What is ideal moisture/dehumidifier number for inside safe?

[MichaelLindsey]

i have one of those dehumidifier gauges in my gun safe. What is a good range to be in. Also use two of the rechargeable dri z air things inside which looks like it's working. Thanks.
Is there something else I should be doing? I live in Oregon and got moved to the garage.

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[jbett98]

A Golden Rod would be a good idea. Just make sure you follow the directions and mount it horizontally on the back wall a couple of inches from the bottom.

 

[DB is Here]

I have one of those plug in to "charge" it ones inside, then an actual dehumidifier in the room. Mine's in my shop...seems to work well.
I also quarterly oil them.

 

[jbett98]

The Golden Rod Dehumidifier works by slightly increasing the air temperature inside the gun safe. This allows the warm air to circulate throughout the safe on a continual basis, thus eliminating humidity, mildew, and condensation.

 

[MrRob96]

I have a relative humidity indicator in my gun safe that was designed for a gun safe. It says 45% - 55% is ideal. Not sure if that was what you were asking.

I have a rod type heater and a rechargeable silicate dehumidifier in there. I'm also in a basement/garage and it keeps the relative humidity locked in to 50% pretty much.

 

[Stomper]

The number will vary, you want the internal safe temperature (and contents) above the dew-point so the humidity inside the safe won't condense on cold surfaces.

 

[Pete F]

Your house should be less than 50% relative humidity. I keep the safe and room it is in less than 40% humidity. I also periodically, and after heavy use, oil my guns. Just a light sheen on exterior and semi-liberal lubrication on steel interior parts including bore. I remove excess from interior parts and most all from bore before use. Guns ready for action have light lube on inside and out with almost dry bore. No rust problems.

 

[HB of CJ]

Respectfully ...

Golden Rods Suck Totally. They depend upon ELECTRICITY which will fail. They are a manufactured item using old but at times non reliable technology that may fail. The commercial or home brewed power can fail. "Rods" REQUIRE high infrastructure to work.

All a Golden Rod does is slightly, (slightly) increase the interior gun safe temperature environment high enough ABOVE the dew point where condensation in the atmosphere does not occur. THEY do NOT address the ongoing concerns of humid situations.

That is all they do. Nothing else. Yes they work. But only in situations that will completely and utterly fail in a SHTF situation. This includes long lasting SHTF situations. Do you want your guns to rust during a long black out? Do you want a pile of junk?

If not, then consider the many and cheaper ways to protect your big investment inside your gun safe. Research the subject. Learn up on this yourself. ONLY YOU can determine what will actually work and what will not work. It is up to YOU. Nobody else can help.

Respectfully ...

 

[Stomper]

CLP

 

[gunnails]

Museums typically target 45%.

 

[Tony617]

I have a PEET Air-circulating dehumidifier and it does a pretty good job and yes it depends on electricity. I have some an Eva-dry E-500 dehumidifier as well so if my PEET dryer fails hopefully my firearms will be fine. I check them about one a week and I do not see any rust and mine is kept in an unheated space. My safe is about 45% relative humidity but if I open the door for a while then the humidify climbs to like 53%.

I have a liberty safe monitor and it shows the relative humidity and I have a manual hygrometer as well that I open my safe and check.

 

[jbett98]

I couldn't have said it any better.

 

[Ownerus]

I've stored a lot of stuff for a lot of years in less than ideal humidity conditions. A little OIL goes a long way.

 

[olddanshooter]

I have a "H20 Out Systems" passive desiccant filled dehumidifier. I know there's other brands of these out there also. It's "rechargeable" by tossing it in the toaster oven for an hour. (Thank you for starting this thread, it reminded me it was time to recharge).

Yes, it requires electricity, but it's been in my safe for about 5 years and coupled with very light oil on the guns I have zero rust.

I bought one rated for 4 times the square footage of my safe to be "safe."

 

[HB of CJ]

Respectfully ...

Wow. First off, my entire life most certainly DOES NOT depend upon electricity. Does yours? If so, you may be setting yourself up for failure. Your golden rod protected gun safe contents are just one power outage away from disaster?

Think it through. Do you want to loose MOST of your guns $value$? There are better ways to dehumidify your collection. If you want to learn up on this just click on the Maritime Or Recreational Marine Market Passive Humidity Control Products..

Golden Rod and similar products just slightly raise the interior temperature of whatever area they are supposed to protect. Induction heat. They DO NOT address the ongoing original problem which is an excessive atmospheric moisture level/content.

They REQUIRE electricity from whatever source. That source can fail for many reasons. When THAT happens, unless you take immediate action, EVERYTHING subject to rust can be cosmetically ruined. Do you want this happening?

Probability? As often as the power fails. Grid. Home Power. Whatever source. How long do you have to save your gun collection? Varies upon the environment inside the gun safe. Temperature. Humidity. If very humid, very little time.

CORRECTIVE ACTION: Research and purchase or make your own moisture reducing devices. Some are spendy. Some cheap. All work variously. If nothing else ground up very dry dry wall board chunks with very dry cheap rice works well.

Respectfully ...

 

[nammac]

PEET for warm air circulation and a couple of Eva-Dry rechargeable packs should keep you safe, now and when the grid goes down.

Eva-Dry are currently at Costco, in a two pack for less than 19.00...

YMMV

 

[jbett98]

I have some of these for guns that never see the light of day and for the price of $15.00 and under they're worth it.



Blueguard VCI storage bags

"These firearm storage bags will safely protect guns from corrosion during long term storage thanks to their vapor phase corrosion inhibitor (VpCI) chemistry, which vaporizes over time and adheres to firearms in the bag, forming a protective coating on all metal parts. No periodic cleaning is required to prevent rust, and when guns are removed from storage, the VpCI evaporates away harmlessly. Approved by the U.S. military for long term storage of firearms."

 

[HB of CJ]

jbett98 is on the right track. Now IMPROVE those sacks by adding inside captive enclosed discussant packs that do different things. One to grossly reduced the interior sack humidity.

The others to then again reduce the humidity to very low levels. All doable. No electricity. They make various sizes for various spaces. Including the interior of gun safes. Even cheap safes.

Edited more: The net is cool to click on and learn about all the different ways to defeat humidity and thus most corrosion. They sell little test tapes that quickly turn different colors for different levels.

 

[BillGabby1]

Properly cleaning and oiling your firearms is really all you need,
I don't have a safe or
desiccant or a heater to keep my firearms toasty, and they don't rust! Cleaning and lubricating at least once a year for those that don't get handled is about all they need.
Those that get used, clean them regularly and lube to protect, and don't get your panties in a bunch. Go ahead and live your life!
Most of that crap is just to separate you from your money! I've never had it and never will.
Gabby

 

[Joe13]

Properly cleaning and oiling your firearms is really all you need,
I don't have a safe or
desiccant or a heater to keep my firearms toasty, and they don't rust! Cleaning and lubricating at least once a year for those that don't get handled is about all they need.
Those that get used, clean them regularly and lube to protect, and don't get your panties in a bunch. Go ahead and live your life!
Most of that crap is just to separate you from your money! I've never had it and never will.
Gabby

I didn't have rust until I started putting Rifles into safes.








I would say Ideal is 55% RH in a safe.