Have you tried the EVA-DRY De-humidifiers?

[Scratch705]

Many of these types of dehumidifiers use a silica gel based desiccant. You can save your self a few bucks by stopping at your local craft store and buying a bulk pack.

Usually a 1 1/2 pound bag or bottle will cost around 6 bucks and a 5 pounder costs about 12 bucks. Mail order will work if your town doesn't have a store like Hobby Lobby or Joanne's.

Here are a couple of links.

1 1/2 Pound.

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/dri-splendor-silica-gel-109728/

5 Pound.

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/dri-splendor-silica-gel-flower-preserve-247262/

Regards,

good find, didn't even know they sell them like that.

[xtian13]

are dehumidifiers a must have??? i can see how it would be easy to put one in a gun safe, but what if you store your rifle in a plain ol' rifle bag like one of these:



Is it better to just throw in a few small bags of dessicant? What about ammunition? Is it better to use an ammo can? Ammo can with dessicant?

Thanks

[jcaliburr]

Many of these types of dehumidifiers use a silica gel based desiccant. You can save your self a few bucks by stopping at your local craft store and buying a bulk pack.

Usually a 1 1/2 pound bag or bottle will cost around 6 bucks and a 5 pounder costs about 12 bucks. Mail order will work if your town doesn't have a store like Hobby Lobby or Joanne's.

Here are a couple of links.

1 1/2 Pound.

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/dri-splendor-silica-gel-109728/

5 Pound.

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/dri-splendor-silica-gel-flower-preserve-247262/

Regards,

How do you actually use it properly?
What type of container do you put it in before placing in a safe/case/closet?
How do you tell when it needs recharging?
How much of it is necessary per space/area used for?

Sorry for bombarding you with questions.

[Merc1138]

How do you actually use it properly?

stick it in a container

What type of container do you put it in before placing in a safe/case/closet?

Tupperware, dinnerbowl, whatever as long as you're not going to knock it over.

How do you tell when it needs recharging?
How much of it is necessary per space/area used for?

Read the item description or package. Like with most they'll have something in it that changes color.

[BruinGuy]

I'll look into this if I have to recharge the other one too often. Once a month sounds more reasonable than every 2 weeks. Do you keep ammo in the same safe?

I keep my ammo outside the safe in ammo cans or the original boxes. I throw in a few 2 oz. dessicant packets and about once every couple of months I pull them all out and bake them at low temp in the oven.

Of course, I live in the SFV and it is very dry about 8-9 months out of the year, so it's only in the middle of winter that there's any real ambient moisture, or those rare times when it's really hot during the day but cools significantly at night.

I haven't had any moisture issues, and I try to keep my wood gunstocks oiled to avoid the opposite problem.

Those bags of bulk silica gel look like the way to go. You can get a can for your safe and buy that and just refill. Just get one of these and refill from the bag:

http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Packs-750gm-Indicating-Silica-Canister/dp/B003QZ6PZ0

[unusedusername]

I use the EVA-DRY ones because I don't like the idea of having to keep the stuff in my oven for 12 hours to recharge it once a month.

[MudCamper]

They work well. And they are a heck of a lot easier to recharge than putting silica gel packs in the oven. Depending on the humidity in your area you'll have to recharge them more than they advertise, but it's easy to do.