gunsafe ??

toad67

I recently purchased a hygrometer for my safe to see what was going on inside and it is saying that my humidity is a little high, about 65% or so. Does humidity vary inside the safe, higher on the top or something? I have a golden rod in there and just purchased a dehumidifier.

kimi

65% humidity is on the high side. The NRA Firearms Museum Curator says that 50% relative humidity caters to both wood and metal components. Too much humidity and the metal parts corrode. Too little and stocks start cracking. Keep humidity constant. As for temperature it's noted that 70 degrees is ideal. Variations in temps causes wood stocks to expand and contract which can result in permanent cracks, so keep temps constant.

Based on what little knowledge that I have about protecting your firearms in a safe with a Golden Rod, the temperature needs to be a degree or more warmer inside the safe than the temperature outside the safe. The heat from the Golden Rod will cause the air in the safe to warm up and circulate, and then forced outside of the safe.

As for myself, the temps in my home and the garage are not constant and I get a bit more variation in the humidity levels that I would in a more totally controlled and constant environment. So, I clean my firearms about twice a year, use Golden Rods, desiccant packs, and the Remington Mini Dehumidifiers.

Check out this video about a product called DampRid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Gg4y0pvXM