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The Best Things In Life Are Moist...But Not In The Gun Room

OK Corgi Rancher

OK Corgi Rancher

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caliberbob and I were shootin' the breeze and fondling guns in my new gun room yesterday. There was a solid layer of condensation on all the guns, even inside the safes. I have NEVER seen that before, even in Idaho, where it started raining in Nov and didn't stop till May.

The gun safes were visibly wet on the outside. Oddly, metal toolboxes and workbenches right next to the safes, were not. Not sure why that would be. So, now it's off to dig out the dehumidifier and more desiccant packs. I guess I'll be spending the rest of the day spraying everything down with some Barricade.
 
Interesting. My first thought would be the thickness of the safe's walls vs the toolboxes would hold lower temp for longer making them more prone to condensation during a change in weather? Is the room temperature controlled or just whatever the weather happens to be?
 
I had a small electric heater running (was only on for maybe 15 mins). Other than that it's well insulated but not heated/cooled. It was about 62° in the room and 58° outside with light drizzle. Wasn't like that in my uninsulated barn.

First time I've had that with the exception of when I tried heating my shop in Idaho with a non-vented propane heater. Big mistake.
 
Yeah it was very bizarre. I’ve got my safe inside with a desiccant pack but if I end up moving the safe into my shop when it’s done I will definitely be more vigilante after seeing what was happening to your safes.
 
New one on me. I never had that issue in Colorado because it was so damn dry in the winter. Not uncommon to have RH in the single digits. Idaho was like living in a car wash in the winter. It was always wet. But I've spent 5 winters here and never saw that before. Oh, well... Just deal with it, I guess.
 
Stupid question, but are you positive that you don’t have a leak above the safes?
 
OkieJoe72 said:
Stupid question, but are you positive that you don’t have a leak above the safes?
Click to expand...

No...no leaks. This is a fine layer of condensation on both safes. Today it's almost entirely gone except for the bottom third of one safe. All the guns inside are dry. I've tossed some more desiccant in both safes and fired up the dehumidifier.
 
You're going to have this problem every time the temperature swings. Even in the summer if the temps drop low enough, my shop get condensation. I'd recommend temp controlling that space or moving the safes to somewhere that is.
 
Pbramble said:
You're going to have this problem every time the temperature swings. Even in the summer if the temps drop low enough, my shop get condensation. I'd recommend temp controlling that space or moving the safes to somewhere that is.
Click to expand...

Well, this is the first time it's happened in the 5 winters I've been here. And it never happened in 5 years in Idaho where the winters were mostly mild but far more humid.

Temp control isn't an option just yet and neither is moving the safes. Dehumidifier is running and seems to be working fine to control the moisture. RH in the shop was 38% this morning and 68% outside.

Got 2 of these 200g desiccant cans for the inside of each safe, too...


Desiccant .jpg
 
I know this is older but when it's reasonably nice outside my upstairs HVAC rarely turns on and cycles. So it definitely gets humid I have thought about a dehumidifier but if I just cycle the HVAC a bit it pulls the moisture out. However right now It's drier than a nuns... 😆
 
Could it be the corgis?? 😂

Or a pipe leak in the ground or wall?

Weird how it sounds like it happened/is happening.

We run a dehumidifier year round in our house. Only comes on when needed. It sits right outside the office/gun space. Also, run a golden rod which really helps too. Mostly the safe runs 36-37% RH, but of course we are climate controlled.
 
My old safe has the problem in an older house. Turned out the drywall fire proofing and carpet was adding to it. I stripped it all out and started over and no problem as long as I had it.
 
Glockpride said:
Could it be the corgis?? 😂

Or a pipe leak in the ground or wall?

Weird how it sounds like it happened/is happening.

We run a dehumidifier year round in our house. Only comes on when needed. It sits right outside the office/gun space. Also, run a golden rod which really helps too. Mostly the safe runs 36-37% RH, but of course we are climate controlled.
Click to expand...

Not the Corgis...they rarely go in there. No plumbing. I've sealed the seams inside and out along the walls and also where the expansion joints go under the walls. It's not getting water under the walls. It just gets humid inside. I've been running a little electric space heater and that has completely solved the problem.
 
nic6 said:
@OK Corgi Rancher do you have to dump those beads out on a tray to dry them? I may or may not have dropped one or 2 and blamed it on the kids. Hahaha
Click to expand...

Nope... Put the entire canister in the oven at 300° for a couple of hours. They turn green when saturated and they turn back to orange when re-charged in the oven. They're pretty handy.
 
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