Need a Heater in My Safe?

[EastCOYotes]

I’ve got my big safe in my garage (please spare me on the “you shouldn’t put your safe in your garage”). My garage will get down into the 30’s during the winter and wondering if I should put a golden rod or something in my safe to hopefully maintain a warmer temp? I do use rechargeable dessicants in there for moisture mostly just wondering if I should worry about temperature swings with the safe/guns

 

[drew_235]

Do you have an outlet in your safe? (many newer safes do, if not you'll need to drill a hole in the bottom to fish the wires through)
The short answer is, in my opinion, yes. If you keep the inside of your safe at a warmer temperature than the outside, pushing the humidity out. This is what I've got. I installed one in my dad's safe after his golden rod died after several years.

 

[EastCOYotes]

Do you have an outlet in your safe? (many newer safes do, if not you'll need to drill a hole in the bottom to fish the wires through)
The short answer is, in my opinion, yes. If you keep the inside of your safe at a warmer temperature than the outside, pushing the humidity out. This is what I've got. I installed one in my dad's safe after his golden rod died after several years.

I do have outlets inside my safe... the golden rods or the lockdown rod you have seem reasonable on Amazon so I may give that a shot.

 

[daylate]

I use a Peet's boot dryer in mine seems to keep humidity out and cheap to run. I think they make a single stack one for safes..

 

[drew_235]

I do have outlets inside my safe... the golden rods or the lockdown rod you have seem reasonable on Amazon so I may give that a shot.

For $20 or $25, yes it is worth a shot.
One oddity that my dad ran into that is worth mentioning - He had a chest freezer on the same circuit in the garage as the safe heater. After a few years, the compressor in the freezer died, tripped the breaker, and he didn't notice it....for a few months. The freezer clean out was breathtaking, but his safe heater obviously wasn't working during this time either and a couple of his antique guns developed mildew on the wood. After everything was cleaned up, we installed a very simple and small always-on night light to act as a visual indicator that the circuit still had power and that no breakers had tripped.

 

[EastCOYotes]

For $20 or $25, yes it is worth a shot.
One oddity that my dad ran into that is worth mentioning - He had a chest freezer on the same circuit in the garage as the safe heater. After a few years, the compressor in the freezer died, tripped the breaker, and he didn't notice it....for a few months. The freezer clean out was breathtaking, but his safe heater obviously wasn't working during this time either and a couple of his antique guns developed mildew on the wood. After everything was cleaned up, we installed a very simple and small always-on night light to act as a visual indicator that the circuit still had power and that no breakers had tripped.

Funny you say that because I too have a chest freezer on the same circuit. However it’s a small chest

 

[drew_235]

Funny you say that because I too have a chest freezer on the same circuit. However it’s a small chest

Given my experience with several 5 gallon buckets of meat slurry that had percolated for at least 4 months, I'm not sure if the size of your chest freezer really matters when the compressor motor seizes. I think his was in the 8 - 10 cubic foot range.

 

[EastCOYotes]

Given my experience with several 5 gallon buckets of meat slurry that had percolated for at least 4 months, I'm not sure if the size of your chest freezer really matters when the compressor motor seizes. I think his was in the 8 - 10 cubic foot range.

Was just thinking my compressor duty is a little less with a small chest, with less potential to trip the breaker. Anyways getting a little off into the weeds here.

I’ll probably give the goldenrod a go

 

[DownhillFromHere]

A shooting buddy of mine who made his living in HVAC / refrigeration business said on-off-cycling heavy draws (as from plug-in resistance heating) will kill refrigerator/freezer compressors.

I learned this after asking him about my experience killing a chest freezer by running a large power tool on the same circuit for several hours over a couple of days. I now have a separate, dedicated circuit for freezer - NOTHING else on it, and no GFCI (plug was marked with a warning by the installing electrician).

 

[Centuriator]

I’ve got my big safe in my garage (please spare me on the “you shouldn’t put your safe in your garage”). My garage will get down into the 30’s during the winter and wondering if I should put a golden rod or something in my safe to hopefully maintain a warmer temp? I do use rechargeable dessicants in there for moisture mostly just wondering if I should worry about temperature swings with the safe/guns

Yes, put a Golden rod in it and load it up with rechargeable dessicants like these. Be sure to do your best to insulate all seams.

https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva-dry-500-Renewable-Dehumidifier/dp/B00BD0FN8A/ref=pd_bxgy_201_img_3/138-6656944-2512313?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00BD0FN8A&pd_rd_r=f2447df5-6bff-4159-be6d-4f4ddaabfa2c&pd_rd_w=MliKC&pd_rd_wg=EtMk9&pf_rd_p=09627863-9889-4290-b90a-5e9f86682449&pf_rd_r=HV37YGT7JYPQF5K28CEC&psc=1&refRID=HV37YGT7JYPQF5K28CEC

 

[Superx]

3 safes, unheated area, temps 28-85F, 20years, never an issue. If concerned, wipe down the guns before putting away.

 

[EastCOYotes]

3 safes, unheated area, temps 28-85F, 20years, never an issue. If concerned, wipe down the guns before putting away.

At the moment this is how I am. Colorado is dry and I always wipe guns down with a silicone cloth, but I feel some dessicant and a golden road is cheap insurance against rust as well.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Bulk Silica Gel.

I have the automated litter box that uses this stuff. Four cats, and after 2 weeks, none of them have a clue what the damned box is for.

Oh, well; glad I bought it used.

FYI, COPD and Cat Box Ammonia are poor housemates.

Everybody in the family drops their cats off at my house, then sighs and tells me they're mine. I get to feed them and clean the litter box. Last year we topped out at nine, but some choices had to be made.

I had arrived in AZ with one.

I like them a lot, but I keep suspecting there may be something wrong with this picture...

Greg

 

[KeithStone]

+1 for the golden rod 3 safes in the garage and no problems so far

 

[GIXXER2000]

I use the Golden rod and 2 of the bigger rechargeable desiccants I my big safe no issues in over 5 years

 

[LuvDog]

I've run a golden rod for years and for me it's cheap peace of mind.

 

[drew_235]

If you have a safe of good quality, then you should not worry about the temperature.

I don't believe anyone on here thinks we run small heaters in our gun safes to keep the guns warm, rather we do it because the small temperature delta drives out the humidity and keeps things from rusting.

 

[COprecisionhunter]

I don't believe anyone on here thinks we run small heaters in our gun safes to keep the guns warm, rather we do it because the small temperature delta drives out the humidity and keeps things from rusting.

Got a good chuckle out of the thought of someone wanting to keep their guns warm and comfy

 

[Baron23]

I’ve got my big safe in my garage (please spare me on the “you shouldn’t put your safe in your garage”). My garage will get down into the 30’s during the winter and wondering if I should put a golden rod or something in my safe to hopefully maintain a warmer temp? I do use rechargeable dessicants in there for moisture mostly just wondering if I should worry about temperature swings with the safe/guns

Yes, to prevent condensation w a relatively inexpensive device.

 

[SmileMaker]

Golden Rod, PEET and rechargeable desiccant in my AMVAULT (TL30x6) with zero issues.

 

[acudaowner]

could always wrap your children up all snug in an electric blanket before jamming them into a cold dark punishment chamber I mean a safe .

 

[Bangarang]

I was having mildew issues in my safe. Adding a Goldenrod totally cured it!

 

[zeroz]

And there is still a good reason to live in CO! Nice and dry, very little worry of rust or mildew.

I almost puked a little thinking of that freezer cleanup. I can't believe it sealed well enough for it to take that long for someone to smell it.

Size of the freezer has no bearing on this. If the freezer shits out, it could trip the breaker.

 

[drew_235]

And there is still a good reason to live in CO! Nice and dry, very little worry of rust or mildew.

I almost puked a little thinking of that freezer cleanup. I can't believe it sealed well enough for it to take that long for someone to smell it.

Size of the freezer has no bearing on this. If the freezer shits out, it could trip the breaker.

Let's just say that my dad's garage reflects several of his personality quirks/flaws. My memory indicates that there were several cases of shotgun shells on top of the freezer lid, holding it shut so that the decomposing meat stew could not burp....but when it did, holy hell.

 

[zeroz]

Oh Jesus. I can only imagine. Im kinda surprised the freezer wasn't trash. I would be very tempted. Ive been around some pretty rotted things and it can be super bad. Human bodies are terrible. I'll save the story as to not fully derail the thread and have everyone puking.

 

[drew_235]

Oh Jesus. I can only imagine. Im kinda surprised the freezer wasn't trash. I would be very tempted. Ive been around some pretty rotted things and it can be super bad. Human bodies are terrible. I'll save the story as to not fully derail the thread and have everyone puking.

The freezer was totally trashed.
He called my brother and I and we dragged it out of the garage into the driveway. I can't remember the exact details, but it was winter and we let it freeze up really hard outside before we loaded it in a trailer to make the trip to the dump.

 

[Rocketvapor]

It's Science folks.
Air can only hold so much water before it condenses out.
That temperature is know as Dew Point. Go outside in the morning to find the Dew before it hides

If you heat the air inside the safe the RH drops. It's not driven out of the safe. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air thus the Relative Humidity drops. The Dew Point stays the same, the water is still there, but the warm air has more degrees of cushion before the water vapor condenses. For example, a Dew Point of 40 degrees can have 100% RH if the temperature drops to 40 degrees, but be relatively DRY if the ambient temperature 60 degrees.
A Dew point of 60 degrees will condense out at 60 degrees but be relatively dry (RH) @ 80 degrees.
Long Term storage of metals, untreated wood, paper, or Cigars at RH of over 70% accelerates oxidation (excess water vapor will combine with surface contamination).

A somewhat sealed safe has a lag or delay from outside conditions. As temperature drops the seals and mass of the safe stays warmer (Good). Overnight the temperature inside and outside will equalize. Depending on the Dew Point that may be OK. But that lag will keep the interior of the safe cold longer as the outside air warms up. Still OK if the safe did not reach the Dew Point during the night. Dew forms almost everywhere, even on Cacti.

Adjust your heater wattage to give you 10 to 20 degrees warmth, above ambient inside your safe.
If it has a thermostat pick a temperature above your seasonal Dew Point.
How many use a 100 watt bulb in their pumphouse to keep the pipes from freezing?
50 to 100 watts (1/2 to 1 amp@120 volts) should be plenty for a 'Large' safe. Most of the electric safe Dehumidifiers are less than 20 watts and good for a 'Small' safe.

Absorbers absord mositure, a cold safe sucks in more damp air and the absorber collects more water vapor. Moisture absorbers are good at keeping the RH levels below 70% by sucking up water but over time they can saturate, gain water weight and stop protecting. Most absorbent materials have a known max water content that can be checked by weight.

 

[OneMoreNoMore]

I used to have my safe in a basement near the exterior wall and I had 2 goldenrods and a rechargeable desiccant but it still wouldn’t keep the humidity low enough. Also when you have large temp swings like is typical in the north it’s tough to keep the moisture down in a large safe.
I ended up putting a small ceramic heater inside and also one of those cheap remote weather stations that way I can tell at a glance if the temp and humidity are in check.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Heating the inside of a safe up north in the cold, or down south where it's damp works. But, you are trying to keep the RH below 70% with a wide range of Dew Point. I world have to heat to a higher temperature during the wet season than you. The weather station sounds like an Idea but even a Humidity alarm would work.

EDIT: You probably meant one of those remote indoor/outdoor Temperature/Humidity meters.
That is a fantastic idea to monitor. Connect it to the house alarm system

 

[OneMoreNoMore]

It was in WV for a while and the humidity stays below 40% most of the time. In florida now and it’s inside so it’s really not an issue much.
Yeah it’s the indoor/outdoor type. Got it from radio shack when they were closing really cheap. But yeah, the new ones could be linked to your phone for alarm sets.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Inside is best if you have the room.
During the warmer months the house A/C actually REMOVES moisture from the air.
Air chilled over the evaporator drops moisture content (water drains out in the yard).
During the cold months the heater raises the air temperature lowering the Relative Humidity (doesn't remove water).
Night and day temperature swings are less inside.

When you start up your car in the winter (does Florida have a winter? ),
and you turn on the Defroster the air passes through the car's A/C evaporator to remove moisture then through the heater core to warm it up. The heat melts the frost on the outside the dry air defogs the inside.

 

[Shane C.]

This has been good for me to dry the whole garage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H9XWLVW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Rocketvapor]

That keeps lots of garage stuff protected from moisture.
Hose run to the outside?

A 100 watt reflector heat lamp mounted a couple feet above the safe would keep the steel warmer than the garage air. But would heat when not needed if left on.

 

[Shane C.]

It has an option for a hose but, in winter it would freeze up if ran outside.

 

[Rocketvapor]

If the hose had a drainage grade it would likely be empty all the time but it does sound like a good item.