• HideTV Turns 1 Next Week!

    To celebrate the anniversary, we’ve got a full week of planned of exclusive giveaways, special live streams, limited-edition merch, and more surprises along the way. Keep an eye out!

    View thread

Humidity in the reloading room

little_scrapper

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
May 31, 2019
459
298
Here is my situation:
Reloading shop is in my basement. Minneapolis MN. Cold air sinks so AC causes high humidity. I picked up a fairly good sized dehumidifier. When I turn it on it always reads 80% so I think that is its max. Therefore humidity could be higher. I now run a 10' hose so I don't have to dump the bucket. However, last summer I was dumping the 1.7 gal bucket twice a day because it would fill up and shut off. 3.4 gallons a day!!

Should I just run it 24/7 all summer and keep humidity in shop at like 35-40%? If I do this it will probably add $50 a month to electric bill.

Should I drop a Desi-pack in my powder can, and keep my primers in Ammo cans with more said desi-packs?
 
Last edited:
Hoe many square feet are you trying to dehumidify and how many square feet is your dehumidifier made for? They have these numbers on those things for a reason.

 
My house is 3K sq ft. My shop is 18' x 23' ish. Its a 70+ pint Fridgidaire. Bout $300 for the unit on Amazon. The unit self regulates. It shuts off when desired humidity is reached and turns on when moisture increases.

Bottom level is my shop, mechanical and a large finished laundry room. The unit is more than able to handle the space; yet I don't think it is entirely overkill either. Probably a bit over what is actually "NECESSARY". Also the family room is just a short flight up from my shop so I probably get cross mojination. The family rm is like 15' x 25' ish. I tend to keep the door closed to the lower two floors in order to "try" to keep the air upstairs.

That being said, I don't want to concentrate on the dehumidifier. It works and I have it. I would like to know what is an ideal humidity to keep the reloading room? Should I put desi pack in the powder cans? Do I need to keep primers stored in dry boxes?
 
Last edited:
Here is my situation:
Reloading shop is in my basement. Minneapolis MN. Cold air sinks so AC causes high humidity. I picked up a fairly good sized dehumidifier. When I turn it on it always reads 80% so I think that is its max. Therefore humidity could be higher. I now run a 10' hose so I don't have to dump the bucket. However, last summer I was dumping the 1.7 gal bucket twice a day because it would fill up and shut off. 3.4 gallons a day!!

Should I just run it 24/7 all summer and keep humidity in shop at like 35-40%? If I do this it will probably add $50 a month to electric bill.

Should I drop a Desi-pack in my powder can, and keep my primers in Ammo cans with more said desi-packs?

Browse that^^
I recall yrs ago, I read VV recommended 65 deg, 59% relative humidity, they are ^^^ on that page, says cool dry place today.
I myself would think 50% humidity, under 70 deg for powder, smart money says drier for primers, but not sure if it would matter.
I'd have a tough time keeping my reloading room at 50% humidity though, seems like a rust bucket, most of us store guns in the same room.
Just offering thoughts, no solutions. I load in my garage, but store powder indoors, with bulk stuff in the basement where it is cooler by a couple deg.