What is your experience with dehumidifiers in a gun safe?

C

cjwils

New member
I have 2 humidity gauges, one inside my gun safe, and one on the outside. Throughout the year, depending on the weather outside the house and whether or not the furnace is running inside the house, the gauges show a relative humidity percentage reading between the high 40s and high 60s. I have tried two different brands of gel-type dehumidifiers (the most recent one has the Remington name), but I have found that the gel-type devices do little or nothing to lower the humidity inside the safe. In fact, often I see a higher humidity reading inside the safe compared to outside. I have not tried an electric, heater type of dehumidifier. What experience have others had, and do the electric devices work better? If the household humidity never goes above the high 60s, is a dehumidifier unnecessary?
 
I've seen grand pianos protected with a long heater laid on the strings.
I've seen aircraft electronics protected with a small incandescant lamp heating the cabin.
I believe that raising the temperature inside the safe by as little as ten degrees will protect the contents.
Trouble is how to get it in there.
 
Quality safes usually have a small hole in a back corner. It is large enough to run the power cord through (inside to outside) after you remove the power plug from the cord. Reattach it once the cord is threaded through the hole. Plug it in. Pretty simple.
 
I use the big descicant cans. They are about 5" across and 6" tall. I use 2 for small safes and 3 for big ones and here in Houston they will actually dry things out. I have to recharge them about once a month though.

The little remington things are too small in my experience. You need size and volume!
 
The desiccant cans work best in an air-tight environment. Unless the gun safe door has a gasket, it's probably not air tight. IMO, A heater would be a better choice if the power cord problem can be worked out. Unless of course, like Peter says, you use big ones and recharge them frequently.
 
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