Gun Cabinet, Ammo plus Humidity

[rviray]

I want to store all my ammo in a gun cabinet out in the garage. I am planning on securing the cabinet to the wall and floor, before anyone chimes in...I know that the gun cabinet can still be broken into because of the thin metal it is made of, but I am concerned about the humidity here in PCola.

I am planning on putting a dry-rod and some silica gel in the cabinet to minimize the humidity, but is there anything else that I should consider? BTW, I have some ammo cans that will be put into the cabinet, but I don't have enough for all the ammo.

 

[mtbbrewer74]

Following

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[ccather]

I have good results with vapor barrier bags. Mine are made by CORTEC. (651) 429-1100. I have had them some time and still seem to be effective. Mine comes on a long roll and you cut off what you need, slide the gun in and seal both ends. I also throw in moisture absorbing bags before I seal them.

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

Army ammo cans with seals. Done.

 

[rviray]

Rebel been putting them in ammo cans, but getting to a point where I am running out of ammo cans. Also, I want to start organizing them by reload date or purchase date and rotate them around. Sort of like what shopping shelves look like. Putting the fresh stuff in the back and moving the older stuff out in front, so I just grab and go.

 

[rviray]

I have good results with vapor barrier bags. Mine are made by CORTEC. (651) 429-1100. I have had them some time and still seem to be effective. Mine comes on a long roll and you cut off what you need, slide the gun in and seal both ends. I also throw in moisture absorbing bags before I seal them.

I take it they are like zip lock bags but or food saver type of bags where you suck out all the air?

 

[ccather]

That is the shape but no zip lock seal on mine. No need to suck out air. Instead there is a chemical inside the bag that prevents corrosion. Guess you could go the food saver bag route.

 

[Capt. Dave]

If you have the average garage that stays closed most of the time, I suggest a dehumidifier. You can get one for 75 to 100 bucks at Home Depot. Get a cheap humidity gauge off flee bay and run it 24-7 to keep below 55-60%. This has worked well for me.

 

[rviray]

If you have the average garage that stays closed most of the time, I suggest a dehumidifier. You can get one for 75 to 100 bucks at Home Depot. Get a cheap humidity gauge off flee bay and run it 24-7 to keep below 55-60%. This has worked well for me.

I wish, the garage is where my family enters and leaves. My front door is for decoration or for people that don't know any better. Unfortunately, the garage is usually open if I or my family is at home (day time only).

 

[kidsoncoffee]

https://damprid.com/ Here's an option. You have to buy refills for it, but I've seen them work wonders in boats that are in storage. I don't see why it wouldn't work in a safe that's out in the garage. I use a rechargeable dehumidifier in my safe, but it's indoors and doesn't have to work nearly as hard as if it was outside in those temps.

 

[polebarn]

VCI bags as CC mentioned.

 

[ccather]

For longer term storage and a fun project afterwards: try Cosmoline

 

[Snake-Eyes]

Get more ammo cans.
Put one of these in each:
Amazon product ASIN B00G1RYYNU
About $1.42 each for 12. When they no longer feel like "new" US paper money, and they feel more like "used" paper money, they're rechargeable in a convection oven at 245-degrees for 16-hours.

Cheap. Redundant. Reusable. Easy to label and shift around on shelves. Minimizes the chances that a single product failure will ruin your entire inventory.

 

[Welldoya]

I too was going to suggest a dehumidifier and Damp Rid.
You won’t find a dehumidifier for $75-$100 bucks though.
A decent one is going to be at least $150 with a 50 or 70 pint being around $200 and up.
Put a tub or 2 of Damp Rid in your cabinet.
You can get a big jug of it at Home Depot for about $10 or $12.
You might buy the single serve too just for the tub.

 

[Raven]

If you have the average garage that stays closed most of the time, I suggest a dehumidifier. You can get one for 75 to 100 bucks at Home Depot. Get a cheap humidity gauge off flee bay and run it 24-7 to keep below 55-60%. This has worked well for me.

Buy a concrete sealant and reseal your garage floor. A lot of vapor makes it through the floor, especially in the older houses with no plastic vapor barrier between the dirt and concrete

 

[Raven]

And start using your front door. When I had a garage, I walled it off into a super nice man cave and told the family "deal with it". I got to watch all my TV I wanted and when I wanted, too, and it probably single handedly saved my marriage.

 

[wildrider666]

I don't know what kind of gun cabinet your using. There's not much benefit of using any type dehumidifier if the cabinet is not well sealed, moisture will continue to flow with the air and that's a loosing battle. Plug unused holes, silicone caulk all seams and mount bolts and use weather stripping on doors. Now you have a "container" that supports the reduction of humidity.

Best location is against interior wall especially if on a Slab which conducts outside temp. I have a concrete floor carport next to the house Slab. Adjacent to it is a bedroom with a tile floor: I can feel the tile is very warm three feet in from that dividing wall! For ammo storage you want the temp low and as with as little variance over time as you can get.

I've been using damprid in my gun safe for decades. I go into the Safe often. I dump about 4oz of water from the collection reservoir every month. I actually replaced the provided water collection reservoir with another larger container that fits the supplied Damprid reservoir/strainer that sits on top. Use unscented Damprid, I don't want nonessential fumes inside the Safe. Nothing to run a power cord to, nothing to plug in to dry it out. I store the refill bag (it has its own ziplock type seal) inside a HD Freezer Ziplocked bag and it sits on the floor of a closet: this stuff is so good it draws moisture into the space between the two bags!

Note: In the Safe I also use a light coat of RigRag (TM) on metal gun surfaces, no rust ever. But you can't coat ammo.

 

[Big Shrek]

I wish, the garage is where my family enters and leaves. My front door is for decoration or for people that don't know any better. Unfortunately, the garage is usually open if I or my family is at home (day time only).

Then that would be the WORST place to put a gun cabinet.
Questionable even for a safe.

A garage that sees a lot of visitors also means that non-family then have knowledge of your gun security...
and how easy to crack it may be.

And then you've got the smart little bleeps like when I was a 14 yr old...
buddies were setting up to go to the beach for Spring Break...
Shaun Landon said..."Wish I had a key to the Liquor Cabinet!"
I looked at it and said, "You don't need a key, all you need is a phillips head screwdriver".
he removed the hinges, got a couple bottles, and we were the worst kids on the beach
Can your gun cabinet be defeated by a screwdriver?? Things to think about.

 

[stage20]

How long will ammo last inside the house? I've often wondered if 30 years from now will the ammo I saved money on be worth the investment or will I have wasted it. Don't think I'd ever put any in a garage. Temp and humidity swing is too much even if it's sealed up.

 

[FLT]

In 30 years it will be fine. That’s not speculation on my part I regularly shoot ammunition that is that old and older And it’s as good as it ever was.