Thread: Gun safe

I used to have a endless supply of dot brake fluid,it's hydroscopic so every time I went in a safe I put some in a bowl.
Now that they don't get opened that often ( ) I use commercial moisture absorber.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but beats making a new one about the same thing I guess.

How do you run the power cord into the safe without making a big hole?

I tried using damp-rid and it just held off the surface rust for another week or 2.

Drill out for the cord, poke cord through from the inside then re-wire male plug on the outside
I'd recommend putting a double plug to run your heater and lighting as well
If you are feeling fancy put a grommet on it too

I got a $70 heater that runs at 17Watts and an LED white rope light threaded through the different compartments, YMMV

Originally Posted by Jexla

Sorry to revive an old thread, but beats making a new one about the same thing I guess.

How do you run the power cord into the safe without making a big hole?

I tried using damp-rid and it just held off the surface rust for another week or 2.

Originally Posted by 308

Drill out for the cord, poke cord through from the inside then re-wire male plug on the outside
I'd recommend putting a double plug to run your heater and lighting as well
If you are feeling fancy put a grommet on it too

I got a $70 heater that runs at 17Watts and an LED white rope light threaded through the different compartments, YMMV

That makes sense, cheers for that!

I saw one of these in Mitre 10 and in farmers. May be worth checking out.

Goldair Wonder Dry Mini Rechargeable Dehumidifier Rechargeable - Mitre 10

My locker has a power point near by so I set a small electric fan to force air through it past a light bulb. It swithes itself on and off at times where there is a significant temprature difference that can cause condensation. It provides enough airflow to stop damp. It does circulate dust though so lens covers are a must.

Old single electric blankie on lowest setting and timer

You can get small electric blankets for pets (Im not kidding). We got a small second hand one for the club safe off TM, something like this which is wipeable, Pet Dog Cat Heat Pad Electric Blanket **SPECIAL** | Trade Me.

that pet blanket looks the business

Originally Posted by timattalon

I saw one of these in Mitre 10 and in farmers. May be worth checking out.

Goldair Wonder Dry Mini Rechargeable Dehumidifier Rechargeable - Mitre 10

My locker has a power point near by so I set a small electric fan to force air through it past a light bulb. It swithes itself on and off at times where there is a significant temprature difference that can cause condensation. It provides enough airflow to stop damp. It does circulate dust though so lens covers are a must.

I bought 3 of these when M10 had them on special. I would rate them as almost useless and not as good as a container of Damprid. In my small safe which is in a dry environment they change colour almost immediately. Initially I believed the colour change and was recharging them every few days - a process that takes hours. So back to the Damprid in that safe. In moister weather Damprid goes a month between changes and in summer 3 months.

In earlier posts there is some misunderstandings of what a heater/light bulb etc etc inside the safe actually does. The heater is an "anti condensation" device ony. There is no way a small heater will ever dry out your safe. To remove water you need to raise the temp to 100 deg C or use aeration like drying washing on a clothes line in the wind. The purpose of the heater is to change the Dew point - raise the internal safe temp just above ambient at which point the moisture in the air will no longer condensate on your items in the safe.
And if you are going to put power into your safe please make sure where the cable enters there is no chance of the flex getting damaged at some stage in the future and livening up your steel safe. Wooden cabinet not an issue. Steel safes use a plastic gland where it passes thru the wall. Glands available at the likes of Corys or Jaycar. They make a better/safer job than grommets. And if steel earth the safe or run the whole thing off an RCD.
My #1 safe has a power point installed inside it and runs a tubular anti condensation heater thru a thermostat. Have also installed a small fluro inside - the type that are as cheap as shit from the lighting shops. The LED rope suggested earlier is probably a better solution than mine though.

I use damprid seems to work fine. As zimmer mentioned don't have to change out container much over the summer but winter is more frequent.

Thought these might work pretty well in a safe. No batteries, re-usable.

Egg Dehumidifier Air Dryer Effective Safe | Trade Me

Like I said, damprid doesn't do the trick for me, my garage backs onto a park maybe that's got something to do with all the moisture.