Humidity...How much?

Z

zini72

Guest
I have recently moved to a newer home. My gun room is in the basement.
Being located in Western Colorado we don't typically have a corrosion problem.
In my new gun room I have noticed some surface rust on my Wilson case holders (haven't been oiled yet).
So I purchased the Golden Rod humidity sensor system for my gun safes & room.
I am reading 25 to 38% humidity in the safe/room. I have Golden rod safe dehumidifiers but have not plugged them in yet.
I have desiccant bags in the safes (but haven't re-charged them yet).
My question is:
How much humidity is too much?
be it in the safe our in general in the reloading room.
I am looking for a number if anyone has data on this.
Thanks,
Edward
 
Ed I try and keep things below 50% I've had bad luck with Dehumidifiers and was without one for a while and the humidity was at about 60% and I did notice some rust starting.

Joe salt
 
Generally a good controlled environment will help keep condensation down , where medium to large temp. swings cause condensation
build up (rust). I Use to monitor areas to keep a controlled environment. Kept Temp. at 72/76 degrees using heat and air conditioning together
and humidity would fall between 52 and 56 % . Checked Daily. Expensive but it works. No condensation or rust was evident . Lots of expensive equipment in area. Do you try to keep a constant temp. in basement ?
 
DNAL, yes the whole house including the basement is controlled by a forced air heating/cooling system.
The basement stays between 68 and 72.
in the last few days I have re-charged the silica in one safe and the inside humidity dropped to 25% (from 30% outside).
the forced air systems in the house have humidifiers installed. I set the one for the basement at 20%.
Is there such a thing as "too dry"?
I didn't mean to drag this post on forever, but just didn't know what the percentage numbers on the hygrometers were telling me.
I would have thought that Golden Rod would have given a little more info on there product or even FAQ on the website.
Thanks to all for the replies.
I may plug in one 18" golden rod in one safe just to see the difference!
 
zini72
Forced air handlers in a house is not the same as controlled environment systems. in a
house either the air conditioner or heater is running to get desired temp. Humidity is not
controlled it just falls wherever. (This is why a controlled environment is expensive) When
you see someone renting space with a controlled environment to prevent damage to items
in storage , they are supposed to be running a air conditioner and a heater at the same time.
They fight each other , but you can get it balanced to get desired temp. Ideally 72/76 degrees.
I have watched it day after day and humidity would automatically fall at 52/56 % .
Yes you can get to dry as well as to wet. Both cause damage of some kind.
 
suggestion

Zini, If you would like to try something like a golden rod without buying it first get your electrical wire through the safe and connect it to a screw in light bulb around 15-25 Watts. Put a thermometer in the safe before and after. You just want the temp to be just a little warmer than the house. It will take a few days to normalize with the firearms in the safe. Heck put a hydrometer in the safe too if it will fit (Kestrel).

If you like the results get your Goldenrod as it will last longer than a light bulb.

Remember nothing is perfect and yearly or semi yearly maintenance of the firearms with suitable corrosion inhibitors will help.
Centerfire
 
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