I own a stack-on 24 gun safe and currently have a remington rechargeable dehumidifier for it. The problem is that it needs recharged every week or so. So I am thinking about getting one that plugs into the wall and runs to the inside of the safe. Question is: What is the best way to run it from outside the safe to the inside? Does anyone have any experience with these? Other sugestions are welcome.
dehumidifier for gun safe
- Thread starter gotguns?
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guns and more
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Ditto. The hole may be drilled in the steel but not the insulation. My safe came with the goldenrod mounted under the bottom shelf. It takes no room and you can't see it. It came with a bare wire to fish through the hole, then the plug was added. Smart.
hoghunting
New member
I installed a Golden Rod in mine 23 years ago, and it's still working just fine without any rust on any of my guns.
Do you even need a dehumidifier?
A closed door to a safe, even a "breezy" stack-on safe, is going to prevent most of the circulated air coming in from the rest of the room. While not completely air tight, the closed door will do a decent job of preventing that ambient humidity from entering. A medium-sized desiccant pack will dehumidify a stack-on safe quite well.
But like I asked before...do you actually have a humidity problem in your safe? General guidelines: "Iron and steel will not rust if the air in contact with the surface has a relative humidity below 50% relative humidity (RH)."
According to the NRA:
50% humidity at 70 degrees is considered ideal "Arms Museum" storage conditions. Any dryer then that and you could potentially have problems with wood stocks drying out and shrinking / checking over a long period of time.
Buy yourself a good hygrometer and measure the humidity where your safe is located...and measure it a varying times of the day. That will tell you if you really need to be concerned with a dehumidifier / desiccant at all.
In my experience, rust prevention has more to do with regularly wiping down your guns to remove hand oils than it does with humidity control.
That said, I use desiccant because I live near to the ocean. I use "DampRid" which is cheap and readily available at most grocery and hardware stores. It comes in a variety of container sizes and shapes. It works great, but does need to be replenished every so often with new powder.
An alternative is to put a 4 or 7watt incandescent nightlight inside your safe. Works exactly the same way as the grossly overpriced "Dri-Rod" dehumidifier. Provided your safe isn't the size of a walk-in closet, the heat generated from the bulb is just enough to circulate the air and slightly raise the ambient temperature inside your safe, which in turn lowers the relative humidity inside the safe.
I hope this helps....good luck!
A closed door to a safe, even a "breezy" stack-on safe, is going to prevent most of the circulated air coming in from the rest of the room. While not completely air tight, the closed door will do a decent job of preventing that ambient humidity from entering. A medium-sized desiccant pack will dehumidify a stack-on safe quite well.
But like I asked before...do you actually have a humidity problem in your safe? General guidelines: "Iron and steel will not rust if the air in contact with the surface has a relative humidity below 50% relative humidity (RH)."
According to the NRA:
50% humidity at 70 degrees is considered ideal "Arms Museum" storage conditions. Any dryer then that and you could potentially have problems with wood stocks drying out and shrinking / checking over a long period of time.
Buy yourself a good hygrometer and measure the humidity where your safe is located...and measure it a varying times of the day. That will tell you if you really need to be concerned with a dehumidifier / desiccant at all.
In my experience, rust prevention has more to do with regularly wiping down your guns to remove hand oils than it does with humidity control.
That said, I use desiccant because I live near to the ocean. I use "DampRid" which is cheap and readily available at most grocery and hardware stores. It comes in a variety of container sizes and shapes. It works great, but does need to be replenished every so often with new powder.
An alternative is to put a 4 or 7watt incandescent nightlight inside your safe. Works exactly the same way as the grossly overpriced "Dri-Rod" dehumidifier. Provided your safe isn't the size of a walk-in closet, the heat generated from the bulb is just enough to circulate the air and slightly raise the ambient temperature inside your safe, which in turn lowers the relative humidity inside the safe.
I hope this helps....good luck!
Can't go wrong with a GoldenRod gun safe dehumidifier tbh, plenty of other decent safes out there though - catchthemeasy
I had a bad experience with a dessicant product (I forget the name) that had crystals in a basket that hung in another plastic bucket. Over time moisture wold be absorbed, dissolving the crystals and drip into the lower bucket. Well, I reach in one day for something and tipped he bucket over. The liquid splashed on my Winchester 101 20-Ga over/under and totally froze the lockup and triggers, making it completely useless. A trip to a gunsmith finally got it back into action. Measure your humidity as suggested. If your home is air conditioned, moisture shouldn't be a problem in the warmer months, and in winter, the air is always dry.....depending on where you live, of course.
If you want a plug in get a golden rod. Personally, I choose the rechargeable ones. I have three in my safe because I live in a humid area and was recharging every week too when I had just one.
https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva...rd_wg=iwebe&psc=1&refRID=S7RCGWSAR5NBXV0YNN63
https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva...rd_wg=iwebe&psc=1&refRID=S7RCGWSAR5NBXV0YNN63