storing guns

[brucew44guns]

I have a unfinished (as yet) concrete vault room in my basement. Room is 6 feet by 12 feet, concrete top, concrete sides. heavy steel door. The house is 3 years old now. I keep a small electric heater in there set so it will stay at 64 degrees. The humidity on the gauge reads 51%. I also leave a 100 watt bulb burning all the time. Do you guys think there could be any danger of rust or problems in this environment.? I'm going to paint the walls, and carpet the floor now that I have some time, but have worried about that room since I moved here. I keep the guns in there well oiled up. Bruce

[hartman]

I can't say for sure, but if it bothered me as much as it seems to bother you, I'd put a de-humidifier in the room.

Hartman

[86er]

I experimented extensively over the year - but not with a vault that big. For me, the right combination is 72 degrees and 40 percent humidity. Keeping the humidity down is the hardest part. No rust, no wood problems for over a decade.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I dont think you will have any problem. The NRA museum keeps its guns at 65% humidity IIRC. If kept too dry the wood can shrink away from the wood on some guns.
My guns are stored in two safes in my shop. The heat is only turned on once a week or so in the winter and I never have any rusting problems.
I think a quick change in temp causing condensation to form is the worst thing that can happen. You should be fine. Keep an eye on them for a while till you feel comfortable that they are OK.

[Old Time Hunter]

De-humidifier set at 40-45% relative. Your wet spots in the room will probably be around 50-52%, but it will be at 40 or so around the de-humidifier. If you feel energetic, put 1/2" pink foam (4 X 8 sheets) with moisture barrier. They'll run ya 'bout $ 7-$8 a sheet and you'll need 9 for the walls and 3 for the ceiling. They make a glue to hold 'em.

[Ram Hammer]

Big temperature swings are what to look out for. Remember that condensation on cold steel will be the most likely culprit of future rust. Humidity condenses and causes problems when the air temperature or surface temperature drops below the dew point. Keeping a light bulb burning and/or using a space heater will prevent condensation.

As for existing rust getting worse....

I stored a few guns of my brothers a while back two of which had a little surface rust. I wiped them down with a silicone oil cloth, put them in a bore store sock and stuck them in my safe. I keep a desiccant canister in the safe and recharge it regularly. After about two years he came to pick them up and we discovered that the surface rust had worsened! My own firearms were unaffected. My theory is that there was still some skin oil/salt that didn't wipe off and continued its corrosive effects over time.

[brucew44guns]

I can't say for sure, but if it bothered me as much as it seems to bother you, I'd put a de-humidifier in the room.

Hartman

I bought a good de-humidifier to dry up the whole basement when the concrete down there was still green and curing. It never did work, sent it back 3 times for overhauls. Seems the excuse from the Mfgr. was that the room was too cold. The condensor would freeze over.About 60 degrees, go figure. So Im trying to deal with just the safe room. My best guns are upstairs in a Ft Knox with Golden Rod, no problems there, but the little bit of mustiness I smell or feel downstairs gives concerns, although I see no rust or damage getting started. Thanks for your replies.

[Ysabel Kid]

Bruce -

When you are ready to finish the room, put a moisture barrier primer on the block walls first. Also be sure to seal the floor - really good, as a lot of moisture wicks up through concrete in basements. Then add a dehumidifier with an exit tube to a drain - which is hopefully in another room. The contained space of the vault, if kept a reasonable temperature (64 is fine), will allow a room-sized dehumidifier to work just fine. I have mine set to 50% humidity, and it exits into the drain port for the air conditioner condenser, so I don't have to constantly be emptying it. It is just in the basement now, as I plan to build the vault room later. I asked the question about a year and a half ago about the proper temperature and humidity, and most agreed that room temperature (60 - 80) around 50% prevented rust but did not dry out (shrink) wood too much.

Congrats on the vault brother - that has always been my dream!!!

[sven556]

I' m glad I don't have to go through all that trouble. Most of the year I would have to use a humidifier just to bring the humidity up to 50%. As long as I clean and oil my guns once a year I've never had any rust. I don't bother bother with a safe as I feel that one just screams "valuables right here" I keep them in out of the way places, of course I don't have kids in the house and ammo is kept separately.

[marlinman93]

If you paint I would use one of the epoxy based waterproof paints, which will seal the concrete and avoid future moisture problems.

[ursavus.elemensis]

I have heard that those gun "socks" draw the protectant oil/silicone off the firearm and into the fibrers of the sock, leaving the firearm unprotected. I also think that if you see the rifle in your safe, and you see it every time you open the door, you can make sure it is still well oiled, and re-apply if needed. I've also read that one should conside the oil on a rifle to be something that wears off in 30 days, whether the rifle is touched or not. So, it is best to re-protect all the firearms on a monthly basis.

I am sure my opinion on this will be in the minority, but I am just completely uncomfortable with the idea of keeping firearms in a basement. I don't care how many dehumidifiers you are running down there. The basement is where water enters and exits my house (in pipes, hopefully all the time, but one can make not promises about THAT point). The basement is the first place the flood water is going to accumulate when the washing machine hose blows, or when the 100-year hurricane hits, or when the bad storm comes through town or whatever. When the water pipes freeze and crack, when the water main down my street breaks, when the firemen tap the hydrant at my corner and water leaks out around the hose coupling, etc, when any of that happens, my basement is going to get wet. But not my rifles. They're not in the basement.

[AJMD429]

Too bad that our rulers:

a) don't do enough to thieves to make them think twice about stealing, so the result is we have too many burglaries by losers who never have to actually get a real job because the state provides 3 hots and a cot when they're briefly in jail, and in between times, probably provides them with welfare checks and an attorney when they need one.

b) keep making things illegal and lawsuit-prone so the companies go out of business and you can't count on being able to replace stuff if it is stolen.

Otherwise, you wouldn't have to take what otherwise should be just like any other hobby or collection, and instead of openly displaying them, keep them all tucked away in safes or wherever, worrying about mold, rust, dings, and scratches. I have friends who collect model trains, and THEY don't have to worry about these kinds of things; they both have lighted, glass-fronted display cases right in their livingrooms, with their entire collections at hand! Wouldn't that be nice if we could do that...?

[Saltcreek]

In 1978 when I was stationed in Alameda CA (USMC), we had a concrete block Vault with vault door for an armory very similar to yours but three times the size. It had a dehumidifier and heat temp control. Just a lightbulb won't get rid of humidity (no were to go). Being underground, even with vapor barrier paint, you will have humidity. You don't want warm AND humid (can you say "mold & mildew"). An adjustable dehumidifier and a temperature adjustable electric heater cube will keep both happy.