shuttle storage". I should have made a more exhaustive search. Nevermind, I think storing the shuttles in the fridge 24h before play will be perfectly ok. I can store the shuttles in normal room humidity (~40-60 percent) until then.
anybody tried the extreme? buy one of those fridges they used for wines. you can set both temperature and humidity. yeah. i will put that in my Christmas wishlist....
I find that steaming the birds one by one and then release some steam into the tube (birds already in there) just before closing the lid helps for next day use. That is because I live in Central Canada where the air is so dry in the winter. If you live in a more humid environment, you can probably get away with leaving them in the tube for a week or so.
Why steam them the day before ? Would steaming them the same day be worse ? I gotta try this too.. It's the kichen again for me I suppose, boiling water ?
I suppose it's either the cheaper birds I used? Can't afford the top Yonex ones I've been to tournaments where the birds were constantly steamed for the games. Don't like that because it got too heavy and wet. I guess those people don't really know how to. Again, they were also using middle grade birds. Depending on where you live and what kind of birds, it all depends on when you should steam them. That is my 2 cents anyways.