Gun safe heater ideas?

[Sparkynutz]

I've searched and searched with no luck whatsoever and someone has to have done this.
Gun safe is in cold damp area most people use dessicant packs, rechargeable dehumidifiers, mini dehumidiefiers, golden rod safe heaters, light bulbs etc.
I already have a mini dehumidifier running that can't keep the 8'x7' room its in below 52% humidity and it would take up more room than I'd like putting it inside the safe.
I have a seed starting mat that only gets used for a short time each year why cant I find any instance of someone using that at bottom of a safe? It takes up no room, doesn't get very hot and its waterproof.
My next idea is a short section of pipe heating tape or roof tape also waterproof, cheap and takes up very little room.
My 3rd idea is reptile heating tape which is basicly the same as pipe heat tape.
My 4th idea is to just mount a couple resistors in proper wattage and resistance to outside so heat rises through the metal and not have to drill any holes in it.
Anybody ever thought of or tried these ideas?



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[sayoda]

I use a goldenrod heater...

 

[Lelandwelds]

A small incandescent bulb works also.

 

[Sparkynutz]

I mentioned those. I posted because I've never heard of the other ideas and wanted something smaller cheaper than goldenrod and more reliable than a lightbulb that needs replacing

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[BillK]

How well insulated is the safe ? How about one of the magnetic engine oil heaters that stick to the bottom of the oil pan. That way you would not have to drill any holes in the safe ?

 

[Shawn S]

Why is your humidity so high? I am in a similar climate (eastern South Dakota) and my humidity has been around 39% the last month with my dehumidifier unplugged.
Why does the safe need to be kept warm? And if it does need to be warm can you heat the room rather than the safe?
I have a gun room with a small crappy safe in it. The safe is for ammo, the guns are on locked racks. I keep the humidity below 50 degrees and I don't worry about the temp.
I just checked my room and the humidity is 32% and temp is 67. It almost gets too dry in the winter.
Maybe I am missing the boat on the heat thing. Wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Bretny]

I have made a egg incubator with reptile tape. It worked well in conjunction with a stc1000 comtroller. With these controllers you can set the in/out pickup.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00862G3TQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Make sure u get a 120v controller if you go this route.

 

[DieselSJ]

Goldenrod. They just work. Kept everything in my safe rust-free when I lived in Seattle.

 

[Kaizen]

No way I’m playing around with other experimental things in my gun safe with powder and thousands of rounds. Stick with the rod.


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[Sparkynutz]

No containers of powder to worry about. I don't reload. Only hunt mainly. I also keep my ammo in a seperate cabinet.
Over half my guns are air guns and just like keeping them all organized together.
I wish basement humidity in my area was naturally 30-40% like yours but just not realistic.
I'm shooting for mid to high 40's
The room is unheated with no ducts intended as a root cellar. I'd rather not heat a whole room and dehumidifing the room as a whole isn't working with what I have. They were in my bedroom closet initially but wanted more room for clothes so I moved them last week.
The room is pretty much constant 55-60* which isnt a problem but when I put my warm moist hand on the safe door it instantly condensates on the cold steel around my hand. The moisture evaporates within seconds of removing my hand but assume heating the cabinet would lessen the chance of any condensation on metal parts within.
I am currently testing a 750 ohm 150watt resistor on workbench now. It gets to 200*+ on its own but with it screwed to a heat sink/metal cabinet above it should be less. Hopefully within safe range but enough to heat the safe. I guess I'll see. I was just hoping to get input from someone who has gone the diy nonconventional route as I typically do.

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[Tracs]

I've searched and searched with no luck whatsoever and someone has to have done this.
Gun safe is in cold damp area most people use dessicant packs, rechargeable dehumidifiers, mini dehumidiefiers, golden rod safe heaters, light bulbs etc.
I already have a mini dehumidifier running that can't keep the 8'x7' room its in below 52% humidity and it would take up more room than I'd like putting it inside the safe.
I have a seed starting mat that only gets used for a short time each year why cant I find any instance of someone using that at bottom of a safe? It takes up no room, doesn't get very hot and its waterproof.
My next idea is a short section of pipe heating tape or roof tape also waterproof, cheap and takes up very little room.
My 3rd idea is reptile heating tape which is basicly the same as pipe heat tape.
My 4th idea is to just mount a couple resistors in proper wattage and resistance to outside so heat rises through the metal and not have to drill any holes in it.
Anybody ever thought of or tried these ideas?



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As someone who doesn't own firearms, please forgive my ignorance. Why do you need to heat the gun safe? If humidity is the problem how does heat lower it? Warm air holds more moisture. Would that not mean you would be increasing the humidity?

 

[Jawn]

As someone who doesn't own firearms, please forgive my ignorance. Why do you need to heat the gun safe? If humidity is the problem how does heat lower it? Warm air holds more moisture. Would that not mean you would be increasing the humidity?

Increasing the temperature will lower the relative humidity. Same amount of moisture is in the air, but it's less likely to condense on other surfaces by heating it.

 

[MrSurly]

As someone who doesn't own firearms, please forgive my ignorance. Why do you need to heat the gun safe? If humidity is the problem how does heat lower it? Warm air holds more moisture. Would that not mean you would be increasing the humidity?

Heating the contents slightly doesn't change the humidity but it raises the temp of the guns above the dew point range so that condensation doesn't form.



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[Ole Slewfoot]

Dehus don't work near as well in sub 60 temps, that is part of your problem.
Put some cast iron on the root mat, those things usually run for years.

 

[Sparkynutz]

As someone who doesn't own firearms, please forgive my ignorance. Why do you need to heat the gun safe? If humidity is the problem how does heat lower it? Warm air holds more moisture. Would that not mean you would be increasing the humidity?

Moisture condenses on cold objects, not typically warm objects. I dont know much about it either but heat rises and keeps constant air movement inside a safe also preventing condensation and rust. Other than that im not sure why a heating element "goldenrod" or lightbulb are the most used items inside a safe to prevent rust.

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[Jeff Scott]

I have a walk in gun safe/safe room that's 4x7 feet by 6 ft tall. I use two large goldenrods and it keeps the rust at bay. I haven't had any problems and they have been running for about 5 years now uninterrupted. This safe is in the garage that is insulated and never gets below freezing. The goldenrods keep it dry enough in the safe to mitigate any corrosion, even in the hot, humid summer months.

 

[JimNC]

Cheapest alternative is a pair of incandescent lightbulbs, odds that you lose both at once are low.

For everything else, get a thermometer and see how much it warms the contents up. I’ve never checked, but would think 10 degrees would be plenty.

I use a goldenrod plus a dessicant pack. Have thought about adding a fan that runs when the door is closed, but really no need as best I can tell.

 

[Radix2]

Cheapest alternative is a pair of incandescent lightbulbs, odds that you lose both at once are low.

For everything else, get a thermometer and see how much it warms the contents up. I’ve never checked, but would think 10 degrees would be plenty.

I use a goldenrod plus a dessicant pack. Have thought about adding a fan that runs when the door is closed, but really no need as best I can tell.

Bulb life is extremely sensitive to voltage - so one trick to use if you don't care about light is to either put the bulb on a dimmer or put two bulbs in series - at half voltage, a normal bulb should never burn out in your lifetime.

For example, a 2000hr bulb, at half voltage should last about 130,000,000 hrs ( 1400 years)

Just have to boost up the bulb wattage so that you get the heat, since two bulbs in series will put out 1/2 the heat as a single bulb of the same wattage.

 

[Sparkynutz]

I found an online btu calculator that with my application resulted in between 180-300 watts turned into heat required to raise the temp of the whole room 10*
If my math is correct thats about $2 per day and in a couple years I could have just tossed the guns and bought new ones with the energy wasted keeping them rust free. Im going to try the seed heating mat in the bottom of the safe and call it good along with just keeping them oiled more often.

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[4 FN 27]

Oil...a Guns best friend.

I keep my Vault 2° higher than the rest of shop year round to "force" the moisture out. In Floor Radiant on its own zone in the winter and a Mitsubishi Mini Split in the summer with a dehumidifier. The Vault is constructed of 10 inch thick ICF Walls and a 14 inch thick Moline ceiling with 6 inches of concrete poured on top of that. Because the ICF is such a good insulator the Mini Split doesn't run much causing the humidity to rise in the summer. So the dehumidifier takes care of it.

I try to maintain 30% humidity all the time. Keeps the rust out and the Millwork doesn't dry up.

The Golden Rod is a great option.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Root cellar ? CMU, stone or poured walls ? I'd try to insulate the room so it holds the heat and prevents temperature swings.

 

[Sparkynutz]

5" concrete on outside and inside with a 2" pink foam center between the two. I was thinking of adding more insulation to inside and outside eventually.
The room is almost half above current grade.
Icf walls would be nice. I just wonder about long term durability of the plastic webbing holding the icf gorms together. Plastic expands and contracts a lot with temp swings. If the foam is damaged any hydraulic pressure could push water through. On a backfilled wall anyways.

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[Jimthediyguy]

I had my gun safe in my bedroom until I moved to my current residence this past August. Put my gun safe in the basement, which is finished, but added a dehumidifier which keeps the humidity to around 30 - 35% at 65 degrees. My safe and its contents have never been happier. And if I calculate right, my dehumidifier uses less than $2 per month to run. That's pretty cheap insurance I think. Besides, it leaves me more time to do things that I want and need to do instead of having to wipe down my guns every few days to make sure they don't rust.

 

[Sparkynutz]

I had my gun safe in my bedroom until I moved to my current residence this past August. Put my gun safe in the basement, which is finished, but added a dehumidifier which keeps the humidity to around 30 - 35% at 65 degrees. My safe and its contents have never been happier. And if I calculate right, my dehumidifier uses less than $2 per month to run. That's pretty cheap insurance I think. Besides, it leaves me more time to do things that I want and need to do instead of having to wipe down my guns every few days to make sure they don't rust.

Wow! That must be a very efficient dehumidifier if its that cheap to run. Most are much much more than that. A simple 100watt lightbulb costs me roughly 30cents a day to run or almost $10 per month. $120 per year

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[Xpectation]

The Golden Rod works great for preventing rust. My safe is in my basement and it's really damp, no problems since I bought a Golden Rod dehumidifier. Can't tell about other brands since no experience with them, but I suppose they are all working with similar efficacy

 

[Worsedog]

I don't understand the aversion to the Goldenrod. An 18" one is $35 ish from Amazon. It consumes 18W. At .15 per KWh it cost less than $25 a year to run. They are proven and reliable, unlike some half baked hack plan. Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

I have one in my safe and zero condensation or rust and the humidity varies from 25 to 40%.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I posted because I've never heard of the other ideas and wanted something smaller cheaper than goldenrod and more reliable than a lightbulb that needs replacing

Use a LED bulb.

Tommy

 

[pcmeiners]

To control the temp, and not waste electric, has 2 plugs

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Inkbird-IT...953104?hash=item3417c2f910:g:LH0AAOSwfOBdwfeH

Then 2 reptile or similar low wattage heaters, 2nd mat for redundancy.

 

[Brad Beam]

I've searched and searched with no luck whatsoever and someone has to have done this.
Gun safe is in cold damp area most people use dessicant packs, rechargeable dehumidifiers, mini dehumidiefiers, golden rod safe heaters, light bulbs etc.
I already have a mini dehumidifier running that can't keep the 8'x7' room its in below 52% humidity and it would take up more room than I'd like putting it inside the safe.
I have a seed starting mat that only gets used for a short time each year why cant I find any instance of someone using that at bottom of a safe? It takes up no room, doesn't get very hot and its waterproof.
My next idea is a short section of pipe heating tape or roof tape also waterproof, cheap and takes up very little room.
My 3rd idea is reptile heating tape which is basicly the same as pipe heat tape.
My 4th idea is to just mount a couple resistors in proper wattage and resistance to outside so heat rises through the metal and not have to drill any holes in it.
Anybody ever thought of or tried these ideas?



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Mine is about the same size and I use a 24” baseboard heater. My humidity stays around 40%

 

[JPinSTL]

I went with 2 offbrand $20/ea smaller "goldenrods" in my gunsafe which is in the garage, that is NOT climate controlled, but is insulated. Here in MidMo that means a big temp/humidity swing. My theory was if one failed and I did not realize it for a month or so the other would still be going. Been 5yrs now with no issues.

Once a year, usually over Winter, I go through and wipe everything down and re-organize to squeeze a little more room in there for recent acquisitions. Ammo is gonna have to go in cans and on the shelf, no more room in the safe.

 

[GTFiero]

Just use what I use. a small LED (40watt equivalent). It will generate a small amount of heat. Very little electric usage. Last 30,000 hrs plus. Will keep the safe dry.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I bought a very small dehumidifier from Amazon, half-shoebox size. It had a small container you're supposed to dump water out of, about a pint. I drilled/tapped plastic at bottom and JB welded a tap in it with drain hose. Don't know if that would work for you.
LED won't...incandescent gives off heat.

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[Dagny]

If you run a 240 volt bulb on 120 volts or put two in series the wattage would be about 1/4.

 

[techieman33]

So many crazy people in this thread. There's a product on the market that by all accounts works great. Yet they're coming up with ideas that might save them $10-$20 while they try to protect thousands of dollars worth guns/ammunition/powder. It's one thing if you might save a hundred dollars, but for a few dollars it's not something I would take a chance on.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

So many crazy people in this thread. There's a product on the market that by all accounts works great. Yet they're coming up with ideas that might save them $10-$20 while they try to protect thousands of dollars worth guns/ammunition/powder. It's one thing if you might save a hundred dollars, but for a few dollars it's not something I would take a chance on.

"So many crazy people in this thread" which is why we need gun control![emoji16]

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[thin_concrete]

Another goldenrod user here - no complaints. If you keep any sort of paperwork in there, I would put it in a Ziplock or fireproof bag. I’ve heard and read that the goldenrod can yellow papers and damage pictures. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I didn’t want to find out the hard way, especially with several old family photos.

 

[Bigbandguy]

Similar to one earlier suggestion. My dad had a test light he had made from a rubberized hanging socket and a 220 volt edison base bulb. ON 120 Volts it would just glow. He had that thing for 40 years and it never failed. If you could one of those bulbs for your safe it would both provide heat and outlast you. The bit about 2 120 V bulbs in series would work just as well.