Gun safe humidity question

T

turkeybuzzard

New member
I got my goldenrod installed in my sams club safe and here is my results. The outside temp was 40 degrees when I got home. The temp in my shop was 51 and the humidity was 58%. The safe in my shop had a temp of 49 and the humidity was at 64%. That just doesn't sound right to me.? Shouldn't the safe's humidity be lower than the humidity in the shop?
 
Golden rods get pretty warm. If you put a golden rod inside the safe, the safe temp should be higher than the room temp. If that is not the case, then something is wrong regardless of humidity.
 
If you have a setback thermostat, the safe temp may not rise as fast as the room. Still, if the goldenrod is functioning, I would not expect those numbers.
 
Is your GR installed on the floor of the safe or higher up on a shelf or wall?
You can also use a incandescent (buy them now before they are banned) light bulb to do the same thing.

I use a GR AND three large boxes of dessicant here in FL with no issues, but my RSC is inside under HVAC
 
I have a goldenrod in my safe - it's been there for about 20 years. I checked it about a week ago, and it's still very warm to the touch - doing its job non-stop for 20 years now.
 
I am starting to really think that GR are useless.

Has anyone ever conducted a side-by-side, long-term gun safe test verifying that a properly installed GR actually proved more than just marginally effective if at all?
 
My impression is that Goldenrod and similar devices work in a couple of ways - heating/keeping the air in the safe above the dew point and also by circulating the air in the safe through convection.

As long as the water in the air in the safe is unable to condense (relative humidity below 100%), I don't think there is much to worry about with respect to rust. However, locating your safe in a cold spot such as the garage is potentially exposing your guns to colder air, which holds a lot less water before condensation occurs. Temperature swings from warm to cool, especially in an enclosed safe, are also a lot more likely to produce condensation.
 
Does the lack of air circulation in a safe have an effect on condensation?
I have tools that are prone to rusting, in a cabinet, out in the garage.
They never rust, even during the high humidity of summer, or the chill of winter -and without attempts for rust protection.
The cabinet is not sealed and allows circulation.
Could that be the reason the tools don't rust?
 
It should be mildly warm to the touch, not as hot as a light bulb; again, as mentioned, its goal is to keep the temperature slightly elevated. If you have a cavernous billion-gun safe, you might need more than one or you might need to add some dessicant boxes
 
Last edited:
The golden rod in my safe is mildly warm to the touch, by no means is it hot or even close to hot. Sometimes I wonder if it is warm enough ? I also have a humdity can in the safe and about every 3 months it needs to have the pellets removed and placed in the oven til they change colors. Should the can be accumulating moisture even with the golden rod in there ?
 
If you are really concerned about humidity and you don't think the goldenrod is going to do the trick (it does work - you need the right size for your safe, however) then do this: Open your safe door; get a dehumidifier and run it right next to the safe opening, directing the air into your safe; when the dehumidifier shows the humidity level at about 55% or less, then shut the door. It's not like humidity is going to creep into a shut safe. Electric dehumidifiers work 1000x better than the chemical stuff.
 
Make sure the rod is installed at the bottom of safe in a horizontal position. Since a Goldenrod should be almost too hot to hold, it should keep the air in your safe significantly warmer than the surrounding air temperature. An exception would be (I believe) if your safe has no fire insulation - steel is likely pretty efficient at transmitting any internal heat to the outside. In any case, the air inside the safe should NOT be cooler than outside.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top