Basement gun storage

B

BoogieMan

New member
Im in S. NJ were its not uncommon to get some water (floor coating) in the basement during heavy rain. I have a Winchester (Tractor Supply special) safe with a de-humidifier inside and also a dehumidifier in the basement. I dont have a hygrometer down there but it feels dry and doesnt have damp smell. Whats your experience storing guns in similar fashion? Is it safe for the guns? They get used so I will not be wrapping them in any special covering. Also I would like to move my reloading equipment to the same area. How critical is humidity to powder storage?
 
How critical is humidity to powder storage?
Click to expand...
Temperature kills powder.
Humidity kills primers.
Regular swings in temperature and/or humidity accelerate the process.
(Humidity also affects powder, but if you keep your containers sealed, it's a non-issue.)

The best location for powder, primer, and ammunition storage will be cool, dry, and stable.
 
Well I have cool and stable. I can easily put the primers in the gun safe where it has the extra dehumidifier for dry.
In NJ you have to store your firearms in your residence. I store mine at my place of business which I also own. Technically not legal, and its kind of a PIA. Especially if I want to take some time to reload without driving back to work.
 
Boogieman, I'm in SJ too, but my basement has been bone dry. There's a sump in one corner but it's never had a pump in it. Only cobwebs. I have a dehumidifier that I had when I moved in but I only had to use it once to dry things out when my water heater took a dump all over the floor. My basement has never smelled humid.

I built a hardened gun closet in my basement and there's a branch HVAC duct running through the top that I can regulate the air in there. Once in a while I just re-oil the guns and they've been fine. Not wrapped or cased. Awhile back it got too crowded so I took the ammo out and have it stored in a cabinet above my workbench, with no signs of tarnish or anything.
 
Thats good to hear. I know some people have dry basements in SJ but not many. Mine is pretty good now compared to my last house. Still I will get the occasional water in the corner, nothing pumpable. I like the idea of a concrete built in safe on one side of the basement. Unlikely I will build it in this house. I think I will take the chance and move the safe to basement. Ill just monitor the guns closely for a while.
 
It sounds like you need to work on drainage around your house. There's no reason runoff from heavy rains should work their way down your foundation. If the problem is perched water, then that's a different story.

If you intend to stay in your current house, also consider getting a whole house dehumidifier. I'm in GA and even during the 90%+ humidity, inside stays below 50%.

Not really gun related, but the above will make a difference in your storage conditions.
 
MtnCreek, here in most of south Jersey the groundwater table is quite high. Damp / wet basements are more the norm and many (if not most) have a sump pump for periods of wet weather. Also, moisture wicks up through the concrete floor.

I thought really hard about putting my gun storage in the basement but there was just no other place for it in my house. And a safe the size of my gun storage would be so big and heavy, I'd need a rigging crew to get it down the basement steps, if the steps could even support it. And I'd never get it out.
So far what I have works fine.
 
I lived in Camden and Gloucester counties and the only time I remember a wet basement was after hurricane Donna in 1960(?).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top