Safes inside temp.

bs233jl

I was killing time looking at a forum. An idea from someone was to keep inside temp at 70 degrees. It would keep the wood stock from splitting. I've not heard this before. I have a Liberty safe and they sell Peet Dryers to keep the humidity down. This also makes the temp quite warm. Are both ideas correct? Only one correct? Or none correct? [:)]

beantownshootah

I think the usual rule of thumb is that optimal temperature is about 70F and optimal humidity about 50%.

With respect to temperature, I don't think absolute temperature matters so much as CHANGES in temperature. That's what causes wood to swell and shrink and for splits to happen. You want constant temperature, or at least as little up/down variation as practical.

The same is true about humidity, but the "good" range is narrower. Too little humidity and the wood dries out promoting splitting, and too much and you encourage rust of the metal parts (and potentially wood rot).

The heat rods, I think, are more about reducing humidity to prevent rust, than actually "warming" the guns!

Whether or not it makes sense to heat your safe depends more on what the ambient humidity is, I think, than the temperature. If your safe is located in a place where temp swings are likely, then a thermostat driven heating system makes sense.

truthful

The humidity that gets talked about is actually relative humidity which is the ratio, expressed as a percent, of the amount of water in a unit of air compared to the maximum amount that air can contain at that same temperature and pressure. Absolute humidity is the weight of water per unit of totally dry air. The same relative humidity on a cold day at sea level is not the same water content as that same relative humidity on a hot day in western Colorado mountains.

That said, I have found it is always a mistake to store guns in any static air sealed space for very long. Air circulation is very important.

He Dog

I live in the desert, keeping a relative humidity of 50 percent requires a humidifier, otherwise only on very rainy days do we see that. I use golden rods only to prevent condensation in winter, and air the safes frequently.

pip5255

my 6 X 12 safe uses 2 48" golden rods with a humidistat set to 40 percent to control humidity, temperature runs between 70 - 74 year round and I use 2 bulbs that are designed to control molds and air quality, works well.