Humidity management in safe, or "Ugh!!!"

[mustang_steve]

Nice. Now work on having enough beads to keep the safe below 30%.

40% is uncomfortably dry to people, but metal loves it. Just be careful of static shock since the risks of it go up as humidity goes down.

 

[Griblik]

Humidity down to 25%!!!!

 

[dmancornell]

Portland OR here, and over the last few days I can literally feel the humidity in my garage. If I kept my safe there I would definitely use a Goldenrod.

Right now the safe is in my heated bedroom closet, so a couple large desiccant packs has been working well. I bought them for $10 off ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/125-grams-Dry-P...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b794443a

 

[nitetrane98]

I try to keep a handful of old Lucas electrical parts, the kind commonly used on old Triumph motorcycles, around all of my guns. These will attract and hold moisture at noon in Death Valley.

 

[LowEx]

Ambient humidity where I live is currently 20%.

You're well on your way to ideal ranges, but since you're going for a 'dry' environment, I'd push it just a bit further. That way you've got a good starting point, and you know that the lining has released as much of the moisture as it can.

If you shoot them often, eventually your guns will forgive you

 

[mountainpharm]

I have a 36-gun safe and I keep a single Golden Rod in the bottom for humidity management. I also have a digital hygrometer to monitor. Humidity in the safe generally ranges from 51% to 55%, which from what I understand is just about what gun museums shoot for. Anything less than that runs the risk of drawing humidity out of the wood, or so I've read. I was never able to observe any additional effect by keeping the closet dessicants in there as well (i.e., no effect on the hygrometer reading) but they clearly absorbed some moisture.

Just my $0.02 worth on humidity management

 

[CoRoMo]

Humidity in the safe generally ranges from 51% to 55%, which from what I understand is just about what gun museums shoot for.

Remember though, that temperature is part of the equation. IIRC, the NRA advises museums to maintain 50% humidity @ 70°F. My basement stays in the low 60's, so that translates to a slightly different dew point temperature.

Now that Griblik is well below 50%, I'd say his plans, to turn off the heater and seal up the safe for a bit, are right on. That safe is pretty much dry as a bone now, or will be soon (no telling how much moisture was in that lining). The humidity will surely rise after the heater is out, and make sure to empty the Dry-Z so that the water in there doesn't just evaporate and re-humidify the safe. If/when you see the humidity rise back up above 40%, don't fret, you'll need it to be up there anyway. As mountainpharm mentioned, too low humidity can cause changes or damage to any wood furniture on those guns.

It looks like you've licked it!!
My regards on the Kimber.

 

[oneounceload]

When I lived in NV, we had times where humidity of 7%-15%. Now here in FL, 35% is a LOW day, where 80% is more the norm with our daily afternoon thunderstorms

 

[Pyzon]

My safe is in the unfinished portion of my basement, and here in Ohio damp conditions in the basement can be a constant problem, and not only for guns. I run a decent capacity dehumidifier all year, set on 35% RH, and have always kept a small (15-25 watt) incandescent bulb in a plain ceramic fixture running 24/7 on the floor of the safe . Small capacity bulbs like that are becoming almost impossible to find, so after long deliberation I have switched to I think a 11 watt compact florescent bulb. Seems OK so far, and I have had no rusting problems on guns in years.

I learned in the jungle in VN that a trouble light in a metal wall locker would keep my clothes and whatever else from molding. Nothing worked in the bush with no electricity though.

 

[paradox998]

Tidy cat silica crystals is a very cheap desicant. It is the same stuff that is in most silica packs. Buy a 7 lb jug and pour into a couple of socks or just pour in a pan. Put the socks/pan in the safe and you can recharge them in a 250 degree oven every so often.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Thats what I use, cleaned the cosmoline out of my gun, then wrapped it back up in the paper one of my drills came in and a sachet of silica kitty litter.