Originally Posted by
Sean M
The “ideal” is closer to 50% relative humidity. However, during the discussion, he emphasized consistency more than just low humidity. The changes in temperature and humidity have more effect on the wood items than just the humidity percentage alone (in this context), and the more extreme the changes, the worse it is for your firearms. By keeping them constant, you get a level of predictability.
Everyone will have to assess their own storage situation themselves, and in my particular case, when I weighed out the costs of construction, temperature control (HVAC) installation, dehumidifier, and ultimately, costs associated with running the systems in the vault at those “perfect” storage conditions, they quickly added up.
As of now, it costs me about $150 a month to maintain the set up I have here in SW VA. In the winter that drops to about $40 a month. But on average, my bill for just the vault pushes $800 a year. To maintain 50% would be about double that, for a 10-15% decrease in humidity. Just a shot in the dark, but I would guess that most of our members aren’t really in a spot where that $1600 recurring price tag for maintaining perfect conditions outweighs performing a little more hands on interventions.
My HVAC unit also serves as a dehumidifier, but not enough to maintain a constant 65-70% without sending my electricity bill through the roof, which led me to an additional stand alone dehumidifier that costs less to run, but requires being emptied regularly. In a perfect world, it would go to a drain outside, but the terrain outside of the vault doesn’t slope down enough to draw the water away from the foundation. Right now I empty it in the AM and in the PM before I go to bed (1.5-2 gallons each time). When I had initially set it to 55% humidity, I was emptying it several times a day. When it fills, it no longer functions, which during the summer months would quickly cause the humidity to rise as high as 65% in a matter of a few hours without it running. If I were to not empty it for a day or more at that setting, it jumped to 80+%, and would easily reach ambient outside humidity in a couple of days. So much for a vacation.
So again, we go back to a temp and humidity that I can maintain consistently, that I can afford/justify, and equipment that is easily enough maintained.
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