Gun room climate control

[oldfart]

I've seen over the years that people on this forum have built rooms to store guns and what not, I have a friend that put one up in his basement, pretty nice room, 10x12 with particle board walls and ceiling, staggered studs with chain link fence between and plywood outside walls. I imagine with the right door it would be hard to get into. The one question that I had for him that tripped him up was what was he going to do for climate control. He didn't put any duct work in from his furnace and guess he didn't really think about it until I asked him. I think a dehumidifier would be enough. Any other thoughts from anyone with experience.

[december1979]

I bought a house about a month ago and have been planning on building a vault type gun room also. I have been in the building/construction industry for 20 years both residential and commercially. I would definitely put some kind of HVAC system in the room, doesn't have to be connected to the house furnace, just a intake fan and exhaust fan. The fans can be real small 6" or so, that way you will keep the security of the the reinforced walls. The dehumidifier would work, but in the winter time you may not want to run it not stop, also if it malfunctions and stops working it could get musty quickly. Also if you plan on emptying the reservoir every time it got full (besides being a pain) the unit may shut off for long periods of time.

https://www.amazon.com/Broan-512M-Through-Wall-6-Inch-Sones/dp/B000LNKUN8/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_60_bs_lp_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1GBWYAFKRH66ZQV5PGZH

[Rooster 308]

I used to have a room at a previous house. It had hvac ran to it unlike your guy. The house was pretty dry in the winter and cool/dry during the summer. So I never ran a dehumidifier of any kind. Never had a problem in the 3 years I was there.

Not much help sorry.

[Scoop]

Hi, I didn't have any air drying mode before, in the air conditioner. Well, more precisely, I did not know that I did not have it configured, and when I decided to figure out what it was all about, I broke my air conditioner. I told my dad about it. He scolded me and said that next time I should go to him immediately. So I didn't use the air conditioner for three weeks because my dad was looking for a service. I decided to tell my boyfriend about the broken air conditioner, and he immediately recommended for me guys who installed air conditioning at his house. I decided to contact this service https://www.socool.sg/ and a day later, everything was set up and explained to me. But dad's still mad at me.All your posts have been reported, troll.

[john.41]

Has the basement ever flooded? Are there floor drains or windows in the partitioned area? Any source of moisture?

If all are no, seal floor, ceiling and door frame from air infiltration. Mount a good dehumidifier w/humidistat, up off the floor. Should be high enough so drain hose is pitched to nearest drain, outside the room.(no pump to fail) Add a small oscillating fan on opposite wall and run on low full time. Try for 25% humidity or lower.

All tools should be wiped with your favorite preservative, even in a low humidity environment.

This may seem like overkill, but it has been working in a couple Southern states with high humidity.

[erict]

Has the basement ever flooded? Are there floor drains or windows in the partitioned area? Any source of moisture?

If all are no, seal floor, ceiling and door frame from air infiltration. Mount a good dehumidifier w/humidistat, up off the floor. Should be high enough so drain hose is pitched to nearest drain, outside the room.(no pump to fail) Add a small oscillating fan on opposite wall and run on low full time. Try for 25% humidity or lower.

All tools should be wiped with your favorite preservative, even in a low humidity environment.

This may seem like overkill, but it has been working in a couple Southern states with high humidity.

25% humidity is too low IMAO. The ideal would be between 45%-55%.

[MichiganShootist]

I agree 25% is too low. If you have fine wood stocked guns you can cause them to split. I saw this when I lived in Texas when a gun collector neighbor ran the humidity down too low in a couple gun safes.(using the Golden rods technology)

40 - 50% is perfect IMO. It's also very important to stop big temp. swings which can cause condensation/sweating. (That's why an out building is generally a bad idea.)

I have had good luck using Damp-Rid products. They will suck up extra humidity and do nothing if all is okay...plus they require no drain and no power.

I have a "dry room" closet for ammo, holsters, etc. I suggest that a humidity gauge is important. They are $10- $20 on Amazon and at a glance can tell you "where you are".

Mark

[erict]

I agree 25% is too low. If you have fine wood stocked guns you can cause them to split. I saw this when I lived in Texas when a gun collector neighbor ran the humidity down too low in a couple gun safes.(using the Golden rods technology)

40 - 50% is perfect IMO. It's also very important to stop big temp. swings which can cause condensation/sweating. (That's why an out building is generally a bad idea.)

I have had good luck using Damp-Rid products. They will suck up extra humidity and do nothing if all is okay...plus they require no drain and no power.

I have a "dry room" closet for ammo, holsters, etc. I suggest that a humidity gauge is important. They are $10- $20 on Amazon and at a glance can tell you "where you are".

Mark

Agree. I run a humidifier and it keeps my area between 47-52.

[mittenman]

As others have said humidity right around 50% is ideal and I believe is the humidity that museums run at. I’d probably error a little lower than higher but lower than 40% and leather slings, and knife sheaths will start to really dry out.

[Deebs]

I agree mid-40s is a good target humidity for the wood, and condensation spells bad news for the metal. Air movement from a low cfm fan would help.
I agree 25% is too low. If you have fine wood stocked guns you can cause them to split. I saw this when I lived in Texas when a gun collector neighbor ran the humidity down too low in a couple gun safes.(using the Golden rods technology)

40 - 50% is perfect IMO. It's also very important to stop big temp. swings which can cause condensation/sweating. (That's why an out building is generally a bad idea.)

I have had good luck using Damp-Rid products. They will suck up extra humidity and do nothing if all is okay...plus they require no drain and no power.

I have a "dry room" closet for ammo, holsters, etc. I suggest that a humidity gauge is important. They are $10- $20 on Amazon and at a glance can tell you "where you are".

Mark