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gun safe dehumidifier

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
Liberty sells these door holster things which make a lot of sense. Also, it is not a bad idea to set your safe up on hockey pucks. This creates an air flow beneath the safe floor. Can help minimize condensation. I don't use a dehumidifier. Don't have problems

I looked at the Liberty door thing but it's not adjustable for where you put the handguns, and it doesn't hold that many.

Thanks for the tip on the hockey pucks...my safe is still bolted to the pallet. We barely got it in the house so we weren't going to try and tip it off of the four inch high pallet. I'll wait until my 250 pound son-in-law and my 300 pound nephew can come over to help with that. :w00t:

I don't have a clue if I'll have humidity problems as this is my first safe. I need to get a hygrometer I guess to see what's going on in there. What should the humidity level be?
 
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Go online to Cabelas they have more of a selection of safe door accesories. I bought a non-liberty door holster thingy that has many more pockets to it.
 
Anything under 50% humidity is good.

I keep all of my handguns in pistols rugs. That way I can just toss them in any old way and not worry about damage. I have them stacked on the shelves and piled up on the floor around rifle butts and barrels.
 
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Mike you should be fine in the house. If it's in a shop or garage that is not temp controlled then I'd put some effort into it.
 
For hanging them adjustably on the door, some very strong magnets should suffice. You could stick the guns directly to the magnets, or make/buy holsters or loops to attach to the magnets. I think I've read of a commercial product that's essentially the same thing. The neodymium magnets from inside of discarded hard drives are great, or you could buy some of the same without having to scrounge and disassemble hard drives.
 
I have a few army issue silica packs in my safe. Never had any problems with humidity, rust or condensation in there. I'm not sure if it's because of the silica packs, but either way if it ain't broke don't fix it.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
Mike, what's your impression of the rechargable?

The beads in it haven't changed color yet so I haven't even had to plug it in. Haven't picked up a hygrometer yet...think I'll do that on my next tobacco order just to see how the humidity runs in there. I'd like to see what it takes to keep things like they should be in there. I don't have an extensive collection like some people, but there are a couple of antiques, several family heirlooms, some of my firearms from when I was a kid, and a .45 I sent to Bill Wilson about 25 years ago and he did a bunch of work on it.
 

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
Now that my safe is in a basement I've installed a golden rod in it. Going on 2 years with no problems. When I was still living in Texas and the safe was indoors I didn't worry about humidity. 10 years in the safe and never any problems.
 
I use this one in mine, just recharge it once a month, was going to be temporary but ended up being permanent.

E-500 Renewable High Capacity Dehumidifier

If you go this way, get two and you'll end up drying one while the other continues to cover the load. Depending on the region you live in and the size of your safe you may be checking / refreshing weekly. Another thing about these and having more than one, you can place one near the top-middle of the safe and the other down low. The larger bulk options may fit better with the amount of time you're willing to expend - or - for a safe which is at a remote location and you don't expect to be able to attend it more frequently.
 
Goldenrod is the defacto standard to control humidity .

All firearms around here go into bore stores. We used to be the east coast distributor when we were in the business. Never found much better then these.

Protective Gun Cases Silicone Treated - Bore Stores

Couple of them under the GBs. We write the gun name on the end flap of the bag. You can stack em like cordwood and know what's inside each one.

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shoelessjoe

"I took out a Chihuahua!"
[QUOTE="simon1, post: 8695916, member:]

I went this route with my first safe, but took it a step further by hot-gluing grey flannel around the tempered pegboard ... that’s vinyl aquarium hose covering the hooks & yes, those rubber bands are overkill & proof of my canal-retentiveness 😬




Living in the high desert, humidity is a non-issue, but I still use silicone socks on everything. My F-I-L lives in the Land of Leaving (IL) where humidity is omnipresent. Located in a dank basement, he burns a low-watt incandescent refrigerator bulb inside his safe, with excellent results.
 
When I lived in humid Florida, a dehumidifier was a must. I tried many different kinds until I used a rechargeable silica gel canister. The beads would change color when they then had to be "recharged" in an oven. Kept everything in the safe dry for the ten years I lived there.

This is the one I used. It is made by a company called Lockdown.

This is what I use in my safe. Have for years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future....
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nikonNUT

The "Peter Hathaway Capstick" of small game
We used to have aircraft parts shipped in at a place I worked and there was always a 20 pound bag of desicant beads in the crate. I've got 3 bags 60 pounds in the bottom of my safe. Easier to find alternative is this...

Don't laugh, it's a tried and true method in the cigar community. Just pour it in a tray and place it in the bottom of your safe or put it in aquarium media bags (very fine mesh with draw strings) and place it strategically on different shelves. It's pure silica and works REALLY well! $13.99 for 7 pounds and it can be recharged. 250F in the over for an hour on a clean cookie sheet.
 
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