Which dehumidifier?

[snert]

I have several safes and some secured gun vaults, now in a relatively dry, but not as dry as previous house, basement. Never needed a dehumidifier before. I do now as a room dehumidifier is dragging off a tank a day. Cement floors, and walls. Wondering what you guys use and how you like your arrangement in your safe? It would help if your climate is similar to mine: Northeast, away from the sea, 1200 ft elevation, hot humid summers, winter colder than a witches nose...and dry as a popcorn toot.

 

[joshb]

Hey, where did you wind up? Connecticut? I've tried several different brands from the box stores over the years. They only seem to last a couple years in my shop. A friend suggested I spend big for a commercial unit. Prolly would have saved some money over the years if I had. My shop is underground. 12 inch poured concrete walls and concrete floor. The dehumidifier runs 24/7 and does a good job on the moisture. I have it set up to drain into a sink, through a hose. Keep the humidity down in the room and the inside of your safe will be OK.
Just went and looked. Aeon is working now. Year and a half old. Haier was the last one.

 

[spclark]

Basements typically need dehumidifiers rated for operation below 60F otherwise their condenser coils can freeze up & ice over despite marketing claims. Even at 65F you can run into issues with units more than a year old that worked well at first.

I'd look for something in the 60-70 pint per day category; built-in pump can be handy though I have my basement unit discharging into condensate pump already serving high-efficiency furnace/air conditioner drain lines.

On a timer now to run 12 hrs daily; May - August it runs 24/7. Doesn't need to run when furnace is heating house.

Shouldn't cost you more than ~ $250.

http://www.lowes.com/projects/utility-and-storage/dehumidifier-buying-guide/article

 

[snert]

Hey, where did you wind up? Connecticut? I've tried several different brands from the box stores over the years. They only seem to last a couple years in my shop. A friend suggested I spend big for a commercial unit. Prolly would have saved some money over the years if I had. My shop is underground. 12 inch poured concrete walls and concrete floor. The dehumidifier runs 24/7 and does a good job on the moisture. I have it set up to drain into a sink, through a hose. Keep the humidity down in the room and the inside of your safe will be OK.
Just went and looked. Aeon is working now. Year and a half old. Haier was the last one.

Only moved 12 miles. Still CNY. But now i have a basement and instead of coal heat (makes for dry air) I have a basement and a furnace. It looks dry, but it isnt. Have a dehumid down there, but it is too small for sure. Wondering if you guys use "in safe" dehumidifiers like goldenrod? I plan to get a bigger unit for general use, but what about in the safe itself? I am not yet comfortable putting an electrical heater in my safe with my Win. 42....

 

[spclark]

In-safe units just raise the ambient temp a bit, lowering relative humidity. They don't take moisture out of circulation as do drying agents (silica gel most commonly, other chemicals like calcium chloride that you DON'T want in your safe!) and refrigerator-type dehumidifiers & air conditioning. Setting up a dehumidifier in the space where your safe is will do more to pull water out of the air, helping maintain 50-55% RH which is pretty much OK for our needs.

I moved to a place with a poured concrete basement three years ago, there's no waterproofing on the outside and it's built on clay soil to bedrock not far below. Previous owner lied about no leaks; they had the sump pump float set to allow water to stand in the drain tiles at the footings so the clay stayed saturated year-round. When it rained they reportedly had running water leaking in in several places....

Since we moved in I've been working to get things more livable down there as that's where I do my reloading @ keep tools & stuff. With better water management (more & bigger downspouts, filling cracks in basement walls with expanding polyurethane sealant, caulking seam at wall/floor with urethane, a 70-pint dehumidifier) leaks are seldom now & ambient humidity never goes above 60% unless I leave the dehhumidifier off.

You may need to do something similar with figuring out where your basement moisture can best be slowed down so a dehumidifier can help to dry the air down there better.

 

[joshb]

Spclark made a comment on summer use and not winter. Ok if your house is heated by forced hot air. Watch it with any system that doesn't pull moisture out of the air, like baseboard heaters. My shop is under my garage. I use a wood stove for heat but the air is fairly trapped inside. A lot of moisture comes from me breathing and sweating. Before I started running the dehumidifier in the winter, frost would form on the inside surface of the steel door and dew would form on the Windows.

 

[snert]

Thanks...that is good info. I suspected that the in-safe approach was lame for my application and this seems to confirm that. I will buy a bigger dehumidifier.

snert

 

[hogpatrol]

"Goldenrod" inside the safe is another option.

 

[rbduffer]

Why not calcium chloride in a gun safe?

 

[Comrade Terry]

Why not calcium chloride in a gun safe?

Chloride = corrosive.

 

[snert]

Well, I moved to western PA.
Humid all summer. Had some rust on stored dies, etc.

I inherited an older (12 years) dehumidifier and I like it. Crosly or some such, with open coils. When temps dropped in Oct I added an electric heater/oil filed next to it to keep the gun vault at 67 degrees and the humidity below 45. I will wait and see what next summer brings. Key is to seal up that room and let teh dehumidifier drain into the drain.

Praying that old Crosley keeps working cause the new ones really suck.

snert

 

[ebb]

I live in Florida and know nothing about a basement. However I did close in my mom and dads basement one summer. That was my summer of ground hogs, at 4:30 my daughter was waiting at the top of the stairs with my 22-250. Furred dry walled and paneled, but before we furred he insisted on Damtight. I rolled all the walls twice with the Damtight and then furred and dry walled. I seemed to help the humidity, dad claimed latter it was amassing how well it worked. they have never had any humidity problems since.

 

[T-shooter]

I've posted this several times because they work well. Get these packs at one of the Dollar store chains (the wife picks them up for me) for a buck each. 2 or 3 (maybe 4 in a huge safe) will pull a lot of water out. The beads dissolve and water will collect in the bottom of the containers. I have to change mine about once a year. Put one high, one low, and one in the middle if you can. I've tried desiccant bags and an electric dehumidifier mad for safes. These work much better.

 

[powderbrake]

I recommend the safe be on pads to keep it off the concrete floor. (I use some 1" thick steel blocks) Then add a goldenrod stick heater.

I do not have the severe humidity problem the OP has, but concrete basements will let humidity creep through, particularly if you have a sprinkler system in your yard. I have found that keeping a couple Box fans ($25 at Home Depot) running 24/7/365 to circulate the air keeps the humidity down, and any funky or mold smell away. It REALLY works.

 

[wholman]

If this is a basement like I no it is concrete floor and walls try sealing
floor and walls. just a thought.

 

[rbduffer]

Chloride = corrosive.

Thanks Terry

 

[NWnewguy]

If you want one that will actually work and last, then look into the Santa Fe Classic. It is a beast and will dry out your entire basement. I have had one in near continuous use for over 5 years in the Seattle area in an older not well insulated house. It works like a champ and while not cheap; is not even comparable to anything sold at big box stores. It's what your Grandpa would have bought, and if he had, you could still be using it.

 

[Westhunder]

+1 on Santa Fe. I’m a contractor and do contained crawl spaces on our custom homes. We use them during construction and as needed after the space is sealed. Get a condensate pump too bc you don’t want to empty that thing all the time. Golden rod in the safe is a must too.

 

[spclark]

My only concern w/ a Santa Fe would be if used in a basement below its 56F min. rated operating temp.

Do folks who use ‘em find this to be conservative? Will they continue to function if temp drops to 50F or a little lower?

 

[Westhunder]

Yes have a call into my moisture guy. I’m willing to bet he says that it will work but may not be as effective. But it does put out “warm” air, so the temperature is likely to rise to above that threshold after running it for some time. I would bump up a size for sure, I’ll let you know what he says