Safes & Corrosion Protection / Mitigation

[PbHurler]

Gentlemen,
I've recently purchased a larger safe, a fire protective type. I have had my arms in a non-fire protective type for 30+ years and have never had any issues with any type of corrosion. I periodically (maybe twice a year) will wipe down the arms with my preservative rag.

Desiccants draw moisture from the air. VCI devices emit vapors into the air and heaters heat the air thus drying it.

In your experience, particularly with fire protective safes, is there a increased need for corrosion protection due to, maybe, a tighter built safe?

I'm just curious if I should consider employing any of the above mentioned means of corrosion protection, given my previous experience(s).

FWIW, I'm in Oklahoma. Hot, dry and Hot, humid, occasional monsoons. (Not Houston though )

Thanks for your input.

[Lloyd Smale]

I don't know about where you live but my guns have been locked in fire safes for near 20 years now with nothing but guns in them and ive yet to have one rust. It can get humid here at times too. I wipe them down with oil if I think there not coming out of the safe for more then a year and that's about it.

[DerekP Houston]

Ive had mine locked in a safe for a few years now in houston humidity with no issues. i installed the bar that came with my safe and even during the worst rain storms here it doesn't budge inside the safe. I do the greasy rag wipe down on the rifles that don't get shot as often, hand guns are constantly rotating out.

[liliysdad]

I use the Lockdown 12" Dehumidifier rod in my FatBoy Jr..seems to work in that I dont have any rust. For no more than they cost, why not? I also ran power into my safe so that I can have lights, a WiFi external hard drive, and whatever else I might want later.

[dragon813gt]

Summer climate is semitropical here and the safes are in an unconditioned area. I use two of these per safe to keep the humidity down: http://www.amazon.com/PEET-Dryer-Saf.../dp/B00486U71E

One was not enough. The Peet driers work better than golden rods IMO. They don't take up any useable real estate because they mount in a corner. Can't store anything in the two front corners so they get mounted there. I tried no dehumidification, fail. And a single Peet drier wouldn't keep the humidity below 50%. Two of them are able to keep it right around 40% even in the hot and humid summer.

I recommend buying two of these as well: http://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-00613A.../dp/B0013BKDO8

Keep one in the safe and the other outside on the top. This way you know if the humidity is lower in the safe. I tested them against the $1,000 Vaisala meter I use for work. They are w/in a few percentage points which is more than accurate enough.

[EDG]

You don't have much chance of rust if the RH stays at 50% or lower.

My stuff has been in a safe with a goldenrod for 27 years.
The safe is in a refridgerated AC house. My thermostats will switch on at 55% RH even if the temp is 78 F.

I also have more than a few dozen reloading dies that are bare steel and they are not in the safe. They get a little shot of Birchwood Sheath and they never rust either even though they have no golden rod.

I am about 165 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. We have the humidity go up and down a lot with the temperature and sometimes torrential rainfall alternating with drought.

[PbHurler]

Thank you for your input(s).

I think I'll continue my protocols with the new safe. It is installed inside my residence so the air is conditioned. Just a little diligence on my part and I believe there'll be no problems.

dragon813gt; I like your recommendation on the hygrometers, that'd give me a better idea on the actual humidity's I'll be experiencing and whether or not additional means of dehumidification should be used.

Thanks again

[John Boy]

You don't have much chance of rust if the RH stays at 50% or lower.

That's because the recommended RH + Temperature to store firearms is 50% RH & 70 degrees F

[W.R.Buchanan]

Rust is definitely a problem and if you do nothing to prevent it it will happen and usually to the things you cherish most.

I have had a Golden Rod in my safe for 30 years. I also have some big Desiccant bags I got out of a machine crate once on a job.

I have guns that don't live in the safe, and they ALWAYS get Wiped with a Silicone Rag when put in their cases. Each one of those cases has it's own rag.

I keep most all of my dies in a drawer on my Loading bench. That drawer has a few Desiccant bags in it as well. But I usually either coat my Lee Dies which have no protective coating with Dillon Case lube or Frog Lube to stop any rust from starting.

Not paying attention to your stuff is the primary cause of rust and unless you live in a desert it is going to happen unless you take steps to prevent it.

Randy

[Walter Laich]

input from 6 miles north of Houston. Safe in house that runs 45-50% RH. Do the once a year wipe down but that's it. Active firearms get cleaned and oiled as they are used.
Knock on wood: no problems for 20 years though my wife has claimed the top shelf as hers.

[EDG]

Recommended by who? Do you have a standard?
I can tell you there is a US national standard for the temperature and humidity control for metrology laboratories. Those are the labs that calibrate measuring equipment.
Such labs have a lot of super precision gauges, gauge blocks, sine bars and other instruments with bare steel. Some of the equipment is so sensitive that the water vapor film on the surface may affect the accuracy of the calibration. That standard recommends 45% RH along with the standard temp to insure accurate measurement.
The temperature is not so important with firearms storage because we are not measuring anything with them. The 45% is used in place of lower humidity to provide a reasonable working environment that does not dry out the skin.

http://www.nist.gov/nvlap/upload/hb150-2g-1.pdf

See page 20 of 86 in the pdf. The page number in the image is 12. The section is paragraph 2.2.4.2.

The ASTM document is ASME B89.6.2 but you have to have a subscription to the ASTM or pay for the individual document.

That's because the recommended RH + Temperature to store firearms is 50% RH & 70 degrees F

[AbitNutz]

I think I'm going to put all my rifles and pistols in those silicone socks and then store them in my safe. That should help with corrosion worries as well as safe bumps and dings.

[TXBRILL]

I have 3 safes all next to each other 2 older non fireproof, both have golden rods 25-30 years not a single problem. I bought a new Winchester with fireproofing I have had really bad mold, mildew & rust problems. I tried everything, I finally ripped out the interior and the back side of the sheet rock (fire proofing) was covered with mold and mildew, my guess is when they built it the interior the sheet rock was wet and that caused the problem. In addition the interior side of the metal exterior was covered with rust. I called Winchester they said that was not covered by any warranty.

[dragon813gt]

Could have happened during transport. Those safes are made in China and traveled a long way to get here.