Safe dehumidifier options?

[Maht_g]

Put a safe in my basement for ammo storage. The basement is pretty dry, no mold or mildew on anything down there, even books that have been down there for 25 years are still in perfect condition. Safe is spaced up off the floor for airflow under it, and it's against an interior wall(figured it should be drier than the cinderblock exterior)... the safe is about 24 cu feet but will be packed as full as possible so airspace will be minimal. There is power available but I'll have to make a hole in the safe for a power cord if I use a powered dehumidifier.

So, what's the best dehumidifier option? A goldenrod type plug in? A canister type silica gel that I recharge in oven? There's a silica gel type that you plug into an outlet to dry it out, seems easier to recharge than using the oven for a couple hours... have a goldenrod in my gunsafe upstairs that seems to work, but it took 3 of them to get a good one. The first one didn't work at all and the second one quit after about a month, maybe just a couple flukes but could be quality control issues. Are there other brands that are better?

What do you guys use and how do you like it?

[VictorFranko]

I use Eva Dry rechargeable dehumidifiers.
They recharge with a built in plug, just stick it into any light socket.
I have two in the safe and recharge one at a time, leaving the second to protect the safe.
When the crystals in the window turn pink, it's time to recharge. About once a month for me.



One sale now from Eva Dry, two for $35

[gogohopper]

GoldenRod. No maint.

[jarhead714]

Leaving the door open is Southern California is what I have found to be the best dehumidifier.

[Garv]

I use a goldenrod in the bottom and a 1 pound bag of silica gel at the top.
The safe is in the garage and the house is a mile or so from the ocean.
The bag gets recharged about twice a year.
Eva-dry sounds easier than a bag of silica gel since you see the change of color.

[Barbarosa]

Another vote for a Goldenrod. Simple and functional.

[GreggieBoy]

I've been happy with my Eva-Dry. Works good and is simple to use. If you are in and out of your safe it's a simple check. Plug it into an outlet overnight and it is good to go back into the safe in the morning. I put the spiney part of Velcro on mine so I just stick it to the side of the safe and it's out of the way. When I open up my safe it is right there easy to see if it needs to be plugged in to dry out. Even bought a larger one to place under my kitchen sink cabinet since there isn't a lot of airflow under there.

[Reecek]

Goldenrod for sure. Lifetime warranty.

[smak28]

Golden Rod. It's been in my safe for 20 years. No hassle to re-energize temporary dehumidifiers.

[Frank1911]

I use a combination of things. Living in So. Cal. (Not near the beach) I have used my 18" Goldenrod for the past 20 years without an issue. I back it up with 2 Bull Frog Rust Blocker shields and 4 large Eva-dry boxes. I have a large safe and need to recharge the Eva-dry boxes twice a month. To me it's a cheap investment considering the cost of the safes contents.

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[EBR Works]

All of our safes have Golden Rods. If you have electrical available, the best choice.

[Jel]

Golden Rod for me as well. I have the Eva Dry's as well but too much of a hassle to keep recharging them. For me it was at least every 2-3 days.

[cvgunman]

5 lbs of silica gel from Hobby Lobby for less than $10.00 Has color changing crystals blue(dry) pink(saturated). At that price no need to mess with oven and recharging. Throw old in garden or on lawn and buy new bag.

[Zorba]

If you're feeling sketchy about GoldenRod, try a DriRod. Its pretty hard to mess up a 7 or 15 watt resistor.

[FeuerFrei]

Goldenrod or a plain old 25watt lightbulb will work equally well.

If the basement is as dry as OP says then I'd leave it as is. Nothing to worry about there.

Sent using 2 cans and a long string.