Maintaining Temperature And Humidity In A Gun Cabinet

[Apache]

Hello chaps

Our house has no gas and we are heated by electric night storage heaters.

The spare bedroom where, the gun cabinets are kept, has its door open but it can get cold in there and woodwork can get mouldy and steel spots of rust.

The volume of these cabinets is small and I don't want to dry the wood out excessively.

Does such a device exist that would maintain temperature (and humidity) in there without costing me a lot to run?

Whatever I use cannot be that big as there is not a huge amount of spare space.

Thanks in advance

 

[Andy™]

tubular heater would sort the temp part out, but not sure about the humidity

 

[Barx]

Bag of salt.....

Dehumidifier springs to mind, Not the cheapest to run but you don't have run it all the time i guess.

 

[Steve3948]

Bag of Silica Beads,

Andy - A tubular heater would be far to hot.

I had my gun case under the stairs, after a day's shoot or clay shoot, after cleaning guns i would use the cloth that had gun oil on it to wipe barrels and the wood.

Never had any issues and it always gave a lovely aroma when I opened the door.

I used to have a Browning Super=sport and a Beretta 680 *****.

No longer have guns now as I found all the hassle of renewing licence a pain, so decided to go back to fishing.

 

[Sidewinder]

Tube heater & desiccant bags?

 

[Phaze]

I bought one of those small plastic moisture absorbers from the caravan shop. They are filled with the absorbing granules and I keep it on the shelf in the gun cabinet. Works a treat and its amazing how much water they collect. Also means I can put a cold damp rifle away after a nights lamping, with no corrosion worries.

 

[Andy™]

Andy - A tubular heater would be far to hot.

not with a thermostat

 

[Steve3948]

not with a thermostat

Agree that would work, just needs to keep the humidity out.

 

[Barx]

Hmmmm, it appears i wasn't too far off then. lol. Just need posh salt.

I let my license expire when i was 19. Miss clay pigeon shooting on a sunday morning to clear the hang over.

 

[Apache]

A dehumidifier is way too big. Might give a tube heater a try as warm should drive out humidity too.

I had wondered whether something like a reptile heating mat might be sufficient for the size of the space.

 

[Marvo]

I'd be very wary of putting a heater directly in a gun cabinet...assuming you have ammunition in there as well.

I came across a salt dehumidifier a long time ago that someone had designed for a small kitchen cupboard that had a mildew problem. I remember the salt was removed periodically and dried manually in a frying pan on a stove so it could be re-used. I'll try find the link again.

As for drying out the wood, I'd oil the inside of the cabinet with a light machine oil (mineral type). Also I've been trying to sell one of my Glock 17s for a while....I guarantee it won't rust if you're interested.

 

[Apache]

I oil shotguns well, but it's the rifle's that seem more affected in their cabinet. There is ammunition in there.

 

[springcrocus]

If you only need a small amount of heat, what about soil-warming cable like are used in propagators.

 

[binky]

if you raise the temperature it will sort out humidty - forgotten exactly how it works as it's along time snce I worked in a clean room where temperature and humidty control was very important. Being such a small space something as simple as a 10w lamp would probably do it, but paddlers option sounds much posher and better!

 

[binky]

If you only need a small amount of heat, what about soil-warming cable like are used in propagators.

or pipe warmers?

never knew we had such a bunch of gun toting members - no wonder it feels like the mob in here sometimes :^O

 

[Marvo]

I oil shotguns well, but it's the rifle's

Shotguns and rifles......you expecting some civil unrest in the near future???

 

[Manator]

I know plenty of people who use heat mats in the bottom of the cabinets. Never known a problem with them. Shotguns do not suffer too badly but like you say rifles certainly do, the main reason for making sure your rifle is cleaned and oiled before storing, and make sure the barrel is cool.

 

[Apache]

It's easy said mate, but I do abuse my rimfires and if I get in from lamping at 1am, the gun goes away and I go to bed. The CFs get a proper clean.

 

[Barx]

I oil shotguns well, but it's the rifle's that seem more affected in their cabinet. There is ammunition in there.

Change of subject, isn't ammo supposed to be stored separate these days :innocent

 

[NozSpark]

Change of subject, isn't ammo supposed to be stored separate these days :innocent

I was thinking that myself,,,, but IIRC the ammo doesn't need to be locked up (or is that just a firearms thing and not a shotgun thing?)