Putting a gun safe in the garage?

[Agent-J]

I'm going to pickup this nice 24-gun 450lb safe later today and I'm not sure where to put it.

I could put it in the garage, but then it will be subject to temperature and humidity swings as the garage isn't insulated and I'm in the chilly NE right now. I know I can put a humidity control inside of it. Easy to move it into the garage.

My other option is to put it in the basement, but now we're talking 2 flights of stairs that turn 90 degrees every half flight. The basement is insulated, but no heat down there, so it would be still subject to temp/humidity swings, just not as much as if it were out in the garage.

I'd like to put it in the garage, but not if it is a bad idea. Any suggestions?

 

[a1abdj]

I install safes in garages on a regular basis. With the proper precautions, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Agent-J]

What are the proper precautions?

 

[MyRoad]

When I lived in the NE, my house was built in 1932. I had to hire two guys to carefully maneuver my 500lb safe down a narrow, steep, short step (totally not up to modern code) set of cement stairs to get it into my basement. And of course when I moved, I had to hire them to get it back out. Without a "Golden Rod" I had issues with moisture there. If you have a perfectly dry basement, it feels more secure (IMHO) to have your guns there then in the garage.

That said, I now live in the NW. I had my safe(s) in the house in closets, but I'm selling my house and decided that I didn't want a bunch of strangers looking at the house knowing I had a safe (... or two, or three...), so I moved them to the garage and locked off the garage. My garage is also not insulated, and western Oregon is a pretty damp place. I have Golden Rods in all of them, and I'm running a dehumidifier in the garage (partly because I am storing everything I have of value in there).

The dehumidifier has a 5 quart capacity, and I have to dump it about once a week. It's not going to favorably impact my electric bill, but you do what you have to do, and so far I have no problems with moisture in the safes. I would suggest running a dehumidifier in the garage if I were you, and it will keep things dry while telling you how hard its working to do so. They make units that can run in cold climates. If it runs for weeks and barely collects any water, you'll be fine.

 

[ServiceSoon]

What are the proper precautions?

+1.0

 

[gbran]

I have 2 gunsafes in my garage. Both are heavy, fireproof and bolted down. It's dry here most of the year, but we get heavy fog and lots of moisture for a few moths of the year. I've had good luck with just using dessicant and charcoal. I put charcoal briquettes in womens nylons and hang them in each safe.

The only downside is that I also have a garage full of tools (including grinders, torches, etc.) that could be used to breach the safes. Fortunately, my safes are high quality, so it would still be a tough job to break into them.

 

[a1abdj]

First and foremost, you can't fix a problem if you don't know the specifics of the problem.

Buy a digital hygrometer and keep it in your safe. These are available for around $30 at most pet stores or places that sell cigars. They will display a current temperature and humidity level, as well as record high and low levels. There's not a lot you can do about the temperature, but 70 degrees at 45% to 55% humidity is a great place to be.

Electric dry rods are not dehumidifiers. They are small heaters which raise the internal temperature of your safe a few degrees over the exterior temperature. What they do is raise the dew point so that moisture is not condensing on items inside of the safe. They work 24/7 with no maintenance, but will not reduce high moisture levels.

Silica devices do absorb moisture, but in limited quantities. Some safes are more air tight than others, so in some cases you may actually be drawing outside moisture into the safe. These work well in circumstances where you're dealing with moderate levels of moisture.

If you have high humidity, you should use a large dehumidifier outside of the safe in conjunction with one or both of the above tools.

You will want to make sure everything is kept well oiled, and open the safe to check the contents at least once a week. You do not want to eliminate moisture completely, as this can result in the wood on your firearms drying out and cracking.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I have a golden rod in mine year round, in the winter I will keep 1 of those dessicant tubs in there and it barely collects any water. In the spring and summer I will have up to three tub in there and they will last about a month. One thing I really like about having my gun safe in the garage is that my guns and scopes are never subject to the winter indoor/outdoor temp swings that cause them to be sopping wet when they've been in the cold all day then you bring them inside.

 

[Agent-J]

Well my safe came today.

One of those Stack On 24-Gun Elite models. Damn thing is 500lbs.

I actually do have a digital hygrometer (cigar smoking hobby). Right now it's at around 40 degrees and 45% humidity.

I am probably going to throw a golden rod in there and some tubes of desiccant.

Also, another humidor trick I picked up was if you buy those Oust fans, pop in some AA batteries, pop out the scented part... and it will cycle I think for 1 minute every 20 minutes. Great trick for moving air around in a battery operated unit.

 

[ServiceSoon]

Right now it's at around 40 degrees and 45% humidity.

I'm not an expert by an stretch of my imagination.

Rust is caused by a chemical reaction between iron, oxygen and moisture. Coldness can cause condensation on metal which will lead to rust. Condensation will only occur on a surface when the temperature of that surface is cooler than the temperature of the water vapor. The metal tools I keep in my garage gets dew on them during the winter. It is possible a dry rod will keep the firearms warmer than the outside air, which will prevent dew from forming.

 

[Davandron]

A quick internet search will yield a dew point calculator and the wikipedia tries to explain the dew point, but its a little technical.

At 40F and 45% the dew point is below freezing, so that's not a problem. However, if the guns were at 40F after sitting in the garage overnight and you open the door during the day, moisture would condense on the guns if the garage air was:

• 50F and 70% or higher
• 60F and 40% or higher
• 70F and 35% or higher

One of my big worries with it being in the garage is with anyone who drives by seeing it. A number of my neighbors appear to have gun safes in their garages based on my evening walks and driving around. So for me I'd want it hidden / disguised, perhaps to look like an old refrigerator.

 

[Atarian]

I have a 950 pound safe in the garage, and in the Pacific Northwest it is rather damp. We also park both our vehicles in the garage as well (that's what it's for) so as you can imagine it can potentially get quite damp. I run a dehumidifier in the garage year 'round, set at 50% humidity. If both cars are parked in in the garage wet, it will spike at about 60% and gradually go back down to 50% in a few hours. In the winter I empty the 5-gallon bucket the dehumidifier drains in to about three times a week. Much less so in the summer.

This is probably a worst-case scenario as it is both cold and damp. I think if you run a dehumidifier rated as "low temperature" in the garage you will be OK.