DIY Dehumidifier For Safes / Ammo Cabinets

Mike_Diako

Mike_Diako

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I got sick of purchasing the little containers of Damp Rid at walmart for $3 a pop so I decided I was going to make my own. The active ingredient in those things is Calcium Chloride which is an anhydrous salt which means it will absorb water to the point where it creates a super saturated solution.

What does that mean to us? It makes a great desiccant!

Pictures speak countless words:


Driveway Heat

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Container I used. It's pretty much a small steamer basket from a Healthy Steamer TV dinner that fits perfectly inside a larger container I had around the house.

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Perfect fit

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Pour in the Calcium Chloride.

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I put a piece on napkin on top to help prevent spills

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Cut some slots in the lid and snap it on

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I am pretty sure that CaCl2 doesn't evaporate with water so it is likely OK, but calcium chloride is extremely corrosive. So if it were to spill on anything it needs to be cleaned up FAST and thoroughly. In fact, that drip out into the bottom most likely does not evaporate as CaCL2 is so hydrophilic that the water is unable to evaporate in room temperatures, but again, I don't know for sure. But what I do know is that liquid in the pan will be extremely corrosive and needs to be handled with great care. And don't dump in your septic system. Dig a pit far away from the house and dump it there.
 
Clay based speedy dry will do the same thing without the potential for corrosive vapors being emitted over time.
 
What about using the all silica cat litter crystal stuff? Isn't silica whats used in the regular old desiccant pouches?

(. . . .inbeforenotanothercatthread)
 
Yes it is, and silica would be even better than clay, but just a little more expensive.
 
Wow... These threads have been popping up a lot lately.

Petco Golden Crystals Silica Cat Litter: $8.49

Thigh high or knee high stocking stolen from the wife: $0.00

Foilware meatloaf pan: $.99

Put about a pound of litter into the stocking, tie it off and put it in the foil pan. Place in safe. Check it every few months. If it's mushy, change it. Have a nice life. This will get you a couple years or more of a perfectly dry safe.
 
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My safe has threaded adapters in the back to make it possible to install the electric heaters that are specifically made for gun safes. I see the heaters at places like Cabelas.

No biggie to install, and the cost of the electricity for these isn't much.

I'm very reluctant to put any chemicals in my safe that had any chance to ever hurt my guns.
 
I use these and never had a problem and they seem to last forever, just throw them in the over for a couple hours and reactivate. I bought two of the 33 cubic foot sizes at $11.99 each, even though I only needed one. I have had them for at least 10 years and they continue to work as advertised, so the cost is less than $2.50 per year. What is nice is that they have an indicator which tells you when to "reactivate".

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

I had a bad experience with the damp rid - I accidentally spilled it in a storage cabinet for my hunting clothes - it made a mess and actually caused some corrosion of metal shelving. Since then I vowed never to have it near anything of value. I guess if you are not as clumsy as me and check it often enough you would be ok.
 
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Woods Loafer said:
I use these and never had a problem and they seem to last forever, just throw them in the over for a couple hours and reactivate. I bought two of the 33 cubic foot sizes at $11.99 each, even though I only needed one. I have had them for at least 10 years and they continue to work as advertised, so the cost is less than $2.50 per year. What is nice is that they have an indicator which tells you when to "reactivate".//
Click to expand...
+1 I have three of the 33 cf boxes for a Sentry 14 saf. I also put a rubber gasket on the door. They usually don't need to be recharged for 6-8 weeks at a time.

They are several dollars cheaper at Brownells (#415-100-450) or MidwayUSA (#322511) and cheaper still if you have a C&R.
 
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Cabelas is a Good Deal

The silicagelpackets site seems really overpriced. Woods Loafer's cabela's link above is much better. I bought the small, 3 cubic foot packs from cabela's for $6 each, except they were even on sale - 3 for the price of two. Silicagelpackets sells the exact item for almost twice as much. Their other items seem similarly overpriced.

Honestly, I've been shopping around after cabela's, and other than DIY with bulk-purchased silica gel, I don't think it gets any cheaper. Photography sites sell these same gel packets for $10-25 each.
 
So, in a nutshell, can I buy a container of say, "Fresh Step" crystals, punch a bunch of holes in the lid and tuck it in the bottom of the safe? Changing it out when it gets "mushy"?

Or is this oversimplifying it?
 
i just got a dehumidifier for my gun safe. i believe it made by remington if i recall and you plug it in overnight and its ready to go (the indicator turns blue when ready and changes color when it needs recharging). according to the packaging it should last 10 yrs or so. it was 25 dollars. so far its been almost 2 weeks and its still going strong from the first charging.
 
Much like Bob, I picked up one of the "plug in - recharge" units.
Got an "Eva-dry EDV-E-500" from Amazon for a bit less than I could find the Rem one.
To my knowledge, they're the same thing, just branded/shaped differently.

Having a rechargeable unit for ~$20 made a lot more sense to me than $3-5 every time I turned around.
 
AppleSeeds said:
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Rem Dri 35. They are about $20ish I believe. The good thing is apparently you can bake them to 'recharge' them and then put them back in the safe:

http://www.remington.com/products/accessories/storage-and-safety/rem-dri/rem-dri-35-desiccant.aspx
Click to expand...


I have that $20 loose bag version and the plugin recharge one from rem. Went in the same day to test. Within a month the $20 rem dri claimed it was no longer good. The plugin recharge version has gone 6 months without claiming it needed recharging. I have a golden rod so these are backups. YMMV.
 
bob68 said:
i just got a dehumidifier for my gun safe. i believe it made by remington if i recall and you plug it in overnight and its ready to go (the indicator turns blue when ready and changes color when it needs recharging). according to the packaging it should last 10 yrs or so. it was 25 dollars. so far its been almost 2 weeks and its still going strong from the first charging.
Click to expand...

I can attest the remington mini dehumidifier works well, but my problem is that if you do "overcharge" it, as it isnt smart enough at all to shut off when fully evaporated (24hr max), it kills those crystals (killed mine within a year, just forgot about it for about 1 1/2 days..... $30 down the drain... Wont buy one of those again.)
 
gammon:

A 75W bulb is too much but a 15W or a 25W will suffice.

You could run some old style clear Christmas light in the safe, then you would have heat and light where it's needed.
 
I have had my plug in version for a year , and I am always fearful that I will forget to pull it off the wall and overcharge. I plug it in at night, right next to my coffe pot ,and pull it out next morning . It says to charge for 12 hours , but 8 seems to do the trick . My basements a little damp so I probably recharge it every 3-4 weeks , depending on how much you open the safe , and that is with putting a gasket around my safe door.
 
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