Humidity inside gun safe

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Greywolf

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OK, having just spent $2200 on a new safe, I was wondering what I should be expecting or shooting for regarding humidity.

It is in a closet, in a house in central Florida. According to my meter, it is a constant 79.5 degrees and 52% humidity. I have a goldenrod in there plus a rechargeable silica pack.

I do store my blued firearms in Gunkote bags, make sure all metal is wiped down and oiled. So far no issues in my previous safe other than one small spot on a pistol that I didn't catch until I noticed the rust, and now I keep it ultra-oiled.

Is this OK, or should I look for more ways to reduce the humidity.

BTW - it is usually about 45%-50% inside the rest of the house with the AC running all the time in the summer.
 
Ouch! I would be unhappy with that sort of humidity. Time for dessicant and a rubber seal on the door.
 
Greywolf;

Your climate and conditions are so different from what we see here in central Montana that I'm loathe to speculate. Here, you're into overkill. There, I dunno.

I'd contact a larger gunsmith shop or fine firearms dealer in your area & ask for advice. Either will almost certainly be storing customer guns or stock for extended periods of time & cannot afford to be susceptable to rust in their storage area(s).

900F
 
I wonder if having an additional goldenrod in there would help, or maybe an electric fan for air circulation, or just more silica.
 
GW:

I'm on the e/coast and a bit north of you but my conditions are VERY similar to yours. I also use a goldenrod and practice at least a once a month oil wipe, I also tend to keep the safe open and a lot of air circulating too unless both the wife and I are going to be out at the same time. The humidity/heat issues are just the way it is here. Someone from another climactic region simply can't appreciate the problem unless they've lived here for a while just like folks here can't imagine just how quickly a rifle'l "sweat" up if you bring it inside when you've been hunting in extremely cold conditions.

Constant attention is the real answer tho, and even then it'l get you sometimes. I have an "antique" nickled M/19 Smith that I carried for years as a LEO.....Fitted with a neat set of Roper grips that I took really good care of, still, being packed in an open holster it developed damage to the nickled areas underneath the grips...Like I said, you gotta' stay on 'em all the time here.

With no offense to the poster that suggested it, I really don't believe that I'd consider a "sealed environmental "condition in that safe. You just might be asking for a real problem with that approach. Had a friend show up at my place just a month or so ago with a S&W .22 target revolver that was nearly unfired.........AND pitted beyond belief on all external surfaces.......it'd been stored in a safe that was rarely opened by its owner and had a goldenrod inside too!

I'd do the dessicant and rod issue were I you.
 
Get some BBQ briquettes in a pair of womens nylons and hang them in there. Some say this is more efficient than silica desicant. You can also buy plaster-like desicant and I've even heard of people using hay/feed cubes.

I was having some very minor problems even with desicant, but the bbq's solved it.
 
gbran - interesting idea. So, just place about 4-5 briquettes in nylons and hang them? They won't "drip" will they? Just absorb for a while, and then replace, what, every few months?
 
Tasteless!

If your gun is in a safe you might not be able to use it when you need it.

Why buy beautiful guns and hide them in a safe?

A safe (often in a garage) is not air tight and can actually be a bad place for your guns long term.

I’m sure you’re now going to tell me that you need the two thousand dollar safe “for the children” or to “save the planet” or in case some burglar comes in to steal your guns, BS. Buy yourself a gun cabinet.

http://guncabinets.vigilantinc.com/guncabinets-dyo2.asp

http://www.americanguncabinet.com/cabinets1.htm

For the price of a big, heavy, ugly safe you can buy a beautiful, handcrafted, cherry wood cabinet that will show off your guns. Mount them over a fireplace. I did both, and it’s pretty and functional even with small children since the cabinet is lockable too.

BTW, my cabinet inside is in an air-conditioned place that's cooler and dryer and guess what the wood naturally does with moisture? Do you think I get condensation inside.......

A safe is tasteless.
 
Drill a hole and install a small lightbulb, say 7-15 watt. It should keep the moisture out.
 
If your gun is in a safe you might not be able to use it when you need it.
Click to expand...

That's why I leave one pistol and one semi-auto shotgun outside the safe. When everyone leaves the house, all firearms not being carried go back in the safe.

The safe is meant to slow down the burglar whom enters the house after we leave. A nice cherry cabinet won't do much slowing down.

Do you not believe in the existence of burglars?
 
Greywolf, I'd say you have it covered very well. I wish I could get the humidity in my safe down to 50%, but it's in a dark, damp 1916 basement that gets a little water running across the floor from time to time if we get more than an inch or two of rain in a couple hours. Actually, I have 2 GRs in the safe. The 2 big containers of dessicant saturated in a matter of days, so I tossed them.

The only suggestion I'd make to leave the closet door open as much as possible to provide some circulation. GoldenRods need circulating air to work.

Extra oil, RIG grease and vapor blox tabs can't hurt, but a GR and circulating air in the safe will do just fine. One or more holes in the top of the safe would be ideal, but the crack around the safe door adds up to quite a few square inches

John, here in semi-tropical (according to the British Foreign Service) and tidal Richmond. We're 100 miles from the ocean, but the James River is tidal downtown.
Right now it's 72* with 84% humidity outside. What a beautiful day.
 
Our local Gander Mountain store sells litte humidifier for safes. They are only $25.00. Maybe if you can't find one nearby you can online.
 
When you are home, if you are otherwise able to, leave the safe standing open. I know it's more to bother with, but it sounds like your home is well controlled in terms of humidity. Hang your keys on the safe so that you'll remember to open / close it.

And the thing I always harp on--watch out for your weapons' stocks (wood/hard rubber/some early plastics) and leather or canvas items; hyper-aggressive dehumidification can really take a toll on those materials.
 
Thanks, guys. Guess I'll have to take some of these suggestions and modify a few things. Luckily my wife works from home and it is rare that we are both away at the same time.

As for the suggestion that I don't need a safe and should get a cabinet instead - I have over $12,000 worth of guns, optics, magazines, and other valuables. Four of those items are NFA items that would earn me the mother of all ATF anal exams if they got stolen. I'd rather have a burglar-rated safe than a nice cabinet that any moron with a hammer could get into.
 
I wouldn't be too worried about it. I store my safe in a non-climate controlled garage in coastal Florida. I have a golden road, a couple cans of dessicant, and have every gun in a gun sock (except my Mossberg Cruiser). It's been in this configuration for about a year -- no signs of rust. Humidity inside the safe hovers around 60% this time of year. I'm very careful to wipe the guns down before putting them up.
 
I am in Jacksonville, FL and know the humidity all too well. I have a safe in my closet and use some desicant packs from aircraft engine cans. They put them in the can for storage and shipping and the guys just toss them out when they are done. So I asked if I could take some off of their hands and I reactivate them in the oven following the directions on the packets. Now opening my safe lowers the heat index in my house:D
 
To #11

If someone knows you have guns and is breaking it to get them, they'll walk away with you're whole damn safe (most the smaller ones) or break it open in your home with tools you can buy at any Home Depot. But I already knew your response before I even posted my first reply.

1. The statistical probability of a burglary is actually quite low. Point six percent where I’m at, to be precise. Of that point six percent many of the burglaries occur in commercial/businesses where they think they can get money than in a residential neighborhood.

http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Plano&state=TX

2. A safe as you stated correctly will only slow someone down. If they want it, they will either haul off your whole safe or tear it open in your own home, which often is the case.

3. They might not take the guns if they didn’t break in to specifically get them. They might hit certain rooms, the garage (where the safe typically stands) etc.

You can enjoy your big metal clump, try to figure out ways to control condensation, replace batteries from some digital keypad locking mechanism or figure out how to move it if you ever move to a new home. A wood cabinet locks and keeps guns out of children’s hands. It keeps your guns clean, organized, and prevents rusting while displaying them, all things I want. In fact a wooden cabinet besides pretty comes in near any layout you want, tailored to your inventory and adjustable later. But then again, if all you have is Tupperware guns you might not care to have them displayed in your home as part of the decor.

If you want a good prophylactic against crime, buy yourself two big territorial dogs. Your local neighborhood thief Tyrone seems to have an aversion to them. Typically the burglar avoids any confrontation and usually they scout an area out before they pick their target. If you’re leaving your home for an extended time, you put your guns somewhere else that’s safe, not in your home safe, that isn’t really safe, get it?

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/safes/detail.asp?cat_id=160&type_id=42745&value=001F ($4,000+ safe will slow a criminal down maybe three minutes with setup time.)

This is a plasma cutter: http://www.millerwelds.com/products/plasma and someone can have your gold plated, glass drill proof locking system, lots of special locking cams defeated in literal minutes. He’ll cut right through the top (less damage to what he wants that way).

Enjoy you safe-
 
Allergy specialists recommend reducing humidity to 40% or lower in your home to help eliminate mold growth.

I would assume the same holds true for your gun safe. I imagine mildew doesn't do well on firearms.

That'd be the number I'd shoot for.

-Rob
 
May have to go with an additional dehumidifer to put in the closet, given the humidity inside the rest of the house.

Thanks for the mostly useful advice, guys. I'm very happy with my "block of steel" and know that anyone but the most determined, professional safecracker will never be able to steal my guns. Hell, it took the safe dealer 2 hours to drill through one of these safes when they had to get one open once - that in and of itself gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Plus the fire resistance is very nice to have :)
 
Regarding safes, RSCs:

Those of us who own a safe or RSC already know they aren't burglar-proof. They do, however, up the odds in that should a burglar break in, he doesn't have a hand truck strong enough to handle the safe with hundreds (or thousands) of pounds of firearms, ammo, and lead bricks inside, or that he didn't bring tools to bust doorframes out of the wall in order to fit the safe through, or that he left his plasma cutter or burning bar in his other pants.

Contrasted with a nice cherry display cabinet, even the most casual of smash-and-grab burglars will be able to make off with all your firearms in a heartbeat.

-edit
I kin't speel.
 
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Trust me, I would LOVE to live in a perfect world where no one ever broke in to people's homes and stole their guns. But it doesn't exist. I'd love to show off my collection. But it only takes ONE time where you aren't home and someone breaks in to your home (maybe you are on vacation and took your dogs with you or someone busted in and took 2 minutes (all it takes) to smash the glass on your wood gun cabinet and take a few guns.) Then what happens? You are out at least the glass, the guns, and worst case scenario the criminal uses your poorly-secured guns to commit a murder. Then your ass is being sued. My guns and especially my NFA weapons deserve better protection than a gun cabinet can provide. I'm not taking a chance with them, and I don't want to be held liable for their misuse.
 
I have both a Golden rod and silica in my safe and all long and short guns are stored in silicone wraps. I also get all of the out at least 4 times a year and wipe them down with a thin layer of Remington oil. Steve48
 
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