Recommendations for keeping my guns in good shape since I have to put my gun safe in the garage

[F250nguns]

Hi Everyone,

Based on space, I have to put my gun safe in the garage.  For those that have their safe in the garage, I would greatly appreciate recommendations on what humidifier to use and anything else I should consider to keep my guns from rusting etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Omega]

Golden rod, I have very high humidity where I keep mine and it keeps the rust away.

[Hozzie]

Use something like the goldenrod, but also get some RIG and use a light coat on all metal surfaces.  When I say light, I mean like you can barely tell it is there. Use a shaving brush to get in the hard to reach areas.  This is especially good if you are storing them for long periods of time. 

https://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-Universal-Grease-Ounce/dp/B0033CMK0A

A little goes a long way.  Get the wool rig rag and a brush and you should be good.

https://www.amazon.com/Shaveway-Original-Shaving-Engineered-methods/dp/B00LMTHSF8

Edited July 14, 2022 by Hozzie

[Snaveba]

I also have my safe in the “garage”. It is really a workshop now. I have both a heating element (like the goldenrod) in my safe as a well as a couple containers of silica gel. I will regenerate those every couple months. 

[10-Ring]

Don't put it directly on concrete, it will rust.  A piece of plywood works well. 

[rugerla1]

15 minutes ago, 10-Ring said:

Don't put it directly on concrete, it will rust.  A piece of plywood works well. 

Trex Board works great since it is less likely to pull up water. The wood idea was my first choice but I ended up going with Trex. Anything to get it off the concrete is better than leaving it flat though. 
 

I have a Golden Rod at bottom of safe and also a rechargeable desiccant container at top of the safe. I recharge it once a month as a schedule and maybe more than that if it’s a wet month. 

Edited July 14, 2022 by rugerla1

[Erich]

If you dont want to grease, VCI emitters are a good option. I use two emitters and a series of 10 Eva-dry rechargeable desiccant thingamajigs that get recharged every month. Keeps thing from 18% to 26% depending on season

[Snaveba]

4 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

Don't put it directly on concrete, it will rust.  A piece of plywood works well. 

Mine actually fit into an existing large cabinet so you can’t see the safe unless you know to open the cabinet. 

[bubbadavis]

Like everyone else, I use a goldenrod and have my safes sitting on wood instead of concrete. I also keep a container of DampRid in each safe and replenish them when necessary (usually annually at the soonest).

[Luckyforward]

My safe sits in my garage on concrete blocks with a huge tub of Damp Rid that I change out regularly.

[Jeb48]

My safe is in a basement shop/garage. I use a combination Eva-Dry and Golden Rod. Since it is my shop I run a dehumidifier about 9 months out of the year set at 50%. I do nothing to the guns and have had no problems after 7 years. I left it on the 4X4 skids it came on and bolted to two wall in a corner and put a trim piece across the bottom so it isn't obvious that it is on skids. The crew that delivered and set it in place suggested leaving it on the 4x4s to keep it off the concrete and make it easier to move in the future.

I also have an upstairs safe with just an Eva-Dry. I just watch the color on the end for when to charge and take them out and plug in the wall overnight.

[chances R]

coat all metal parts with either WD professional spray, or Hornady Clean and Lube....both offer outstanding protection.  Then slide into individual silicone cloth gun sleeves.  As others have said golden rod is a must in that area.

[grasshoppa]

Call me low rent but I have a couple of old socks filled with white rice in the safe 

i replace the rice and have never had a problem

[JeffL]

On 7/14/2022 at 3:10 PM, 10-Ring said:

Don't put it directly on concrete, it will rust.  A piece of plywood works well. 

Nashville Safe House put mine on hockey pucks.

[Pirate]

All of above are great recommendations. 

[Snaveba]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:46 PM, Snaveba said:

Mine actually fit into an existing large cabinet so you can’t see the safe unless you know to open the cabinet. 

 

[RANGERRON72]

Moved to Florida a few months ago from Colorado (where humidity is not a factor).   Golden Rod,  combined with some rechargeable de humidifiers  seems to keep my relative humidity at 50%.     FWIW.   Thanks for the additional ideas above.

 

 

[scatman]

On 9/14/2022 at 8:27 PM, Snaveba said:

 

That's a clean set up.

[Gnarlytoes]

Goldenrod or a small fixture with a 20W incandescent bulb or any small heat source in the safe will do it. (You just need to keep temp inside the safe a few degrees higher than ambient air temp outside it.) Combine that with a light coat of something like RIG #2 or 3-IN-ONE oil on all metal and you should be good to go. Desiccant packs can be used if you can't power a heating element, but both is overkill in my opinion.

I opened a safe in the garage a few weeks ago that I haven't been into in at least several months, possibly over a year, to find the goldenrod had apparently been unplugged for a while. (I blamed my wife, but it was most likely me that unplugged it for some reason and didn't plug it back.) It contains a few old surplus rifles and there was mildew starting to grow on slings and even a few spots on a couple of stocks.

All the metal was perfectly fine since I had wiped everything down with either RIG or 3-in-1 oil. I removed actions from stocks and wiped stocks and slings down with diluted bleach solution to remove and kill mildew. I wiped all the metal down with oil before reassembling and made sure it was plugged back in before I closed it up again.

[TuBob]

My safe is still in the store. Someday I may be able to actually get it. But on the bright aide, I don't have to worry about heaters or desiccants.

[BKL]

In both of my large safes I use a small dehumidifier and two of the Eva-Dry renewables.Overkill...indeed...rust anywhere, no..! 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KF6Y19V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H0XFCS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Wdodd]

Damp-Rid is my friend.   Absolutely amazing how much moister this stuff takes care of.

[chances R]

Golden rod, couple times a year wipe all guns down with Hornady One Shot, Store in silicone treated cloth sleeves.

[mobhs]

I have my safes in the garage as well. Easiest way I have found to protect them is with monthly check and wipe down with oil and then golden rods keeping the humidity at bay. 

[Lroszkow]

I anchored my gun safe into my garage steel expansion anchors. 

However, before I dropped the box on the anchors, I used 2 layers of poly cut from a plastic gallon contains to keep the metal feet from resting on the concrete.  I used an cleaned old clorox jug, but the pieces an inch bigger than the feet and bolted them down.  Several years in place and no rust.

 

For the interior, I open the safe once a month and air the unit out with an electric space heater and keep a small desiccator tub which I refill every month as needed.  This seems to have kept the fine Tennessee humidity from wanting to rust up my investments. 

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.