by John Boch
Guns are collectible – and tend to accumulate for many of us for a host of reasons including self-defense, historical fascination, or even retirement investments. Guns well-maintained accrue value and part of taking care of them is keeping rust at bay.
One of the single best things you can do to keep rust away from gun safe contents is to use an active dehumidifier. This is especially true if the safe is kept in a garage or basement where excess humidity is routinely present, especially in the summer.
The “Goldenrod” dehumidifier has been a very popular option for many years. It warms the air and gently circulates it throughout the container. I could never figure out how merely warming the air drives off humidity so I looked for something better.
The Eva-Dry 1100 is a newer alternative. Not only does it gently warm the air a few degrees and circulate it, but it actually removes humidity using a thermoelectric cooling (Peltier technology) and condenses it inside a water reservoir.
Standing about 8” tall and with a footprint 6” wide and 4.5” deep, it doesn’t take a lot of valuable real estate.
I’ve got one and it is awesome. It uses about twenty-five watts of electricity and runs continuously. In my safe, which is about the size of a walk-in shower, the petite unit pulls up to an ounce of water each day from the air. For me, it takes about two weeks to completely fill the spill-proof reservoir. It automatically shuts off when full.
Cost is $35-50 when ordered online. There’s also a larger model, the 2200, which might be a good alternative for small, walk-in vaults.
Protect your firearms investments by keeping humidity at bay. These units seem to be a vast improvement over what I had always been told was the “gold standard” to protect against humidity-caused rust in gun safes.
Get one of these. You’ll be glad you did and your guns will appreciate it as well.
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