The best "popular"-level dehumidifying guide I've seen, you start from the science, not with the ads. My experience is exactly yours - monitoring is essential and a heating rod alone can only raise about 10°, and maybe lower RH (Relative Humidity) 10%. Important points: 1) Saturated silicate gel throws moisture back into your safe, monitor the color. 2) Humidity applies to your scopes/optics too. RH should not be above 50% or it will get fungus. Then pay to clean or replace them! 3) A Bluetooth hygrometer is cheap, $15, then you don't have to open the safe as often and you can keep years, or days, of graphs showing how your humidity, and dehumidifiers, behave. Thanks again! 2) Plastic and rubber dry out below 30%, if they are an issue
@jamesandrews66784 ай бұрын
I just wanted to see what humidity I should be looking for. I left knowing everything I could possibly need to know about safe humidity. TLDR hygrometer then keep adding dehumidifiers until 50 or less. Someone in the rainforest probably got a 64 gunsafe with 27 dehumidifiers and room for a pistol 😂. Great video.
@anthonybrand33192 ай бұрын
I live in the tropics, and, yeah. In-home humidity goes 40-80%, and higher. I made my own dry box and I use a golden rod AND a small dehumidifier AND rechargeable silicate nside, I can keep RH below 50%.
@blo5289 Жыл бұрын
Thank you. This is great information. I’ve never seen this information broken down so well.
@Specialized19932 жыл бұрын
by far the best video explaining gun safe moisture control... thank you
@paraTRUEper3 жыл бұрын
Excellent presentation !!! I am currently experimenting with 2 Golden Rods, one at a time (12 and 24 in) inside of a 52 cubic ft. gun safe. I also have 2 Remington (Eva-Dry type) silica rechargeable packs. 24 hours later, the humidity drops 2% (61% down to 59%) from 19 to 20 Celsius. I am going to try the 24 inch rod now, and give that 24 hours.
@musician4453 жыл бұрын
Thanks for explaining the why in this video. I ended up putting several silica gel packs in my cabinet to try to cut down humidity. At first i noticed the pack filled IMMEDIATELY, and i had to recharge it constantly. Then i decided to just add more of them, which cut down on how fast they fill up and actually seemed to work on reducing rust. I know realized i need to buy a hygrometer to actually verify my humidity. I think this will make me check my silica gel more often too. Awesome video!
@usaalways18692 ай бұрын
Buy a golden rod
@colterino Жыл бұрын
Really helpful. Really good job. Really good video. I have a dehumidifier for my whole basement I said it’s 50% the basement temperature is about 55 so I think I’m good. Plus I put a dessicant dryer in the cabinet too just to be double safe. Knock wood. No rust in the last 10 years. Thanks man 👍🙏👏👏👏
@05cesarleo9 ай бұрын
Alfloia works great and keeps my 5×3 safe at 43%
@aaronanthonymoat2 жыл бұрын
Engineering Prevailing. Facts not Fiction. When air is heated the due point increases. This means that the relative humidity also increases when the temperature falls. I think both are essential and insulation is the first priority in my opinion.
@34dawgsgo4 ай бұрын
Good Info. Have a new safe on order 23.1 cubic feet and also a 24" goldenrod. Time will tell.
@jfrog19793 жыл бұрын
This was great, been havin some humidity issues in the safe and just got a golden rod and the damn humidity *increased*😑gonna try getting a few more desiccant cans and see if I can drop it down🙏🤞thanks for the excellent vid!
@anthonybrand33192 ай бұрын
Is your safe airtight? Silicate (passive) works in a sealed space, rods need an escape for air. I drilled 3 small 1/4" holes at top away from the rod side.
@WilbertRamos7773 жыл бұрын
great information I'm new to all this just purchased my 1st hygrometer dnt knw much about it but this video helps I have it inside a gun safe is a 48 capacity is big weight 490lb I probably need to add more dehumidifier packs
@donaldramey18962 жыл бұрын
This is by far the most objective and informative video I've seen on this subject. In fact the others are all bullshit sales pitches. Thank you.
@bernieanderson8118 Жыл бұрын
I agree with the multiple units ! Cheers!
@Handyman19113 жыл бұрын
Excellent presentation, Thx!
@harleydixon42253 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the information, I appreciate it. You made nice videos keep it up !
@laarbpad21072 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the presentation, best I have found so far. Quick question, if you have an uninsulated cabinet in a room that is controlled to be 50% relative humidity, would the sealed cabinet also be at 50% RH? If that were the case, the simplest thing would seem to be, run a dehumidifier (compressor) with a drain hose, and then you don’t have to worry about recharging silica gel...
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
Hi, there. Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it. I picked up many projects around the house when Covid started. Turned to YT to get ideas on how-to. On projects where I couldn’t really find good, consolidated video, I decided to make & share videos of my own in hope my experience would help others. Many other video ideas, but didn’t get around to filming or editing them. On your question: within reasons, yes that assumption holds true. If want to know for sure, put one of these humidity sensor/logger (high & low) inside the uninsulated cabinet, and check back after a few days or a few weeks. Deviation away from 50%RH will have registered, and you can see for sure. First monitor for 24hrs. Then extend to 2~3 days. Then check back in a week. Then check every few weeks - AND make sure you’ve done that across rain seasons. Why this is not a straight forward yes or no: I speculate you’re asking this for a basement space, where some folks maintain a dehumidifier. So it depends heavily on how that dehumidifier is sized, - whether sufficient for the room (entire basement is huge), - how much of the room is “homogeneous” (basement usually isn’t), - where in the room is the cabinet (if happens to be to a corner that gets very little air movement and accumulate higher humidity because that corner face the uphill outside the house and it’s where moisture accumulated & seeps through the concrete basement wall...) ... Many factors to consider. Therefore not a simple yes/no. If it’s really just a room, on 1F or 2F, then I’m willing to bet your assumption is correct. If it’s the basement, I wouldn’t take the chance, and would at least monitor closely/frequently, until I know I can trust that assumption year-round. But that’s a lot of work. Compared to that, $15~20 for a silica gel pack, then I can reduce my monitoring frequency. Because at that point I am not really checking for high/low on the sensor; I am checking for whether the silica beads are saturated and need a recharge. I can go for longer duration between checks. Hope this helps. [Edited to correct the silly auto-correct]
@laarbpad21072 жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 Thanks for the very detailed response! All that makes sense to me. I already have a dehumidifier handy which is why it came to mind as a low maintenance solution. I used to use the plug in Evadry units but they never seemed to bring the humidity down low enough. I just figured they weren’t all that useful, but now I know I needed more of them. That sounds like good advice and I will try monitoring it to see what RH percentages comes up with the compressor dehumidifier. Probably also get more desiccant dehumidifiers too and see which method requires the least amount of maintenance.
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
@Laarb Pad Maintenance and... Electricity, in the case of a dehumidifier JUST FOR the fact you have a cabinet in that room. 😅 If it’s just a room, sure, it’ll control the humidity. But... I don’t know, seems a bit of an overkill. But hey, if you have a spare dehumidifier, sure. 😊 By the way. I have an LG dehumidifier. After 2~3 yrs of not using it, all the refrigerant has finished leaking out. How do I know? I turned it on to dehumidify after a water leak, came back to that room after a few hrs to find... absolutely no change on humidity, no water collecting in the bucket, and the compressor had being running for hours... how the motor didn’t burn out, I have no idea. 🤣
@laarbpad21072 жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 yes, that is a good point, definitely more $ to run the dehumidifier. Kind of have to run it anyway, so in that case it would not be exclusively for the cabinet... Interesting about the LG. I didn’t know the refrigerant could leak out (evaporate?).
@fredrickcallahan42923 жыл бұрын
Great Video Man
@jeffbarnes61202 жыл бұрын
Awesome video! Thank you!!
@davek882 жыл бұрын
Great video! Thank you sir!👍🙏
@ChuckMorton Жыл бұрын
Have a 24.4 ft^3 safe that I keep a large 750 g metal desiccant (midway had a great deal), a eva 500 I recharge about every 3 months and a peet. Worst I get is around 54% and as low as 40%. Now have a second 24.4 ft^3 safe and looking at a similar setup but considering the golden rod instead. I think the Peet would be more effective as moving its heat and the design has the heating element contained within a tube that should induce some convection air current more. This may be defeated with a wider safe as this air flow would typically be on one side of the safe and not even on the linear plane like a golden rod. Just guessing, I would wager the Peet works as well as the 24" one, since there would be more convection to transfer enthalpy (heat).
@reallifeengineer7214 Жыл бұрын
You may be right. But I would guess if there is anything that Peet’s plastic housing does, is to reduce the speed of natural convection.
@ChuckMorton Жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 I thought about it later on and am thinking that temperature uniformity in the safe is what would be best and we both know convection will probably be the best means to transfer heat. I decided to run a 24" golden rod and using a whole series of govee hydrometers to measure at multiple points in each safe and then swap both setups while leaving the sensors. I would at least know relative effectiveness of both devices.
@reallifeengineer7214 Жыл бұрын
@@ChuckMorton Nice! Sounds like a great way to test & find out! Love it.
@ChuckMorton Жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 I like the similar mindset of doing actual research (and not the "do your own research", which is really just aggregating information.)
@codybruce65106 ай бұрын
I finally get it lol
@samdequina33863 ай бұрын
How do you set how much humidity you want in your safe?
@anthonybrand33192 ай бұрын
Can "set" that without a controller where you plug in your rods or other active humidifiers. Inkbirds are cheap on Amazon but you do introduce complexity (and confusing instructions guide). Can't set with passive (silicate) at all, just have to monitor. But don't leave them saturated or they throw humidity back in the safe!
@vinskiroblinski4102 Жыл бұрын
Peet dryer is the superior safe dehumidifier
@reallifeengineer7214 Жыл бұрын
Superior vs what dehumidifier? Superior in what metric?
@richardcooper22376 ай бұрын
Thank you very much for helping me understand how it works.
@chadmccormick1412 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the video sir! I have a Liberty Fatboy Jr. I have a 24” Golden Rod, Peet air dehumidifier and 2 rechargeable dehumidifiers. With all that said, it usually stays around 40%-45% RH. It typically stays at around 78- 81F. In your opinion is that good enough to protect all the firearms inside? Is also have all of my long guns in gun socks.
@reallifeengineer7214 Жыл бұрын
Use of BOTH the 24" heat rod and ALSO the Peet heater seems a bit much. 78~81F seems a bit high. I personally wouldn't like storing firearm and ammunition in elevated temp if I could avoid it. Maybe unplug the Peet and see what the new equilibrium temp & RH is, then decide from there?
@chadmccormick1412 Жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 Thanks for the info. Do you think about 41% RH is too high or about just right? I will try unplugging the Peet heater as well and see what it does.
@ronsorrentino62072 жыл бұрын
A little late to the party but I’m looking for an answer and found this video. And like all other videos and information I’ve found, they’re all on how to remove humidity. Anyhow, this video is a little on the deep side as far as information goes, but very informative. But that’s an engineer for ya’. lol Anyhow, there are all sorts of desiccant packs, be they boxed, bagged, or electrically recharged as well as a heating rod to remove humidity. But what if a person wants to add a little humidity to their safe? Now in case you’re wondering why, it’s because I’ve removed all the desiccant out of the safe and it’s still only at 35/36%. And I need to get it back up to 50. And to add, I’ve thought about a room humidifier, like one of those small Vicks or other name and odd name brand room size ones, but, unless I leave the safe door open for however long, which defeats the purpose of a safe, I don’t see how that will help. Because once I get it to 50% and close the safe door, it’ll only last so long at 50% and I’ll have to open the door again and repeat. And repeat, and repeat. And I’m looking for something that’s much less of a PiTA. FYI, it is an insulated safe. So any and all suggestions will be appreciated. And thanks in advance!
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
Thank you for watching and your comment. If your issue is a very dry house/room, certainly that’s a different direction. Adding humidity via humidifier is generally not a good idea inside a safe. Humidity does not disperse immediately homogeneously in the safe. That means you will get localized (very small pockets) high-humidity, or even some condensation. Now, if you don’t have wood components on your firearms, then “too dry” is fine; no harm done. If you do have a woody I mean wooden pieces in the safe, you can try oil’ing that wood. “Too dry” pulls the humidity out of the wood, and eventually that’s why wood will crack/split in that condition. By putting oil into the wood, oil now takes the place that got vacated by the departed humidity. This is also why when you’re oiling very dry wood, you can feel and see the oil sucked into the wood & gone almost immediately. (Just like dry human skin “drinking up” moisturizer.) The only watch out: adding oil to wood will change the looks of that wood. Research into oil for wooden floor, and you’ll get the idea. Good luck with the oil on the wood… 🤣
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
I’ve had good experience with Tong oil. This oil will absorb into the wood like any other oil, but additionally Tong oil will cross-link when it cures. Meaning, the fatty acid chains of the oil molecule will cross link with fatty acid chains of adjacent oil molecule. Not to the extent of how epoxy cures, but similar idea. Tong oil is all natural, derived from tree nuts. I’ve also heard good info about Linseed oil, but I have not tried that. If you are able to disassemble your firearm, and separate the wood parts from the metal parts, then you can try a little bit of the oil in an “inconspicuous area” and see what the color turns into, and whether you like that look. BUT, if the wood piece on your firearm has an urethane-type coating, then no oil will penetrate through that coating so will not absorb into the wood. I don’t think firearm wood pieces use that type of coating, but I could be wrong.
@dinoXAs22 жыл бұрын
I have silica gel in tied socks. Good enough.
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
That works! 😂 When refreshing (baking) the silica gel beads, you might want to spread them out on a tray in the toaster oven or similar. Quicker having it spread out, vs keeping them inside the sock.
@dinoXAs22 жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 I just change new silica gel beads to the sock :D
@rromo472610 ай бұрын
Hornady 95902: 2020 to 2023: 270% price increase - wow
@davidquillen50252 жыл бұрын
I have to keep my safe in the garage. I live in western oregon, and outside humidity varies wildly. I run 3 liberty plug in dehumidifiers and a golden rod. My humidity inside my safe runs from 45 to 54 percent. Can't figure out how to keep it more constant. Any thoughts? Any ideas much appreciated
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
If through an entire year (all season), your safe’s RH range between 45~54%, that’s actually pretty good! 😅 If you get it to 49~51% range, you’ve got yourself a laboratory-grade CTCH room. (Constant temp / constant humidity) Hmm… makes me wonder what’s the temp/RH range they use to preserve historic documents. And yes, a lot of it has to do with the fact your safe is “very close” to the outdoor environment. So outdoor humidity swing can more-easily impact your safe. That said, if you’ve had this for years, and you’re not seeing any issues on your iron & wood, you should be just fine. (If it were mine, I wouldn’t worry about it.)
@uclajd3 жыл бұрын
Unrelated, would you happen to have a link to a psychometric chart? 🤪
@tvm75882 жыл бұрын
m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iMWFhq10ua_Lo2g.html
@RIPPER334 Жыл бұрын
Just keep a light on inside the safe... No dehumidifier needed.
@Beardlife17762 жыл бұрын
How do you increase the Humidity? My meter says dry
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
I don't ! 😅 That's also because I don't have any wood components on my stuff in there. So "low humidity" is not a problem for me. If you have M1 Garand or other items with wood components, then you do need to keep humidity at roughly 50%RH. 40%~60%RH is probably an ok range. Before considering to "add" humidity, please make sure you are logging and monitoring humidity inside AND OUTSIDE of the safe/cabinet. That'll give you insight what you need to do, to avoid "too dry" situation. (If RH outside the safe is already too dry, there's not much you can do inside the safe. You certainly don't want to add a humidifier in there... 😅)
@Beardlife17762 жыл бұрын
@@reallifeengineer7214 thanks good to know. Just got a new safe and trying to figure everything out. Mines has been stuck at 20-30% based on what my monitor says. It’s just super dry in the winter, which doesn’t help. No wood components so I’m good in that area. Someone suggested to add a humidifier in the same room as the safe to control the humidity better.
@reallifeengineer72142 жыл бұрын
@@Beardlife1776 If you don’t have any wood component on firearms in the safe, then you do not need to worry about “too dry” AT ALL. Whoever suggested you add a humidifier in the same room, is solving a problem that doesn’t exist. 😅
@terryharvey11093 жыл бұрын
Can one get there safe too dry?
@reallifeengineer72143 жыл бұрын
It depends. 😅 I talked about 50%RH being ideal for wood; that’s numbers from NRA. If you have firearms with wood components, then that becomes important. If you don’t have any wood component, or if you don’t CARE about any wood component in there, then there is no such thing as “too dry” for the inside of a safe. When we replaced our home’s central HVAC last summer, the workers didn’t wire the humidifier properly. So this winter we’ve being a bit too dry. Entire house is routinely 35~38%RH. My cabinet is ~32%RH. Doesn’t hurt my firearms. I don’t have a Garand.