Leaving Your ManZone

Leaving your Manzone? Disaster Prevention
by Robert Blanda (bork@myManZone.com)

There are a few precautions you should take when leaving your Man Zone for an extended period of time. We have personally witnessed some scary outcomes while leaving a ManZone for a week or longer. 

A neighbor of mine left for the Caribbean and took a two week vacation. When she returned there was 2 feet of water covering her basement. Her bar was destroyed along with the carpet, drywall and furniture. Her icemaker line (thin clear water tubing) had disconnected itself and slowly drained into her “Girl Zone.” We’re not sure how much her insurance covered, but it was disastrous. She was devastated. 

When I leave for vacation or business, I have a ritual for preparing the zone for vacation. I know some of these things sound stupid, but you’d be surprised at how the little things get overlooked. 

First and foremost, I turn off the water main. After my neighbor’s experience, I have piece of mind knowing that I won’t have any water disasters in my home. Since I have many computers and electronics in the zone, this is an important step.

The Draft Beer Systems need some attention also. If possible, finish the kegs. This will allow you to turn off the CO2. If you have a stand alone beer meister, you can unplug the refrigeration unit to save electricity and any possible problems associated with it. If you have a keg conversion kit and you are using a full size refrigerator, you’ll probably want to run it while you’re gone since there are most likely other things in there that cannot do without refrigeration. If the unit has an icemaker, please make sure the water main is off. 

Got a full keg? Make sure there is CO2 pressure in the keg and uncouple the connector from the keg so it is free-standing. Turn off the CO2 bottle. Sometimes the smallest of leaks can drain your CO2 bottle. Most important thing is to keep it refrigerated and CO2 in the keg. This should last about 2 weeks, but you may want to make sure that the keg is pressurized enough to keep it. 

Some people elect to turn off the electric main in the house. This is a bad idea unless you have all empty refrigerators and freezers. It also requires a steady climate anywhere from 60-80 degrees. 

Heating and Air Conditioning should be attended to as well. Lower the heat in the winter to about 62 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer, only let the air conditioner run enough to keep it under 80 degrees in your house or ManZone.

Cigar humidors should be wet or have full water cavities. Better yet - Take your cigars on vacation and share them with your friends!

Best advice of all, clean the zone well for no other reason than to come home to a nice clean zone where you can have a drink and relax. Call it a post-vacation.