Ammunition storage priorities- temperature or humidity

[45Badger]

New (old) house has one drawback huge drawback - a useless basement with crazy steep stairs and enough exposed dirt to make humidity an issue. I’ve had modern basements for the last 25 years. Dry and consistent temperatures made it easy to store ammunition and have great gun cleaning and reloading set ups. I’ll be using a spare bedroom as gun/reloading room. Not sure my ammunition storage locker will fit.

For year round, long term storage, is it better to protect ammunition from the freeze/thaw temperatures swings in a garage/barn space or have a consistent temp with higher humidity in basement?

 

[DPR]

I'd rather be dry than wet. I think my ammo would agree with me.

 

[GML]

That's a tough one. I think the freeze/thaw would create its own set of moisture problems. If it were me, I'd rather deal with keeping the humidity down.
But I'm sure there are others who will chime in with more experience on the topic.

 

[Deleted member 67409]

I believe the ideal ammo conditions are:

*Cool
*Dry
*Dark

 

[71montess]

Ask Joe Biden-Harris

 

[CTtrapper]

How about a commercial grade dehumidifier for the basement? Arloair or similar. Ammo in cans w Silica packs too.

 

[42!]

Store the ammo in sealed ammo boxes and the humidity in the room doesn't matter. Just label them well so you aren't opening them to see what's in it.

 

[drgrant]

Old school ammo cans.... basement, done

 

[paul73]

New (old) house has one drawback huge drawback - a useless basement with crazy steep stairs and enough exposed dirt to make humidity an issue. I’ve had modern basements for the last 25 years. Dry and consistent temperatures made it easy to store ammunition and have great gun cleaning and reloading set ups. I’ll be using a spare bedroom as gun/reloading room. Not sure my ammunition storage locker will fit.

For year round, long term storage, is it better to protect ammunition from the freeze/thaw temperatures swings in a garage/barn space or have a consistent temp with higher humidity in basement?

exposed dirt sucks on many levels.
if you are planning to keep house long term - you can try to do something about it, throw in an inch or 2 of gravel and then pour a concrete on top, if there is any window or access hatch to there. it may crack in places, but, it will be still better than just an exposed soil. mold, humidity, it is no good to have it.

 

[bfm]

If the garage/barn is not heated the temp swings will lead to condensation, which can be worse than general humidity.

If the basement is relatively stable temp wise, it is the better choice. If you can keep the humidity below 70, all the better, but do not worry about getting it below 60% as that is probably a losing battle. My basement is usually between 65 and 70% humidity and no problem with decades of storage down there.

 

[peteyb]

Ammo cans with a couple packs of desiccant. Detailed labels. Basement.

Don't open the cans unless necessary.

 

[BTSDOG]

by the sounds of it, if your going to use a spare room on first floor, id check the structural integrity of the floor if your ammo has a lot of weight.....

 

[luckythirteengt]

When I worked for servpro we would take rolls of 6mil plastic and cover exposed dirt crawlspaces and basements we then would also install a dehumidifier. The plastic works as a vapor barrier and the excess moisture is removed by the dehumidifier. Doing this would solve most of the problems.

 

[dcmdon]

Make the gun reloading area work for ammo storage. You can store huge amounts of ammo in a small space if you get even modestly creative. Psst. Hint - ziplock bags.

 

[jkelly1229]

by the sounds of it, if your going to use a spare room on first floor, id check the structural integrity of the floor if your ammo has a lot of weight.....

Yup my house might sag back the right way if I do this....hmmm

 

[Waher]

humidity is the bigger issue

 

[BillyBoy]

My vote is 50cal ammo cans with color changing desiccants packs. The benefit of the color changing is you can tell when it needs recharging. Also my recommendation is to try and not store it in the cardboard boxes. You can if you want, it's just a tad more work to store it properly. If you store it still in the cardboard, you'll need to check the desiccants packs after about a week or two since it will absorb moisture stored in the cardboard. You might have to go through a couple rounds of storing/recharging the desiccants to remove all the moisture before it holds steady color wise. If you store ammo loose, it's usually a one a done unless you stored it on a high humidity day.

 

[johnnymac101]

Go big or go home!
I have a few of these 20mm cans. As a previous member said- Labels!!

 

[Noreaster]

Ammo cans with a couple packs of desiccant. Detailed labels. Basement.

Don't open the cans unless necessary.

THIS! Exactly what i do and was going to post.

Get quality ammo cans that have a seal, add a few or a good handful of these:
View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYL38O2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Further data point, the house i have now has halfass HVAC in the basement, they basically added some feeds and returns in the existing duct work, no dedicated zone or thermostat and honestly not the correct airflow, but its better than nothing. . The previous owner had paint cans that just happened to be right under one of the feeds. The interior of many of those paint cans were rusted from getting warm - then having cool air blow on them when the AC cycled.
So keeping the interior of the ammo cans dry is important.

 

[m_n_x]

I believe the ideal ammo conditions are:

*Cool
*Dry
*Dark

Cool and dry I get, but dark? Unless you're worried about the print on the boxes fading I don't think light is an issue for ammo.

 

[45Badger]

Thanks guys. All my ammunition is currently in 30-40 cans with desiccant. Did that for the move to NH and keeping safely stored while we are renting.

This is my favorite ammunition storage cabinet. I can neatly sort my less than case quantities by caliber (and bullet weight/shot size). It needs to be in decent environment, so I think the repurposed bedroom will be best choice

Full case quantities can get stashed in closets. In the long run, we can finish off one bay of the garage and add an electric baseboard to keep temp stable.

 

[AHM]

This is my favorite ammunition storage cabinet. I can neatly sort my less than case quantities by caliber (and bullet weight/shot size). ... Full case quantities can get stashed in closets. In the long run, we can finish off one bay of the garage and add an electric baseboard to keep temp stable.

The worst packaging format for me are buckets.

I have to keep the ammo inside them,
so I can't dump the contents in (lockable) ammo cans.
And I can't lock the buckets themselves.
So they take up space in the safe.

 

[71montess]

Notice the Obama on the lockers, very fitting.

 

[42!]

Thanks guys. All my ammunition is currently in 30-40 cans with desiccant. Did that for the move to NH and keeping safely stored while we are renting.

This is my favorite ammunition storage cabinet. I can neatly sort my less than case quantities by caliber (and bullet weight/shot size). It needs to be in decent environment, so I think the repurposed bedroom will be best choiceView attachment 465674

Full case quantities can get stashed in closets. In the long run, we can finish off one bay of the garage and add an electric baseboard to keep temp stable.

OK, But it's a little odd that you name your ammo, and you seem to have a thing for Martin

 

[45Badger]

OK, But it's a little odd that you name your ammo, and you seem to have a thing for Martin

“0bama” is scrawled somewhere on there. Since these lockers won’t be stuck in the basement I should probably pick up a cleaner set or more neutral color.

I used to use pretty high end office cabinets for ammunition storage. I had to stack boxes and cans carefully to avoid sagging or broken shelves. These lockers hold a lot in each section with no issues.

 

[BOOTKNIFEFAN]

New (old) house has one drawback huge drawback - a useless basement with crazy steep stairs and enough exposed dirt to make humidity an issue. I’ve had modern basements for the last 25 years. Dry and consistent temperatures made it easy to store ammunition and have great gun cleaning and reloading set ups. I’ll be using a spare bedroom as gun/reloading room. Not sure my ammunition storage locker will fit.

For year round, long term storage, is it better to protect ammunition from the freeze/thaw temperatures swings in a garage/barn space or have a consistent temp with higher humidity in basement?

Obtain a used freezer locker that no longer works, put it in the basement and store your loaded ammo, powder, primers, etc there. They are well-insulated, airtight and usually fairly deep. If the thing does not work, you might be able to get it free. The owner will probably thank you for taking it off his hands!

 

[dcmdon]

The worst packaging format for me are buckets.

I have to keep the ammo inside them,
so I can't dump the contents in (lockable) ammo cans.
And I can't lock the buckets themselves.
So they take up space in the safe.

I thought you lived in CT. Why put them in the safe?? No safe storage for ammo in CT.

Unless you have a kid who is of the age where they put everything in their mouth. Ammo does present a choking hazard to toddlers.
When I lived in CT, one way I would store my reloads was loose in a 5 gal taping bucket. I'd nest one bucket inside
the other so it was a very efficient storage method.

 

[dcmdon]

Thought its very VERY space inefficient, I do like the gym locker system above. Easy to stay organized and very flexible. Provided its in a low humidity location.

 

[EJFudd]

New (old) house has one drawback huge drawback - a useless basement with crazy steep stairs and enough exposed dirt to make humidity an issue. I’ve had modern basements for the last 25 years. Dry and consistent temperatures made it easy to store ammunition and have great gun cleaning and reloading set ups. I’ll be using a spare bedroom as gun/reloading room. Not sure my ammunition storage locker will fit.

For year round, long term storage, is it better to protect ammunition from the freeze/thaw temperatures swings in a garage/barn space or have a consistent temp with higher humidity in basement?

I have a similar problem at our new place only much worse... not enough "conditioned" storage space, so store ammo in the bone dry attic (but subject to wide temperature fluctuations) or in the soaking wet basement (but with a reasonably constant temperature)?

I think the basement wins on practical grounds so the only remaining question is whether to use sealed metal ammo cans or sealed plastic ammo cans? I am worried that the metal cans will rust if/when they get wet... so I am inclined to use plastic cans like these:

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-dry-storage-ammo-can

Good or bad? Any thoughts?

 

[dcmdon]

One other thought. I used to have all my gun stuff, including safes and work spaces in the basement of my 170 year old house. It was a dry laid stone basement.

I had an open combustion furnace in the basement so in the winter it was dry down there. In the summer, before I got central air, I had a dehumidifier running 7x24. It kept the humidity at 45%. Which is good.

Corrosion is enemy number 1. So that is the first thing to deal with.