Firearms Storage: Heated or Unheated Space?

[lupinsea]

So....
Since I started buying my own firearms back in 1997 or so I've always kept them stored in a conditioned space (inside the house) since I figure there is less moisture inside a home.

But . . . we're always a little tight on space in our house. And the location I have the safe is a bit awkward. It works but I wouldn't mind having it in a better location.

Is it ok to move the gun safe to the unheated garage? Or am I risking rust and corrosion out there? It's just a basic heavy gauge sheet metal safe. Nothing fancy or insulated.

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[4Freedom]

I have a dehumidifier in my safe and have had them stored in unheated garages for years without any rusting.. I think a dehumidifier is the best option. They sell dehumidifiers that are specifically made for safes. You can probably just google "safe dehumidifier". Perhaps you can run a larger dehumidifier in your garage if moisture is a big problem. I heat my garage when I workout, as I have a weight room in my garage, but it doesn't seem to help with all the moisture that seeps in there.

 

[JSJPDX]

I have my safe in an unheated shop building inside of a plywood cabinet that I built. There are electric dehumidifiers in both the safe and the cabinet. It's been there for a year or so and I haven't had any problems with moisture or rust yet.

 

[mattdomes]

Heated for sure, keep the condensation away! I have a network hard drive in my safe where we backup all the computers and it also keeps the safe nice and tosty

 

[jbett98]

First thing is to find out what the relative humidity is in the location your thinking of placing the gun safe.
I bought two small LCD temp / humidity monitors on eBay for less then $5.00 each, and placed one in my unheated shop and the other inside the safe.
My safe came with a Golden Rod heater and it keeps the interior at a steady 49% moisture and the internal temperature a couple of degrees higher then the outside. 45% to 50% is optimal for wood stocks.
If you have wood stocked firearms, you don't want to dry out all of the moisture and have the wood shrinking and cracking.