A good quality desiccant, purchased in bulk. Change out as needed. For me in a safe, it was weekly.

Of course, may not be sufficient if your home/safe location isn't already climate controlled. I was dumping 10-12 gallons from my downstairs unit daily here.

 

Most of the rechargeable`s are pretty close to the same thing. I bought one at Field&Stream couple years ago. Still working good. They`re all made in china, so just pick up a good size one.

The one i got was "Stack-on" branded. I just take it out of the safe when it changes color, plug it into a wall socket, color of the beads change back, put it back in the safe.

I live in a pretty humid area, and the one i bought, i might have to plug it in every 2 or 3 months to recharge it.

I would highly recommend getting a good humidity gauge to put inside the safe and monitor it.

My safe is a 36 gun unit, my dehumidifier works very good.

Pay more for it to say LIBERTY (branded for Liberty Safe Co)
https://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Safe...ds=Stack-On+SPAD-1500+Rechargeable+Cordless+Dehumidifier&qid=1630885496&sr=8-86

Or buy the same one who make them for Liberty and pay way less.
https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva...rds=Stack-On+SPAD-1500+Rechargeable+Cordless+Dehumidifier&qid=1630885599&sr=8-6

 

Thanks

 

If you have that much humidity in the room you need to store guns and other valuables in you might want to consider a whole room dehumidifier unit with a pump unit to send the excess water to "someplace else" rather than having to babysit your safe all the time...

 

Excellent point Bob. But we don`t know how bad the humidity is in the OP`s home where his safe is. I have climate control in my whole house, so the humidity is low. But when i bought my safe brand new, i was a few months getting it dried out inside when i first got it. (safe was made in china ) I`m now past the 3 month mark without having to recharge my dehumidifier at all. I suspect its going to be much longer times between recharges. My humidity meter in my safe says low numbers ever since the safe got dried out.

 

So an extension cord for the golden rod is out of the question?

 

A light bulb does a great job and extra visibility does not hurt. I would 2nd the idea to run power into the closet.

My closets all have over head lighting. I dont know if that is normal practice. If so; an adapter could be screwed into the bulb socket for an extension. On a positive note, 60% does not sound like much of a problem.

I saw Breakfree CLP now offers a 5 year protective coating. New product. Getting the finger oil off and a good surface lube maybe just a good at 60%. Gimmick? I dont know. Maybe. I got a bottle.

 

I have a goldenrod in a 12 gun safe. It isn't a miracle worker for high humidity. I may get a 5% reduction from it and the use of a dessicant combined. The safe is insulated with the gypsum board.

I ended up buying a $300 dehumidifier. My basement is down from 65% RH to 38%.

I don't know what ideal RH is for storage. I assumed for ammo, as dry as possible. Is there such a thing as too dry?

Thanks

 

I have a goldenrod in a 12 gun safe. It isn't a miracle worker for high humidity. I may get a 5% reduction from it and the use of a dessicant combined. The safe is insulated with the gypsum board.

I ended up buying a $300 dehumidifier. My basement is down from 65% RH to 38%.

I don't know what ideal RH is for storage. I assumed for ammo, as dry as possible. Is there such a thing as too dry?

Thanks

To dry can dry out wood stocked guns, thats not healthy for the wood. Put a humidity meter in your gun safe and see what it reads in a few days.

So many people put all these dehumidifiers in place, but don`t bother checking to see what the humidity levels actually are.

Something as cheap as this one would work just fine.
https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-Humi.../B08LKC4K15/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=Humidity+meter&qid=1630944163&sr=8-16

 

My larger safe in my finished but uninsulated garage, with a golden rod and a medium size rechargeable it stays at 45% year round, that's a 64 gun Hell's Canyon.

 

NICE! :t

 

Damprid....pros and cons????

 

Though i`ve never used it myself, this link might shed some light on that particular product.

https://bestreviews.com/best-moisture-absorbers

 

Well, I've spent all day in and out, under the floor, running an outlet so I could drill a hole in the bottom of safe and install a golden rod. Mission accomplished. Not bad for a person who knows nothing about electrical work.

 

I usually add a vapor / corrosion inhibitor capsule to my safe and cased firearms.
Zerust 11327 on Amazon.

 

dehumidify safes

i built a 6x7 concrete vault in my basement insulated dryloc on the concrete poly on the concrete floor i use a130v 100 watt rough service bulg keeps the humidity 60% or less and the vault is 4- deg, warmer thann the rest of the basement. buld last about 4 months. a cheap way out

 

Run the 120v wire. 14/2 is more than plenty for this task. Convection is what you want. For the best convection, a heat source as close to the floor as possible is best, ala Golden Rod which sits on the floor (or one of their competitors). Heat rises, so a floor-located heating rod will properly and continuously circulate the whole volume of air in your safe. Supplement that with desiccant if you wish but only required if humidity levels are very high...and if so, bake and replace the desiccant OFTEN. Or move the safe to a climate-controlled area. Or even forego the safe for climate-controlled storage if that is an option.

Light bulbs work but are greater fire hazards with shorter life and your instinct will be to mount those at the top which will be only marginally helpful. If using a light bulb, 20 watts per 20 guns of storage is enough.

Remember, all you want is the air in the safe to be SLIGHTLY WARMER than the ambient temperature. In doing so, moisture will not condense on metallic surfaces within the safe. In a small, enclosed space, it takes little wattage to make this a reality.

 

When I built my house, I added a concrete vault with a steel door in the corner of my basement. I also wired lights, a receptacle, and have my security system wired to the door. I have a basement dehumidifier that does a great job throughout the rest of the basement, but I needed something in the vault. Eventually, I found a plug-in dehumidifier that is probably oversized for the area I have it in, but it does a great job and I only have to dump the water out about every 2 weeks during the worse time of the year.

I am, however, concerned about wood damage due to the heat the dehumidifier puts off, so I would be interested in hearing what dehumidifiers others have used in similar situations where they had power access.

 

Ive read that if the humidity is to low the wood could start to shrink. They say the best is between 40% and 50% humidity in a safe. Thats just what Ive read.

 

I have been using a Golden Rod for 25yrs?; they are what, maybe 20w?
Or I should say Happily using a G.R.
Wis. has some pretty high humidity issues. We have a small de-humidifier running all summer, furnace in the winter. Without the G.R. Im sunk.
Ime a 25w light bulb in a safe is to localized heat for my comfort level. The G.R. I could hold my hand on.
Mount it low, mine is in the bottom, back.

 

Ive got a 18"golden rod and an Eva-Dry rechargeable and mine is staying at 47%.
If Im not mistaken my golden rod said up to 200 cubic feet.

 

I just got a new safe and a dehumidifying rod since I moved to a 90% humidity state. I bought two Hygrometer/thermometer combos. I leave one out on the safe and one in the safe, and switch them periodically to make sure it doesn't impact my data. I am keeping a log, so far its about 62% humidity in the house and the safe is only about 4 or % lower. I am not sure the stuff in the safe is letting of moisture or absorbing more of it, but I will give if some more time before I take the rod out. It doesn't seem to do doing much of anything and so far seems like a waste of money.

 

Well, fwiw, there is a Definite diff between my guns in the safe with the G.R. and the ones in the rack just outside of it! Suffice to say that I for sure and certain wish All My Guns Fit In The Safe With It.
As to powering a Golden Rod, they are low wattage so a light-duty extension cord will be fine.

 

Suffice to say that I for sure and certain wish All My Guns Fit In The Safe With It.

SO- would you say you have a SAFE problem or a GUN problem?

 

My house is air conditioned, but I keep most of my gun collection in a large detached work shop. It has a whole house fan and a swamp cooler. I never worry about the humidity there or in the tool box for my takedown model truck guns. Likewise I don't worry about using egg crate foam sheets, or foam lined hard cases, since I apply Rig to the metal and wrap all of them in their own Zerust zip lock bags. Those emit a Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor that forms a protective barrier on the contents and last for several years. Then you can just buy new bags or small Zerust plastic tabs to toss into an old bag along with the gun to renew the protection. They keep working through power outages and offer some protection against accidental immersion in water. I've been using them for many years and have never had any problem with rust or oxidation whatsover:

Here is link to the full shipping and long term storage product line:

Zerust Full Line of Products

Here are some examples of a few of the products and prices for rifles and hand guns (Amazon carries many more VCI products that are smaller or larger, e.g for scoped long guns, & etc.):

Zerust VCI Bag, 10" x 50", Zip Closure, 5 Pack

Zerust VCI Bag, 9" x 12", Zip Closure, 10 Pack

Zerust Rust Prevention Plastabs 1" x 3" - Pack of 10

 

As BobSc and PaPow said...

It depends on conditions. If you can't keep the room where the safe is at a reasonably low humidity, and you can't relocate it to a drier location, nothing is going to work well enough to count on without constant attention. If that's the case, consider a second line of defense, or even a third.
A good film of oil or other corrosion-inhibiting oil or wax is your first defense. Good practice anyway before putting something in the safe is to wipe it down and get any fingerprints off before the acid and salt in those start attacking.
Vapor Phase Corrosion Inhibitors (VPCI) disks and blocks (like RustBlox) are available from most gunsmithing supply houses, and I generally keep a few in the safe, just in case. There are also toolbox drawer liners with the same stuff in them. Those won't help with wood stock stability, so far as I know, but they'll protect the metal.
Third line of defense would be plastic bags or some other airtight container. Brownell's sells what they call TRIPLE TOUGH™ PREMIUM STORAGE BAGs, which have a metal foil coating, are puncture resistant and are supposed to have 0% moisture transmission, even in contact with earth. Another option would be a Foodsaver. Those have the advantage that you can cut the bags (tubes, actually) to any length, heat-seal the ends and suck the air and any moisture out before sealing. For something you take to the range every month or so, that's actually a decent option. Just cut the bag a few inches too long. Then, when you want it out, just clip off the end, and when you come home you can seal it again. The vacuum sealing also shows very quickly if you've got a hole or a bad seal in the bag, too. That's after wiping it down and oiling, just as you would before any storage, and there's also no reason you can't put a VPCI disk in with it, too.

 

I have to respectfully disagree with your second sentence.
My basement is most certainly Not at a 'reasonable low humidity' and my not a premium safe with the Golden Rod has been 'working well enough to count on Without constant attention' for decades now.
Fwiw, I was desperate, it was a hassle trying to keep up with things. The safe and G.R. did what I hoped. I did keep tabs on it all for the first couple years and got comfortable with what was happening. Then I let it run without fretting and micro-managing.
Just my experience.

 

Some of us have different problems that we have to consider. For example, my basement is two blocks from the local Arkansas River Corps of Engineers flood control levee. Unfortunately it is also about the same distance from a local creek without one that's just as prone to flash flooding. This is all located in "Tornado Alley" where the reliability of Golden Rods and basement sump pumps are only theoretical during power outages in any event. This year the auto auctions from the Gulf Coast all the way to New England have hundreds of thousands of flood damaged vehicles. If your guns are inside your car trunk or truck when it gets flood damaged an expensive felt-lined Browning takedown case might be a bad choice for day to day use. That's why I just keep my collection zip-locked inside inexpensive vapor barrier corrosion bags and water resistant cases. I put all of my takedown models inside small inexpensive water resistant or waterproof tool boxes from Home Depot or Lowes.

 

Just a follow-up. Might be more than most folks want.

My safe is rather, large, 850 cu foot. While the house is airconditioned, I still wanted a drier safe interior.

It has been a month since I installed a Reemkizz dehumidifier. It is a small Peltier Effect module (as invented by ThermoElectron Co). it has no refrigerent nor compressor/motor. Only a very small fan that brings in air and forces it out. A high-tech unit with just one semi-conductor. No noise. It is a very small unit 6"x6"x9". simple plug in.

It can remove 15 oz/450ml per day moisture. Only negative is it is a container unit and water needs to be empty (simple small unit). Onr coould easily attach a 1/4" plastic tube.

My safe is somewhat large, BUT I find after the 2 weeks, the unit is half full 8 oz and easy to dump. It does shut off if filled.

on sale I paid $21.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09C6LTB6Z?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

Our house is usually around 20% in winter and 40-60% in summer. No problems with moisture so far. As long as finger oils are removed, all should be well. I know people who oil their guns to where you get oil soaked hands when you grab one. That's not good. A few drops on a rag, and that rag kept in a bag, should be more than enough.

 

And why is it not good to keep your guns well coated in oil ?

Thanks
Gilbert

 

ATF is better than most oils. Then there are the gun-specific treatments....that always opens a bag o' snakes.....
A little 'oil' is a good thing, just a thin coat on the metal, a 'film' if you will.
Many think if a little is good more is better. Not. And keep it off the wood.

 

Yep, and yep. One thing that turns me off when looking at guns is getting oil soaked hands.

 

Just a follow-up to my post #40.

In winter my Peltzer de-humifier was removing about 15 oz in two weeks. Now in summer temps about 82+, I'm dumping about 15 oz per week. My safe is about 50 times bigger than an average safe. But this unit has been working flawlessly for a year. It is 40 watts. I'm satisfied.

RE oil. I clean every gun completely/take-down each year. Final procedure is to us a light bristle brush to thin coat all metal. you can hardly feel any oil. Renaissance wax on wood stocks. I don't own any plastic guns. After shooting I always clean to new condition.

 

The Renaissance wax is effective on all firearm metal too. When I have reason to disassemble any of my firearms, all parts--wood or metal (except trigger) get a Renaissance treatment. I do have a G.R. in my safe and also use the EvaDry style dehumidifiers. I have never had any rust/corrosion issues. Maybe I'm just lucky.