Armory Sponsor
Posted: 1/6/2014 9:55:24 AM EDT
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I just bought a new house, and am setting up my workshop. I am going to put all my safes in there as well. I have one 12 gun rifle case, and 2 pistol/ammo cabinets.
My question is regarding temps. This rooms temperatures have dipped to high 50s - low 60s in the winter. Is this okay for the firearms? Is it okay for the live ammo? Thanks for the help. |
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The problem is not humidity, it is dewpoint. If your safe gets cold, like 50 degrees. Then you warm up the room rapidly, and then open the safe door, if the cold steel is below the dewpoint temperature in the room, you will get condensation on the metal surfaces as the ambient air circulates and equalizes. Same effect that your glass of ice water presents when it "sweats" in warm humid air.
It is a common practice to use a "Dryrod", which is a small electrical heating device that keeps the safe internal temperature elevated, or you use desiccants to reduce relative humidity so the dewpoint is very low. |
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Quoted:
The problem is not humidity, it is dewpoint. If your safe gets cold, like 50 degrees. Then you warm up the room rapidly, and then open the safe door, if the cold steel is below the dewpoint temperature in the room, you will get condensation on the metal surfaces as the ambient air circulates and equalizes. Same effect that your glass of ice water presents when it "sweats" in warm humid air. It is a common practice to use a "Dryrod", which is a small electrical heating device that keeps the safe internal temperature elevates, or you use desiccants to reduce relative humidity so the dewpoint is very low. This is right on - again. Put a Dryrod or two inside and maintain a positive temperature delta between the inside of the safe and the ambient air. Instead of Dryrod, you could use small Flexible Silicone-Rubber Heat Sheets from McMaster, power them off a dimmer switch, and tweak the heat input as needed. |
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