[odin]

Bought a safe recently, and now i am very concerned about the hum. level in it! Due to temp. fluctuations outside recently, i am getting very nervous since at first when i got the safe a month ago it showed temp. at
80 and the hum. at 48% which was all right from what i always heard!
But now temp. is 79 and the hum. at 37& which is to low as far as i know!
I am scared when winter gets here the hum. will drop even lower,
I do know that the danger levels for hum. starts at 30%.
The golden rod that came with safe is X-large and claims to cover 3X the square footage of my safe! Should i get a smaller one?
Thank You! :roll:

 

[BrotherJethro]

I dunno what humidity level is acceptable, but here's my theory on goldenrod type devices, partially based on things I've read:

The goldenrod is a heater, nothing more. It will raise the temperature of the air in your safe. This will -temporarily- lower the RH (as the warmer air can now hold more water), but it will probably even out quickly, since most safes are not air tight (until heated in a fire).

The way the goldenrod is supposed to work is that it ensures that the inside of your safe and everything in it is a few degrees warmer than the outside air. Why? To prevent this: Let's say the safe was shut all night and the air inside gradually cooled. The next day, say around noon, the surrounding air has heated and is humid, but the air inside (without a goldenrod) is still much cooler. If you open the door, or even if a small amount of outside air enters the safe, the outside air will touch the metal objects in the safe (guns) and will cool. Water will condense on the guns. Rust will form. Life is bad. By ensuring that the safe contents are always slightly warmer than the surrounding air, any mixing is less likely to cause condensation.

At least this is how I have interpreted what I read.

Does it work? I don't really know, but I have one. I also have a small dehumidifier in my safe, and I know it removes water from the air, because I have weighed it dry and wet and there's quite a difference.

 

[tangotag]

Here you go. Try the seach function. :grin:

A recent thread on Humidity.
http://www.theakforum.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=65438
There is a lot of info in that thread.

 

[odin]

I read that and it was the reason i posted the question!
Since it states that about 35% hum. is a danger level and at the rate mine has been dropping, i am getting quite concerned.
Also it stated that the best hum. level is around 50-70% at its best!
Thanks.

 

[tangotag]

You could always unplug the Goldenrod if your safe level is getting too low. If you have a central air system you may not need the Goldenrod at all.

You could buy a humidifier and run it near you safe if the level gets really low.
Ironically Florida is dealing with record level rainfalls for the last few days and you are asking about too low humidity. :lol:

I have yet to see the need for a humidity mangement for my safe, and have never had rust yet.

 

[odin]

I have thought about all you suggested! In my case i do also have a lot of mil-surps with all wood furn. and leather slings and i know the 50%-70%
hum. is normal and anything lower is to dry and can cause damage to wood and leather. Which was clearly mentioned in the other article, which was a great article but never really gave a definete answer as to what or how to control the hum. Thanks. :hail:

 

[metalmole]

Hey when I got my safe I was concerned about humidity, when the weather did a drastic change ( from cold night to a warm day) the outside of the safe would sweat ( my safe is in my workshop on a concrete floor, its 3000lbs. empty, so its not a small one) I noticed the golden rod was not doing its job inside the safe ( one of the big rods). So I rigged me a light socket inside my safe and burn a regular 100 watt bulb. Problem solved, its always nice and dry in it now, no matter what it is on the outside of the safe............................. :grin:

 

[odin]

Sounds good, but what is your hum.%? I would like to keep mine at about
50% even though 70% is best, but it seems my golden rod is doing to good a job at 35% today which is to dry for wood and leather! Just like in a house mainly downstairs, one should keep it at the normal level of 50-70% to keepthe furniture from drying out!

 

[cphilip]

Believe it or not you could simply add a Cigar Humidor device in there.

It uses Propylene Glycol in a 50:50 mix to maintain a steady 60 or so percent humidity. It will give off Water if it gets too low or absorb water if it gets too high. Will keep a nice steady

There are many such devices for this that would fit right in a Safe and do the job.

Make sure you calibrate and check your Humidistat too. They can be grossly inefficient at measuring things.

here is an example of a place that sells Cigar Humidor stuff...

http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/

Plenty of choices.

 

[56type]

I live in southern IN and the humidity go go from comfortable to "air you can wear" in the same day. I stopped worrying about humidity levels in my safe a long time ago. Every 3 months I take everything out and give it a light coating of Birchwood Casey sheath/barricade and put it back in.

Oiled metal tends not to rust. And so far I haven't had any problems with wood drying out and/or cracking. Anything you plan on not shooting for a while should get a very light coat of RIG (rust inhibiting grease) on the metal inside and out. It can be applied pretty thin by letting it set in the sun for a few hours then using a small artist paint brush just like your painting the metal on the gun. If done sparingly the only draw back is that it needs to be wiped off before you take it shooting then cleaned real good when it gets home. Again you don't want it cosmoline thick, just a thin coat will do. Hope this helps.

 

[odin]

Thanks for all the replies, i believe the humiditor was the best! Never would have thought of that, cphilip youre a genius! What i mainly worried
about were 2 WWII rifles mint,unissued like when made and neither has ever seen any oil on the wooden stocks and also have the leather slings and leather pouches.
And i want to keep the hum% to about 65-70% to keep wood and leather from cracking! Since i only had the safe a short time and the temp. in it has only went from 81 to 79, but the hum. has changed from 52% to 35%
in the last week! I dont know how it will get in the winter, so for now i will
plug it on a timer i found in my tool box, and it will for now run 12hrs. on and 12 hrs. off and that should raise it ti 70& for now at least!
In the winter i will most likely have to adjust the setting to 12 hrs. on and 24 hrs. off, depending how this works i at least know about a humiditor!
I have checked on several boards and the hum. issue is really not addressed, but most seem to have 40 to 50%, which is to dry over the yrs. but all also depends as to what type of guns one has! I mainly have
mostly Mil-surps but also a few modern ones, but the old ones are what mainly concerned me!
Thanks again, to all! :hail: :dance: