question about gun safe dehumidifier

[brandondh]

Hi. I have a gun safe and i want to get a dehumidifier for it. But i think i have an idea that will work just as well. Please tell me if this is a good or bad idea. I see the dehumidifier rods they sell. all it does is heat up to a low temp and the heat raises and then drys and circulates.. somthing to that effect anyway. Well i have a baby wipe heater. It is a real low temp just keeps the baby wipes warm. im sure you all know what one is. do you think that would work just as well for a dehumidifier? to me it sounds like a good idea. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Sir Aardvark]

If you feel comfortable using something like that for a purpose it wasn't really designed for then go ahead.

I do not know how hot a baby wipe warmer gets, but the plug-in dehumidifiers can be comfortably held in your hand when they are at their hottest; they also cost pennies a day to operate.

Also, gun safe dehumidifiers are very compact and literally take up no space in your safe if correctly installed - a baby wipe warmer is very bulky in comparison.

 

[hoghunting]

I bought a Golden Rod dehumidifier when I got my safe and it is still working 21 years later. I paid about $20 then, so it cost about $1 a year. I highly recommend the Golden Rod.

 

[BikerRN]

As hoghunting said, "Goldenrod".

I think that said it all.

Biker

 

[FieroCDSP]

Some have reccomended silica as a dehumidifer in climates that are occasionally humid, rather than like southern Florida (for example). The blue and clear Crystal Tidy Cats cat litter, the kind that has no clay, just the crystals. Fill a tube sock up with it and tie it off, toss it in there. In six months, pull it out, dump the silica on an old cookie sheet, and bake it a couple of hours at a low temp in the oven. This will heat the absorbed water out of it and it's good as new.

 

[brandondh]

A baby wipe heater doesnt get hot at all. You can touch it at its hottest and its just warm to the touch. from what i gather it sounds like it would probobly work just as good as a goldenrod. Anybody agree or disagree?

 

[Ohen Cepel]

It may work and work well.

However, I second what others have said that the GR is hard to beat. It was researched and designed for this purpose.

The baby wipe warmer will probably take up more space than a GR, probably won't last a decade or more, will possibly fail at a horrible time, and probably doesn't have a plug design that allows for it to be removed to fit through a mounting hole.

If money is tight and it's what you have then go for it. You could do worse.

 

[brandondh]

That was a very intelligent response Ohen Cepel . so a golden rod will unplug so you can fit the cord through a small hole. I have a hole in the back of my safe but i have to drill out the wood to make a hold. are you saying with a golden rod i only have to make a small hole?

 

[brickeyee]

Use a small night light bulb (7 W) on a cord.
The commercial job is just an 8 watt heating element.

 

[glockman19]

I just ordered a Gloden rod from Midwayusa.com. I'll report back as soon as it is installed

 

[Tom488]

are you saying with a golden rod i only have to make a small hole?

Yep - the plug is designed to attach to the wire after you thread it through the hole... no tools, no wire stripping. As long as the hole is big enough for the wire to fit through (about 1/4"), it'll be fine.

I just finished installing both a Goldenrod as well as an LED rope light kit in my safe (looks REALLY nice, by the way.... lights up the whole safe when you open the door), and both used the same style of plug. What's nice is you only need to cut a slit in the fabric, so there's no extra space around the wires, making for a very neat-looking installation.