How to use a gun safe.

D

dickttx

New member
Not as silly as it sounds.
I was recently able to purchase a new gun safe. It is a larger model (72"x40') and the only place I had to put it is in a semi-basement garage. When it is wet (not often, but we did have over 4" of rain a couple of weeks ago) I get some seepage from under the house and down the garage floor to the outside, which tends to increase the humidity. The safe is on a raised slab, so no water there.
I had a dri-rod installed when I bought it, and put an eva-dry 500 in it shortly thereafter, along with a digital hygrometer. The hygrometer shortly began showing 60/61% humidity and indicated that that amount was high.
I noticed that you could move the door in and out slightly by pulling/pushing on the handles. I thought that maybe it should be sealed, so I put 1/4 x 3/8 foam insulating tape on the door edge. When I tried to shut the door it was difficult because there was nowhere for the air to go, but I got it shut and locked. After about 48 hours I opened it and the humidity was still 60%. While the door was open it immediately went down to 56%.
My questions are: Should it be sealed airtight, and why would the dri-rod and eva-dry not reduce the humidity?
 
Where is the water vapor going to go if you seal the safe as tight as a Mason jar? I would get the safe moved, install a room dehumidifier in the new location and unseal the safe. Then the dri-rod can do it's job. The other alternative would be to put some dessicant jars or bags in the safe to actually adsorb moisture. Note that a dehumidifier in the safe will work but you need to install a drain line so that the water trapped can leave the safe.
 
My safe has a rubber seal on the door jamb but it also has a vent hole in the top of the case. Outside the humidity may run 70- 90%, but A/C keeps it down such that I really don't have a rust problem with regular gun maintainance.
 
darkroommike said:
The other alternative would be to put some dessicant jars or bags in the safe to actually adsorb moisture.
Click to expand...

The Eva-Dry 500 *is* a desiccant, but even though it's rated for a 500 cubic foot space, I think that's pretty optimistic. I use one in a small gun cabinet (maybe 30 cubic feet) that's indoors, and it still needs to be "recharged" every other month or so.

Note that the Dri-Rod doesn't really reduce the humidity in the safe. What it does is raise the temperature of the safe (and its contents) a few degrees above the ambient temperature. With the guns warmer than the outside air, moisture won't condense on the guns. In fact, warm air can hold *more* moisture than cooler air, so that might be why you saw the humidity levels drop when you opened the door to the safe.

What's the humidity level outside the safe? It may be that the Eva-Dry just can't keep up, since the heat from the Dri-Rod is causing air to constantly flow into and out of the safe.
 
I have a wet, damp, unheated basement with a big safe in it and there are puddles on the basement floor from time to time. Using only a GoldenRod, I've had no problems during the past 15 years or so.

The safe MUST be vented according to the FAQ on the GoldenRod site. The loose door is just fine.

In the beginning I tried using two large containers of crystals along with the GoldenRod, and bought a digital humidity gauge. The containers saturated after a few days - really, a few days. I tossed them because they were too much trouble and useless. I gave the gauge away.

John
 
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