Gun safe humidity

[peberly400]

I am haveing trouble keeping the humidity in my gun safe down. I have the large dissicant can, but it not working fast enough or well enough. Does anyone know if they make a golden rod that runs off battery?

My gun safe is not near an outlet, other wise I would get the traditional plug in. If anyone has other suggestions, I'm all ears!

 

[tetsujin79]

How 'bout this?

 

[comanche]

that's the exact one I have and also got it off of Amazon. Bought a package deal with the A-500 and came with a temperature/humidity monitor. It is consistently around 46%.
Only have to recharge it once every 3 months..

 

[peberly400]

Is it dissicant? Maybe I just need to double up

 

[derrickgoins]

I bought one like this a couple of years ago from a home based FFL that's since headed up north to Michiana. It's worked great - I take it out ever couple of months and recharge it but other than that, it's pretty much no maintenance.

Amazon.com: Eva-dry Renewable E-333 Wireless Mini Dehumidifer: Health & Personal Care

 

[peberly400]

So do you guys reccommend I just double up on the dissicant then?

 

[comanche]

yes, the Eva-Dry is basically just desiccant with a monitor to tell you when it is becoming saturated and needs to be plugged in to regenerate. Keep in mind that part of your problem is that bags of desiccant won't 'tell' you when they are saturated but the A-500 will. I use the A-500 on a 48 gun safe and works very well.

 

[UncleMike]

So do you guys reccommend I just double up on the dissicant then?

I keep three of them in my safe.
The humidity never gets above 48%.

 

[peberly400]

Ok so that sounds good then. I will probably pick up two of the eva drys. My gun safe humidity is at 70% (yikes)!

 

[dnurk]

I have this one in my safe for the past 3 years and it works great. Recharge is easy and only needed every 5-6 weeks. It has an indicator on the bottom when it needs recharged.

Link....
Hydrosorbent 900 Gram Silica Gel for 66 Cubic SG-900 - Amazon.com


Having said that, if you're over 70% in the safe with some desiccant then you likely have a bigger problem with moisture where the safe is stored. Is it in a basement? If so maybe consider a traditional dehumidifier. We have one in our basement and it keeps humidity below 55 percent year round.

 

[flhultra]

is your desiccant basically silica gel ?
if so have you baked it in the oven lately to dry it back out.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I keep three of them in my safe.
The humidity never gets above 48%.

I do exactly the same thing. Three A-500's.

 

[Mgderf]

Move it closer to, or have an outlet installed, and get a Golden Rod.

 

[sloughfoot]

You live in this environment? Why do you choose to live in this high humidity environment? Your gunsafe is in your home? I keep my firearms in my basement. And in my garage. And in my vehicle. If it is comfortable for me, it is comfortable for my firearms.

I have never measured the humidity level. No matter what it is, I have never worried about it. I am in Huntertown. Is it different here? My daughter lives in Columba City. She keeps a rifle in her horse barn for varmints. It never rusts. Sometimes the ambient humidity is 99%.

What are we missing. What should we be worrying about?

 

[Breynolds38]

You live in this environment? Why do you choose to live in this high humidity environment? Your gunsafe is in your home? I keep my firearms in my basement. And in my garage. And in my vehicle. If it is comfortable for me, it is comfortable for my firearms.

I have never measured the humidity level. No matter what it is, I have never worried about it. I am in Huntertown. Is it different here? My daughter lives in Columba City. She keeps a rifle in her horse barn for varmints. It never rusts. Sometimes the ambient humidity is 99%.

What are we missing. What should we be worrying about?

The higher the average temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels, the easier it is for rust to form. Surface rust is generally taken care of by regular maintenance, and doesn't become a problem.

I once stored a Springfield 1911 GI in stainless steel inside the foam case it came in, locked in a safe, and sitting in a garage for a whole year, and only got some small, light rust that brushed off immediately.

That being said, I find it best to err on the side of caution with my firearm storage and just use some simple desiccant packs to insure against it happening at all. Bad combinations of air flow, humidity, and temperature might need to be corrected with something more serious, but if that was the case with any of your guns you'd already know it.