Loading Room Humidity

[Boisblancboy]

Anyone use a humidor for powder and primers? Not sure if they would work just a random thought.

 

[RegionRat]

In labs we have humidity control cabinets but I really don’t think you need them for reloading components in a typical sense. A humidor is generally built to maintain 70% for cigars, so they would be too high.

 

[59FLH]

50%

 

[M-61]

Sizing is the key with air-conditioning. If the unit is too large for the room it will reach the lower temperature you selected too quickly and turn off....never running long enough to dehumidify the air. Too small and it fails to ever cool the room.
If you walk into a butchers freezer sure it's cold but is a damp wet miserable cold.(He needs it that cold)
The correct size a/c will cool and dehumidify perfectly.
Walk into to a newer modern office building. It's perfect. The a/c has been perfectly sized to that area leaving it both cool and dry. It didn't happen that way by chance.

 

[ormandj]

Sizing is the key with air-conditioning. If the unit is too large for the room it will reach the lower temperature you selected too quickly and turn off....never running long enough to dehumidify the air. Too small and it fails to ever cool the room.
If you walk into a butchers freezer sure it's cold but is a damp wet miserable cold.(He needs it that cold)
The correct size a/c will cool and dehumidify perfectly.
Walk into to a newer modern office building. It's perfect. The a/c has been perfectly sized to that area leaving it both cool and dry. It didn't happen that way by chance.

This is outdated knowledge/thinking. It holds true for relatively poorly insulated homes in climates that support relatively constant load. Variable speed compressors and blowers have completely changed the game - you size to handle peak load but then the units can generally compensate down quite well, sometimes even 50% below rated max. That said, I still suggest having a separate dehumidification stage if you live in a climate like mine and have a well insulated environment. There are moderate temperature periods in which no HVAC is called for most of the day.

TL;DR, keep the humidity at 40-50% via whatever means necessary, and you'll be more comfortable and have no issues with rust/mold/etc.

 

[dcali]

I like it about 50% That minimizes static, but stuff doesn’t get damp or uncomfortable. In the early fall/late summer around here, it gets up to about 60% in my house and I notice it, and wish it was lower. Things feel damp, don’t dry quickly, etc. I figure that’s not good for a shop.

unfortunately, the dehumidifiers I’ve owned have apparently been disposable - they don’t seem to last very long and are just cheap enough to make repairing them not make sense. Would love a good one, but I’m getting gun shy after them only lasting a year or two. Maybe I’m just unlucky.

 

[ormandj]

I like it about 50% That minimizes static, but stuff doesn’t get damp or uncomfortable. In the early fall/late summer around here, it gets up to about 60% in my house and I notice it, and wish it was lower. Things feel damp, don’t dry quickly, etc. I figure that’s not good for a shop.

unfortunately, the dehumidifiers I’ve owned have apparently been disposable - they don’t seem to last very long and are just cheap enough to make repairing them not make sense. Would love a good one, but I’m getting gun shy after them only lasting a year or two. Maybe I’m just unlucky.

Not unlucky, all the dehumidifiers you can buy at HD/Lowes/etc are trash. You need something like an Aprilaire 1850/1870 if you want one that will last. All the floor standing plastic units are garbage.

 

[Damon555]

I like it about 50% That minimizes static, but stuff doesn’t get damp or uncomfortable. In the early fall/late summer around here, it gets up to about 60% in my house and I notice it, and wish it was lower. Things feel damp, don’t dry quickly, etc. I figure that’s not good for a shop.

unfortunately, the dehumidifiers I’ve owned have apparently been disposable - they don’t seem to last very long and are just cheap enough to make repairing them not make sense. Would love a good one, but I’m getting gun shy after them only lasting a year or two. Maybe I’m just unlucky.

I've had 3 dehumidifiers for my man cave on and off over the last 8 years.....2 of them only lasted a year. My last one has been with me for more than 3 years now.....it's a Frigidaire. Maybe I just got lucky or it's a decent one, who knows?........But you just wait....now that I'm bragging on it the darn thing will take a dump.....lol.....I think that the key is to run them every so often when they are not needed. The ones that sat for an extended period of time over the winter without getting ran were DOA the next year. My current one gets run occasionally in the winter so the refrigerant can circulate the oil and keep things nice and lubed up. Does it help? Heck I don't know but the Frigidaire has lasted longer then any of the other brands so far......

 

[searcher]

Not sure how much since I have seen bench rest shooters reloading at the range where the humidity is over 90% and the powder in the throws is there for hours at a time

Only so much moisture can be absorbed by powder in a powder measure with the cap on during the course of a relay. But over a month in a cannister that is not absolutely air-tight and one which is opened many times and has powder poured back into it after sitting in the hopper for hours, will slowly affect the burn rate. In worse-case - it can degrade the powder to the point where it is ruined. I am a big believer of suspending silica packs in the top of my 8-lb jugs. Every time I open the jug - I recharge them. I also put them in ammo cans where I store my loaded ammo - even rimfire ammo. I find these things help me and I live in a very arid climate compared to anyone in the South, for example. I thought about trying to dehumidify my workspace - but I determined that keeping moisture from my powder, ammo and primers was all I was really concerned about.

 

[dcali]

I've had 3 dehumidifiers for my man cave on and off over the last 8 years.....2 of them only lasted a year. My last one has been with me for more than 3 years now.....it's a Frigidaire. Maybe I just got lucky or it's a decent one, who knows?........But you just wait....now that I'm bragging on it the darn thing will take a dump.....lol.....I think that the key is to run them every so often when they are not needed. The ones that sat for an extended period of time over the winter without getting ran were DOA the next year. My current one gets run occasionally in the winter so the refrigerant can circulate the oil and keep things nice and lubed up. Does it help? Heck I don't know but the Frigidaire has lasted longer then any of the other brands so far......

On both of mine, the compressor just died. Not sure how. Possibly electronics related? What sucks is that there was an old one - like decades old - in the house that I rented a while back that works fine, so it can be done. I’d pay 2-3x for a floor standing unit that would last - I only need it maybe two months a year. I just get tired of paying $200+ for something that doesn’t last. I think one of my dead ones was a Frigidaire. The other was GE I think.