Mold in my box / unhappy guns

Are those the small 100cuft ones?

 

If you can't get power to your safe then the rechargeable ones work great.

I have a 4,000lb safe that has 8" of steel on every side (mosler made in 1911) that I'll never get power too and it sits in my garage. Desiccant in every corner has been just fine for me.

 

That’s not a safe man, that’s a fortress...

Eva-dry rocks...

 

Borax is a much better choice than Cl because not only is it a natural mold inhibitor, it also provides residual protection, is odor free, non-toxic (unless you ingest it) and works on both porous and non-porous surfaces. Use a 1:16 ratio for either one.

 

Not sort of, temperature is pressure. Temperature gradients are what cause wind Think of a house just like a safe. Warmer air is less dense than colder air and therefore has a higher moisture carrying capacity. As the air is warmed by the goldenrod or houses heating system it expands and absorbs water from the inside of the house/safe. When this voume expands, the higher pressure forces some of this air out of the house/safe through cracks and sometimes planned vents carrying the moisture with it. This water vapor is continually seeking a lower pressure environment. Like houses, safes are not truly airtight and you do not want them to be. Some air exchange will happen with door openings and through cracks due temp/pressure fluctuations in the environment around the space, but this cooler air that infiltrates will stay low in the safe/house and interact with the heat system gaining pressure and excess moisture again is driven out. This is one reason heat registers and golden rods work better placed low. Also in the case of a safe installed in a garage or another unheated space, the guns inside will be slighly warmer than the ambient air in the space, so even if you open and fan the door exchanging all the air, the temp of the guns act as little high pressure areas, not letting the moisture in this cooler air condense on the metal. Now putting a very cold gun in a heated space will cause the moisture in the air to condense on it quickly. This should be avoided. @Stomper should back me up on this being a HVAC guy.

 

It says 333 square feet.

 

Good to know I was just going on what I have always been told to get ride of Mold. Had not heard about Borax until now.

 

Interesting. The ones I bought take 10-15 hours to recharge and they specifically say not to charge a charged unit.

I'll have to see how they work, I had to charge them first so I'll put them in the larger safes tonight and put the stack on 100 in my small safe, and will write up how long it takes between charges.

 

I have one of these in my one safe that has no electric outlet. I plug them into a wall outlet to regenerate when the color shows wet and then put back in my safe when the color shows dry.

 

Can you retrofit the safe and add an outlet? No biggie if you cannot. I have some LED lights in safe without power as well. One turns on automatically when it detects movement from my hands and I have another LED light up on the side that I manually turn on.

 

I bought 14 pounds of blue indicating silica gel (desiccant). I use about a pound in my gun safe and change it out about every couple of months. Dry in oven at 250 degrees for a couple of hours. Lots of uses - ammo cans, reloading supply boxes, etc. Amazon sells it for reasonable prices. I also use a dehumidifier in the room containing the safe. Acurite digital humidity monitors work well and are cheap.

 

Beautiful installation! Now put a BIG mirror or painting or book shelf over it to hide it - maybe a big paper map of the world or of Oregon,etc.

Hope your heater has stopped the moisture problem.

Like others have said - do not put a cold gun in the safe. I'd leave it wrapped up for a few hours in blankets when you come in from the cold so it can warm up slowly or set it where a heater can blow warm air on it.

Also what do think might be the temperature range of the space behind the safe, and what is the temperature range in the area in front of the safe? If the safe is cold, and the house is warm (warm air holds more moisture), then moisture will migrate to the cold safe and if surfaces in the safe are below the dew point temperature, moisture will condense. I'd guess the first place it might form would be low, closer to the floor. You could build a platform inside for guns to raise them a little - if the guns aren't too long.

Also, I have heard the sheetrock and fire proofing materials can hold moisture (especially when new) so you might remove your guns, and put a portable electric space heater inside the safe - leave the safe door cracked, not closed, and heat it up to about 90 or 100 degees for several hours to dry out of the materials. Keep a close eye on it check that nothing is getting too hot in front of the heater - don't leave it running overnight or when you're gone - don't want to start a fire!!! ALSO, CHECK MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR YOUR ELECTRONIC LOCK - DON'T GET ANYWHERE NEAR THE MAX TEMPERATURE!

If still having problems, you can get a data logger to draw a graph of temperature and humidity inside the safe. Put it in there for a week, particularly during cold weather, and find out what's happening- maybe do the same for the house in front of the safe. If you do it, make sure the air temperature in the safe is several degrees (probably 5 to 10F) above the dew point temperature at all times - check relative humidity too - there are articles on optimum conditions for mold. Data logger:

https://www.amazon.com/Lascar-EL-US...rd_wg=cUp2p&psc=1&refRID=034ZV29E8Q5ZW4F8C7NG

 

Interesting.. maybe get a dehumidifier !!!

 

The goldenrod will keep the safe internally heated to about 115F--that will chase any humidity out

 

Golden rod and maybe they should’ve used bathroom drywall?

 

I use a goldenrod in the engine compartment of my boat -- the boat is in a marina in the puget sound, meaning aside from a few days per year it is in the water constantly in high humidity area. The goldenrod keeps it nice and dry in there all winter -- the space is big enough for a chevy 350, 100 gallon tank, random stuff I store down there, and me when I need to work on stuff. If it can handle a space like that, it can handle a safe.