I just purchased a gun cabinet (lockable) as grandchildren are getting older. I am concerned about summertime humidity and long term storage. I have two choices of location.

1. I can locate it in the basement where the summer the temp runs about 70 and i keep a dehumidifier running.

2. I can locate it on 2nd floor with no air conditioning during the summer.

As an extra precaution I have installed two light bulbs wired in series so that there is almost no visible light, just a few watts of heat. I looks like two 60 watt bulbs in series gives about a 10 deg rise in the cabinet.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

You may want to add a can or two of moisture absorbant like
Driz-it or silica gels. Be sure to check and change them regularly.
Dry heat is better than air circulation in my opinion.
More importantly is putting the rifles away clean and wiped down. I use a silicone impregnated cloth on the rifle as I put it away and never let my hands touch metal. Even a tiny amount of acidity or moisture from your skin can create a "spot" after long term storage.
Frank

AC,
I know that it can get humid in PA, but here in Florida, we live in a sponge all year long. I have been fairly successful in holding down corrosion by applying a generous helping of Rig GunSlik to a piece of sheep skin I keep on the edge of the safe. Any rifle or pistol that is touched is wiped. It has worked well.

I think the key is to prevent sudden changes in temperature and keep the humidity as low as possible. I think that your light idea should work well as a temperature control device.

I also rescued a couple of the industrial strength dehumidifier packs from some computer equipment we received at work. I keep one of those in my safe also. Kudude

I live further down the peninsula than kudude and have my safe on the first (and only) floor in the house and, except for power losses (frequent) have no problem in humidty control. My firearms don't rust but, I have the air conditioning running year around. The silica gel pacs and Driz-it are real good ideas as is a "goldenrod" lamp that is available specifically for gun safes.

A related HELP We have had the wettest rainy season for decades and I notest mold/Mildew growing on some of my leatherwork in my strong room. Soon killed that off, but what do you guys who live in perminat damp conditions do to keep mold/mildew out? My strong room is a 9' x 11' room with concreat roof and no windows- just 6 small air vents high in the walls.

Thans

...if you cant provide enough ventilation - exchange of air - do opposite - try to seal the room air tight and try desiccants - check site:

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/faqs/ivd2.html

hope it helps

quote:

...if you cant provide enough ventilation - exchange of air - do opposite - try to seal the room air tight and try desiccants - check site:

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/faqs/ivd2.html

Great link.
One of the best means of preventing problems is regular inspection. Even dessicants require checking and replacing or recharging.
Frank

remember the air conditioner, acts as a dehumidifier, infact thats is how most dehus work, is by passing air over a refrigerated surface, thus condensing the air. We are really dry here in utah, but They make these golden rod things that go in safes, not sure how they work, would be worth a look

Gun storage for extended periods of time has been a subject I have dealt with for several decades. I don't use light bulbs or Golden Rods in my safes because I don't want dried or cracked wooden stocks. Breakfree markets a product that is called "collector" and was designed for 5 year storage in harsh climatical conditions. I use it in conjunction with Napier's VP90 Corrosion Inhibitor Sachets. The results have been outstanding, no rust! I recommend you check out these two products. The following two links are: http://www.napieruk.com/guncleaning.html
http://www.break-free.com/products/products_collectorliquid.asp?catalog=law

that is also a good point, if you store you guns in really really dry conditions, then take them out to hunt or something the wood could change drastically

Another thing you can do to help keep your Safe
in an air tight condition is to Caulk it with a flexible bathtub rubber sealer where the locking door mates against the frame. I did this several years ago and it has shown no sign of deteration.

in EU you can get those



(go to - our adhesives - Practical items - UHU Luftentfeuchter German language only)

http://www.uhu.de/_uk/indexx.html