You buy car insurance for your vehicles because you don’t want to risk losing your investment. So, why not do the same with your guns?
If you’ve got thousands of dollars in ammunition and firearms at your house, you want to do everything in your power to keep them from corroding into museum relics, right?
That’s why a quality dehumidifier should be inside every gun safe in America.
But how do you know which dehumidifiers are worth the money and which should be avoided?
To help to cast some light on the question, we tested three gun safe dehumidifiers in a gun safe, measuring the humidity and temperature over the course of several days.
We’ll cover how these performed and ultimately help you decide which one to add to your safe. So keep reading!
And if you haven’t chosen a go-to gun safe yet…check out our Best Gun Safes article first.
THE QUICK LIST
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Reusable with Microwave
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Editor’s Pick: Electronic
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More Affordable
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Renewable with Plug
Table of Contents
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Measuring Humidity & Temperature
I picked up a $10 hygrometer from Amazon and stuck it in my gun safe.
The thing is smaller than a deck of cards and can tuck away virtually anywhere; it doesn’t take much space.
With my super scientific measuring system in place, I was ready to rock.
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Before testing, I got a baseline of how things normally are in my gun safe over the course of three days.
Testing every morning, I found that my gun safe averaged 48.3% humidity without any dehumidifier whatsoever.
I took track of the temperature as well and it averaged 17.6 degrees Celsius (that’s 63.7 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Best Dehumidifiers for Your Gun Safe
1. ZARPAX Reusable Dehumidifier Bags
Check out these two-pack of desiccant-loaded bean bags from ZARPAX. These weigh less than a pound and will get you in the mood to play cornhole at a tailgate.
The cool thing about these is that they have a moisture indicator on the front of each bean bag.
When the indicator is blue, you’re good to go. When it turns pink, the bag has absorbed as much moisture as it can hold.
To get it ready again, the manufacturers state that all you have to do is toss it in the microwave for four minutes at 600 watts.
I threw both of these little beanbags in my gun safe, leaving them for three days and taking measurements each morning.
The humidity was measured at 32% each morning, which was rather noticeable compared to the average no-dehumidifier measurement (a 16.3 percentage point difference).
I ended up with 61.9 degrees Fahrenheit every morning as well.
By the end of the three days, both bags indicated that they’d absorbed as much moisture as they could hold – something I found slightly annoying.
If you’re okay drying them out twice a week, it’s cool. If you’re looking for a one-and-done solution, these guys aren’t it.
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Recharging these guys was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. My microwave doesn’t tell me its wattage. It says it’s a 1000-watt output, which I assume is for the highest setting, so I cut the power from a ‘LEVEL 10’ to a ‘LEVEL 6 and stuck them in for four minutes.
They were both crazy hot to the touch at the end of the time, steaming profusely, and still indicated that they were wet.
(Nothing caught fire, though, so that was a plus.)
I personally don’t like the idea of having to microwave a dehumidifier bag. It’s just an extra thing to do – and an annoying thing at that.
If this doesn’t bother you and you like an “unplugged” version of gun safe dehumidifier, this may be an option to consider, however.
2. LOCKDOWN GoldenRod
The next dehumidifier I tested was the LOCKDOWN GoldenRod. It comes in four different sizes (12-, 18-, 24-, and 36 inches) — I tried the 12-inch model.
The first thing I noticed about this one out of the box was that it had to be plugged in.
Thankfully, my safe had a little hole in the back that I could thread the cord through. If your safe doesn’t have a spot for a cord, you’re out of luck here.
After you thread the cord through the GoldenRod, you have to attach the plug to the cord.
This isn’t as intimidating as it sounds. All you have to do is push the cord into the hole, lay the cord flat, and then slide this little plastic piece over everything.
Those two little flaps of metal you see on the plug are metal spikes. Don’t try to push them down with your bare finger (lesson learned). They don’t move.
When you finally slide that little plastic rectangle over the plug, it forces the two metal spikes to pierce the sheathing of the wire, putting the metal in contact with the wire.
This is how the juice gets to your GoldenRod inside your safe.
It took me a little bit to figure out how all this went together. I’d never seen anything like this before, plug-wise, but it was relatively simple in retrospect.
Once your GoldenRod is plugged in, it will start to heat up. You want to make absolutely sure nothing is touching this — no ammo boxes, desiccant packets, or powder, as this thing gets pretty hot.
We’re talking hot enough that you can’t safely touch it. (Yes, I tried).
The instructions say that the GoldenRod works by slightly increasing the temperature inside of the gun safe. This results in warm air circulating throughout the safe, keeping humidity, mold, and condensation at bay.
After three days of testing the GoldenRod, I found that the humidity was 40.3% on average, and the temperature inside the safe was 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
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So, there was a substantial decrease in the humidity compared to the baseline but a slight increase in the temperature within the safe as well.
I didn’t get anywhere near the low humidity levels that the ZARPAX bean bags gave me, but I did like not having to worry about “recharging” my dehumidifier twice a week.
I will confess that leaving something this hot in my gun safe initially left me a little uncomfortable — perhaps I have too vivid of an imagination.
However, everything worked just fine, and my fears were found to be unjustified.
What do you think of the Golden Rod? Give it a rating below!
3. LOCKDOWN Dehumidifier Bar
This is the baseline model available from LOCKDOWN. It’s substantially cheaper than the GoldenRod ($46 vs. $15) and functions exactly the same.
I threaded it through the hole in my safe, fiddled with the plug, and started collecting data over the next three days.
The average humidity was 43.7%, and the temperature in the safe hovered around 68.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Things were improved over the baseline conditions, but I wasn’t as impressed with this one.
True, it kept the temperature virtually the same as the GoldenRod, but the humidity only dropped 4.6 percentage points.
To me, that’s not worth the money. If I’m going to pay for a dehumidifier, I want to make sure that I’m seeing a significant drop in humidity.
You get what you pay for here, I suppose.
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3. Eva Dry Dehumidifier
These are a favorite of the rest of the Pew Pew team…especially when combo-ed with one of the Golden Rods.
These have beads that soak up that humidity and offer you a color indicator of when you need to refresh the dehumidifier.
And how do you do that?
No microwave needed for these…they come with a plug on the back to simply stick on the wall for a few hours. I found I refresh these about every month or so depending on the humidity.
Even better if you have plugs inside your safe to keep them running in perpetuity.
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Final Thoughts
I think that effort is the important part here. You have to take steps to protect your guns from moisture. Otherwise, you won’t have a gun for long — you’ll have a rusty, metal pole.
If you want a set-it-and-forget-it system to keep everything relatively dry, I would go ahead and purchase the GoldenRod.
It worked so much better than the LOCKDOWN dehumidifier rod that I think the extra $30 is well worth it.
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If you don’t have a source of electricity nearby your gun safe, you have no option but to throw in some form of desiccant packet system, and the ZARPAX is a solid option.
It is noteworthy that the average humidity levels within my gun safe were at least 10 percentage points lower than with the other two options I tried.
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Provided you are doing something, you’re going to end up with much better cared-for guns compared to the person who leaves their guns to the mercy of the elements.
How do you fight moisture in your gun safe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Don’t have a storage solution yet? Check out our review of the 16 Best Gun Safes.
15 Leave a Reply
Aden, I notice you omitted the humidity stats for the Eva Dry...?
I had a golden rod in my last safe for over 20 years and it was still good. I let it go when I sold that safe when I moved. Now with the new safe I am going with the golden rod again.
Living the desert wilds of AZ, the climate is a natural dessicant. A true off-grid solution is to buy a dessicant like Damp Rid. Buy the small plastic bucket and the refill bags. Plug in soutions are dependent on the grid and constantly use power. The hole in your safe for a plug in product is an extra penetration that can render your safe's fire rating useless. Sure, Damp Rid takes up some room in your safe. But, it's simple, inexpensive, readily available, and doesn't rely on the grid.
I use the Eva Dry Dehumidifier in several locations, gun safe, hunting clothes locker, collectables cabinet. The ones in the safe and cabinet last about 1-month before having to rotate. The one in the locker I must change every 2-weeks. What I do not like about the Eva Dry Dehumidifier: The beads in indicator window are supposed to change from blue back to yellow/gold when recharged after being plugged in for several hours (+/-). I have a few of the original dehumidifiers that have the 3-dot indicator window, lasted for years but, when Eva Dry changed to the 2-dot indicator window I haven’t had any luck, the beads in the indicator window never change back to yellow/gold after recharging.
I use an IP65 rated RIDGID Cold Box [i.e. - sealed, water resistant, ice cooler] to store my ammo in to mitigate temperature fluctuation, and seal the ammo in from outer air moisture.
I have been looking for some rechargeable desiccant bags to place in the cooler to capture the moisture inside so it won't get onto the ammo. After reading this article I ordered a 4 pack of the ZARPAX Rechargeable Desiccant Dehumidifier Bags.
I also ordered a ThermoPro TP357 Digital Hygrometer/Thermometer with Bluetooth to place inside the cooler as well so I can use the Smart App on my phone to monitored the temp and humidity within, without having to open the lid and let air exchange bring more moisture into the box.
This way I'll know if and when the humidity rises to above my preferred 33%, of which I'd recharge the desiccant bags and start again. Yet I figure being there couldn't be any air migration in and out of the IP65 rated RIDGID Cold Box it should not gain more moisture, other than when I open the lid. So basically as long as I put fresh recharged desiccant bags in and latch the lid down I'd be good to relax without worry. And I'll easily be able to check the conditions within the box at any time without having to open the lid and let air exchange take place, until the app says the batteries are getting low.
Hopefully this is as good as, if not better, than the plug and play dehumidifiers, for long term storage. Once they are delivered I will run the "only time will tell" test and get back to y'all with my results. Stay tuned?
The results are coming in.
First, I placed a ThermoPro TP357 Digital Hygrometer/Thermometer with Bluetooth within the ammo storage box (i.e.- IP65 rated RIDGID Cold Box [sealed, water resistant, ice cooler]. Then I reduced the humidity from 52% within the ammo storage box, by heating it up inside with an electric heater blowing into it, until the ThermoPro TP357 Digital Hygrometer/Thermometer had a reading of 22% Humidity, and latched the lid down, whereby sealing it. Over the next 12 hours the humidity rose up to 34%, and continued to rise over the next 6 days to 42%.
At this point, I opened the lid and reheated the inside of the box, whereby lowering the humidity level down to 19%, tossed one ZARPAX Rechargeable Desiccant Dehumidifier Bag inside, and lathed the lid shut again. Over the next 3 hours the humidity level rose to 25%, and over the next 32 hours the humidity lowered gradually to 21%, and has been holding steady there now for 3 days. The humidity outside has been fluctuating between 52-99%, and inside it has been between 39-57% during the testing period.
I have also done the exact same thing with three "RIDGID 2.0 Pro Gear System Power Tool Cases", and they too are steadily maintaining low humidity levers as well. I use one to store my Chronograph, one to store my reloading tools, and one to store my reloading supplies*.
So this definitely seems to be an excellent long term storage system. Of coarse if I open the lids on a day with high humidity I would have to re-lower the humidity within the boxes before latching them shut again, but I am thinking if I open the lids on a day that has less humidity, than what they retain now, then I could simply skip the heating process and just simply latch the lids down and be good to go again.
The "ZARPAX Rechargeable Desiccant Dehumidifier Bags" have definitely made a difference so far, but perhaps over a longer period of time they may become saturated to the point that the humidity levers within the boxes will begin to rise, of which I would simply have to recharge them at such a point. One way or the other this seems to be an excellent way to stave off the effects of humidity (*other than the fact that the lids are latched and sealed with stuff that would explode in a fire, so I will be installing a "Pressure Relief System", such as a giant reed valve or two, to bypass this issue).
Again, only the "test of time" will tell. So I will try and give periodic reports, as well as the years end statistics.
As mentioned above, I had placed my ammo in an IP65 rated RIDGID Cold Box [i.e. - sealed, water resistant, ice cooler] to store my ammo in, to mitigate temperature fluctuation, and seal the ammo in from outer air moisture, and also lowered the humidity down to 20% with desiccant packs. Now after watching two videos on YouTube I did more research and came across an article that explains exactly what the videos attempted to address.
After reading the article I IMMEDIATELY opened the cooler, took out the desiccant pack and will be getting a humidor that regulates to between 40-50% humidity, as well explained in the article in the link below (A MUST MUST READ on this subject).
I'll not only will be storing my ammo at 40-50% humidity from this day forward, but my powders and primers to boot!
The answer to the question is:
"ALWAY STORE AMMO, POWDERS, AS WELL AS PRIMERS @ A CONSTANT 40-50% HUMITY as much as possible!"
The information in the article can be found in the "Norma Reloading Manual - Pression Reloading Guide For The Professional Shooters".
As mentioned above, I had placed my ammo in an IP65 rated RIDGID Cold Box [i.e. - sealed, water resistant, heavy duty ice cooler] to store my ammo in, to mitigate temperature fluctuation, and seal the ammo in from outer air moisture, and also lowered the humidity down to 40-50%.
It has been a month now and the temperature has only fluctuated 12 degrees within the cooler, while the humidity has only varied 6% between 38-44% within the cooler, which is steadily within my 40-50% target range for inside the cooler.
Temperatures in the house has varied between 57 degrees to 95 degrees, while the humidity swing was between 21% to 66%.
So as one can see even with big temp and humidity swings inside the cooler things are steady enough not to worry. And this is only having the ammo in a sealed cooler without any desiccant dehumidifier bags. All I had to do is shut the lid when the humidity was within target range and it is holding well.
I would have to admit that if I left the cooler outside the temp inside the cooler would vary more so, especially if left in the sun, and perhaps the humidity might vary greater as well. But still yet the swings would be slower in taking place, instead of wildly varying.
I am well please with this solution for long term ammo storage, over containers that would let the temps vary greatly back and forth, such as metal or plastic ammo cans/boxes that are not insulated being high temp swings can cause ammo to sweat. My cooler is only rated for 24 hour ice retention, so if one got a cooler with an even longer retention rating then I am sure the temp swing would be less and take a longer time at that. So perhaps a Yeti cooler would do a far better job keeping the temp swings lower and spread out farther, but they do cost a lot more!
This article prompted me to do a little research, because I always assumed dehumidifiers were only necessary if I kept my safe in an unconditioned space like a garage. Turns out the NRA recommends 30% - 50% relative humidity at room temperature for ideal firearms storage conditions. In a humid climate, home builders are happy if the indoor relative humidity levels stay below 60%, because that’s low enough to prevent mold growth. So in humid climates, dehumidifiers might be a good idea even if your safe is inside. But according to the internet, ammo should be ok up to 65% relative humidity, so standard air conditioning should be good enough for ammo storage (still locked up though).
How did you get the humidifiers that require electricity out of the Vaultek safe in the picture? I have a Vaultek safe and was wondering how I would make it work if I got one of them that requires electricity.
With those ones, you thread a wire through a hole in the safe and then assemble the plug once the wire is outside.
Any more suggestions? This was a goods article but not really much options.
Great suggestions and good insight. I haven't taken the steps to anything electronic and have been using Damp-Rid for several years, which seems to have been working fairly well so far and is relatively inexpensive, especially if you buy the refill bags in bulk. I guess I'm a bit weary of the electronic side.
I use the dessicant and the heating stick. The dessicant actually adsorbs (that is not a mis-spelling) water from the air. The reason it saturates so quickly is- as you remove moisture, there is less vapor mass in the safe so the pressure decreases (ask Bernoulli about that) and more air, with moisture migrates in. And the cycle continues. I bought ones that you can plug into the wall to dry.
The heating sticks warm the air, lowering the RELATIVE humidity. Same mass of moisture in the safe, less that which migrates out with air due to increased pressure from increased temperature (again - Bernoulli- he was pretty smart). The advantage to the stick is it steadies the temperature in the safe, lowering "breathing" and migration of moisture into the safe. Disadvantage is the same mass of water is in the air in the safe.
And yes, I have to regenerate the dessicant every few days, it means it's doing it's job.
I also keep a good coat of WD40 on all my guns in the safes.
If you store at the conditions with no dehumidifier and steady conditions, will that cause rust and premature failure of ammo?