How do you guys deal with humidity in your reloading room?

N

nhyrum

New member
So we just moved into a house, and here in Wyoming, swamp coolers are everywhere.

My problem... I have 2 choices as to where to put my reloading/gun room. Our lawnmower/storage shed that's about 6x8, outside and not insulated. Yeah, that's not gonna go over well, especially with the gas for lawn equipment. So the only other choice was a spare bedroom. The downside... That's the room the swamp cooler is located... A dehumidifier in the room would render the cooler essentially a large fan. Should I just shove silica gel packets all over my bench in the cupboards? I have access to the stuff by the pound.

How do you guys deal with humidity?
 
Is it bad enough that it will rust your tools?

Powder jugs are airtight, and smokeless is safe from humidity. Keep your primers in Rubbermaid other zip locks, store brass and ammo the same way, or even move it all out when not in use.

Imo, your only great concern is the press that you bolt down, and can't store elsewhere. Just keep all of it oiled and dry, pack it in airtight containers, and use silica packs if you can. You need to cook the water out of them once in a while, btw.
 
All of my gear is an outbuilding that's not insulated nor climate controlled. I have had no issues in years of doing this. I live in the mid-west where humidity is a reality.

Powder jugs are airtight, primers and components are stored in surplus ammo cans that are still airtight, and turrets for my press are stored in 1LB coffee cans with a handful of rice and a few drops of oil. The press gets covered with a bag and oiled and wiped down every so often.

Don't over think this. Unless your loading in a swimming pool, it won't be an issue.
 
What's humidity?
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turtlehead, you crack me up :D

I'm in the same situation here in the northern central valley of California. One of the few advantages of living here in Ca.

nhyrum: Sorry. I've never had to deal with humidity. I imagine it's no fun - rather relentless, of sorts.
 
Well, a little earlier today, I looked at my base station and checked all of the hygrometer readings. My gun safes are at 50% to 54% humidity (:(), and the reloading room is at 57% (not good, but expected).

What I have been doing and plan to continue doing:
Try not to touch things that will rust.
Keep the guns clean and oiled (silicone wiping cloth for some, the thicker residue of Rem-Oil for those likely to sit untouched until hunting season).
Avoid reloading or handling tools like dies if my hands are clamy (my hands sweat when it's humid - even if it's cold :rolleyes:).

I'm not going to bother recharging my desiccants for the safes. They'll be completely useless after two days in this humidity. I let the golden rods run (4 times the recommended size for my safes), keep everything protected, and hope for the best...
 
I try not to load during rainy days...I load in my garage with the door open to the outside...but since we only get 10-12" of rain per year it ain't bad.

The humidity isn't going to mess with you if you do all your load development and loading in similar conditions.
 
Here in the midwest, we have things called air conditioners.

Some will cool the whole house.

Some will cool just a room or two.

Either way, humidity will not be a problem.
 
So we just moved into a house, and here in Wyoming, swamp coolers are everywhere.
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Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is a swamp cooler????
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Also called an evaporator cooler. A course filter is continuously saturated with water. A fan draws hot low humidity air through the filter and evaporates some water by heat transfer, the cooler higher humidity air is fed into the house.

It works similar to how sweating keeps you cool.
 
Everywhere we've lived has had very humid summers and much dryer winters.
So, I mostly reload during the winter.
Keep it simple. :)
 
First of all when the humidity is high or when it rains close the windows and doors. That is the biggest source of humidity in buildings. If you have Air or a dehumidifier use them. Although they won't do you any good with the doors or windows open.

I also use Break Free on a cloth to wipe down any dies or press... It is one of the best rest protectants out there.
 
kkb said:
Also called an evaporator cooler. A course filter is continuously saturated with water. A fan draws hot low humidity air through the filter and evaporates some water by heat transfer, the cooler higher humidity air is fed into the house.

It works similar to how sweating keeps you cool.
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Exactly. It really does a good job of keeping the whole place cool. But at the cost of humidity.

Looks like I don't really have to worry about humidity until things start dripping with condensation or rusting?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
I have two problems with humidity; rust on large castings and mold on guns.

I have whipped the problem with large iron castings with attached buildings or old bed sheets and oil.

I just received two 50 Watt Golden rods for the safe.
It is one thing to have mold spots on a WWI surplus Mauser stock, but another thing when mold grows on anodized Aluminum on an AR15.
 
You won't have much issues since you are in a dry environment to begin with. I went from NV (dry like you) to the SE where it has been 90+ since May and the humidity is 90%+ as well - Think steambath.
Keep your bottles sealed, your dies in their cases and place a cover over your press/scale/etc.
 
First of all when the humidity is high or when it rains close the windows and doors. That is the biggest source of humidity in buildings. If you have Air or a dehumidifier use them. Although they won't do you any good with the doors or windows open.
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It depends on the building.

The biggest source of humidity in my house is the unsealed, porous concrete foundation that's surrounded by improper back-fill and shallow grades on the outside.

Or, put another way... ground water from summer rain showers and/or my lawn sprinklers are the primary source of humidity in my house.
 
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