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moisture prevention in safe

spookster
Hello all,,, picked up a few 46 gun gun safes and just wondering what is the majority vote on what to use to prevent moisture,,, I've heard of the wands,, light bulbs,,, etc,,,
My collection has always been in traditional gun cabinets and never had any problems but have heard stories about moisture in enclosed safes,,,, your opinions please.

Jim
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Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • utbrowningman
    There are canisters or electrical devices that you can place in the safe to eliminate moisture. Cabela's has some.
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  • nmyers
    It's not the safe that's the problem, it's moisture in the air & changes in air temperature. So, it depends upon where you live, & where in the house you keep the safe.

    The best heat lamp is the Goldenrod brand; a small light bulb will perform the same function, but you must take care that the bulb doesn't touch a gun or gun sock or lining material. The canisters some folks use contain a dessicant that has to be "refreshed" in the oven; frequency depends upon the moisture in your safe.

    Neal
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  • p.muerrle
    I agree it is where you keep your safe. I tried numerous devices in my safe but still had some issues especially with really humid summers. I finally added a dehumidifier in the room and that solved everything.
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  • gary wray
    spookster......it all depends on your local climate and where you are going to put your safe. I live by the ocean, in a humid climate, and put my 55 gun Liberty on wood off the concrete in a garage. I used every kind of "thing" in my safe...golden rod, light bulb, the little cannisters, on and on...nothing worked as I could never win the moisture battle. My garage is not airtight so a dehumidifer would really not work. So, gave up on the big safe after I lost several valuable Tula SKS's and some other good stuff! Back to the old tried and true in the house, racks, cabinets but under the heat pump/dehum and going to sell the safe one day. Or put the family jewels in the Liberty! Good luck with your effort! Hope they work out better than mine! Or you live in a low humid climate!
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  • spookster
    well guys I live in north eastern Pennsylvania and humidity is not a problem,,, we heat with wood ,,, the safes are in the bedroom which is wood floor with carpet-pad and usually stays around 65* year round,,,sounds like the rod might be the way to go.
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  • JimmyJack
    I e used Goldenrod in two safes for10=15 years.
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  • mark christian
    I live in SoCal, which has a very dry climate and since humidity is not much concern the canisters work just fine for me. The Golden Rod is probably the best "default" device to control humidity and has been at the top of the list for many many years.
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  • cbxjeff
    "a few 46 gun gun safes". Good grief Jim, what are you building - an armory? I'm in IN and humidy is a problem in the summer. Although the house has A/C I use golden rods also. Canisters work fine also but the two do a completely different job. Canisters pull moisture from the safe's air and hold it. Golden rods & light bulbs just raise the temp of the last big gulp of air that the safe took in when you had the door open. The moisture is still there but since the temp is raised it doesn't condense on your firearms. The relative humidity has been lowered.
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  • cussedemgun
    spookster,

    "What to use -?" To control the moisture to below a corrosive level, you only area you have to control is IN the safe.

    If you need to locate the safe in an area where temperature varries, simply build it into a well insulated cabinet so the goldenrod will be enough heat to stabelize the inside.

    Once you can maintain a constant temp. inside the safe, desicant cannisters will treat the air inside & a stable temp. will minimize the drawing in of more moisture.

    Jim
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  • plinked
    I have used several different deccicants since living in So.Fla to here in Ga, past couple of years I've been using "Keep it Dry" closet dehumidifier in my gun safe. It lasts me about 6 months. Walmart carries it and some drug stores.
    http://www.spacesavers.com/keepitdry.html?utm_source=GoogleProducts&utm_medium=productfeeds&tum_campaign=Froogle
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  • bambihunter
    I now use both a goldenrod and deccicants. I found I often forget to bake the deccicants often enough so that is when I added the goldenrod. These measures, along with normal maintainance of the guns keeps mine rust free (including the hard to protect black powder muzzleloaders).
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