Gun safe in garage….in Texas

Where in TX? By the coast? West? DFW? Very different humidity levels here.

I can’t help you regarding heat. I did keep a safe in my Garage when I lived in Oregon. My concern was cold and moisture. I used a golden rod in my safe.
My biggest concern was people being able to see my safe from the street when I had my garage door open. I built a mock wall so the safe was out of sight to people on the sidewalk or street. I would advise you keep this in mind when setting up your safe in a garage.

So if you really want to hook it up, replace the door with good insulated units.

Then, if you have the cash, you can put a cooling system or climate control system.

Summer temps in my garage in the New Braunfels area (between San Antonio and Austin get to around 100 and stay above 85 even in the evening. But humidity is reasonable so rusting isn’t a problem for me.

Was in Schertz, Tx for a while and had safe in the garage. No Ac in garage or heat. Never had a problem. Garage faced north so was out of direct sun.

Real issue with guns in safes in spaces which don’t have climate control is QUICK, DRASTIC changes in temp from cold to warm. Condensation is the issue. Parts of Tx do have high humidity. Say along coast and around San Antonio. I didn’t use a golden rod and never had issues with rust.

HoosierHunter128 said:

I found it. Golden rod…$50 at cabelas. Any other suggestions. Most of my rifles are $1k, but priceless for me. And I really have worked hard with scopes, and don’t want them messed up either. What’s my best bet if I put them in a safe in a Texas garage

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Put them away cleaned and oiled. What side of the house is your garage door? If East, you will be cooler than if it faces west.

Maybe put some damp rid packs in your safe? Maybe the safe desiccants?

Wisesorb 800 Gram Gun Safe Dehumidifier, 1 Pack of 1.77 LBS Rechargeable Dehumidifier Blue to Pink Silica Gel Desiccant Moisture Absorbers, Dehumidifiers for Room, Bedroom, Safe, Closet, Bathroom, Car
https://a.co/d/guWuqEJ

I live further south than where you will be with lots of humidity. I have had one in my shop for years with no issues. I do keep an appropriate size Golden rod in it. No rust no moisture with excessive heat and all is well. All one needs to do is keep the temp in the safe above the dew point. That's what the Golden Rod accomplishes.

If power is available then use humidity control rods and if not, use desiccant humidity control packs. I live north of Dallas and have two safes, but only one has power.

HoosierHunter128 said:

Golden rod?

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HoosierHunter128 said:

What is a golden rod?

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It’s a dehumidifier rod that uses 110AC power. It heats up to keep the temperature above dew point so humidity/moisture doesn’t settle on your guns. It technically does not remove humidity, though I am sure it removes some.
“Golden Rod” is a brand name that has become a catch all for any dehumidifier rod. Kind of like “Xerox” for any copier.

Here’s a couple of examples:


I have the Lock Down brand of rods in my gun safe and ammo cabinet.
I would recommend these types of rods for your safe for cooler and wet weather.

HoosierHunter128 said:

I found it. Golden rod…$50 at cabelas. Any other suggestions. Most of my rifles are $1k, but priceless for me. And I really have worked hard with scopes, and don’t want them messed up either. What’s my best bet if I put them in a safe in a Texas garage

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Oops. Didn’t see this post before posting above.
As you can see from the links I posted the Cabela’s (Bass Pro) price is a bit high.
I would stick with Max Safes, Golden Rod or Lock Down brands of these type “dehumidifiers”. I have heard bad things about the knock off brands.
I used to use desiccant bags for humidity control and I tried a battery operated model but I like the rod type devices because you plug them in and leave them. No batteries to worry about and no desiccant to swap out. One could bake the moisture out of desiccant bags but that route is fraught with danger if you make a boo-boo and the desiccant bags melt in your wife’s oven.

Pat Riot said:

One could bake the moisture out of desiccant bags but that route is fraught with danger if you make a boo-boo and the desiccant bags melt in your wife’s oven.

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I use a microwave, but if the oven is used, only low heat is needed. Of course the rod is better, but I didn’t want to drill a hole through two sheets 8-10 ga sheets of metal and possibly provide a route for water and fire/heat.

Temps shouldn't be an issue but humidity will be as others have mentioned. I also agree with @Pat Riot with regards to security and keeping folks from seeing your safe in your garage when your door is open; this is especially a consideration if you live on a busy street or in a neighborhood where the likeliness of prying eyes is increased. I know a guy who did the same thing; built a closet within his garage so he could have a door to cover the safe. He also used a "golden-rod" for humidity control. To my knowledge, he's never had an issue with his firearms in that safe.

HoosierHunter128 said:

Is there something I can do, to make sure my rifles and other guns don’t rust, or ruin scopes, or do I need to figure something else out?

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If you like them, keep them climate controlled.

I’ve read (not experienced) that placing a safe on bare concrete invites rust on the bottom of the steel safe. The remedy was to place the safe on thick rubber horse stall pads to eliminate water contact through porous concrete.

drband said:

I’ve read (not experienced) that placing a safe on bare concrete invites rust on the bottom of the steel safe. The remedy was to place the safe on thick rubber horse stall pads to eliminate water contact through porous concrete.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/utility-rubber-mat-black-4-ft-x-3-ft-x--frac12-in

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I read the same, but I purchased one of my safes locally and was told just to put the safe on the concrete. This might be something to be determined locally, or some safes might be less likely to rust, so best check with your safe manufacturer and local safe company.

HoosierHunter128 said:

West of Fort Worth, not west Texas.

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Former Hoosier here, too...

I understand we don't have basements here in Texas, like up north, but you really don't have somewhere to put a safe in the house? A closet? A room corner out of the way? My inlaws, out in Nevada... another 'no basement' state... has theirs in the dining room.

Pat Riot said:

My biggest concern was people being able to see my safe from the street when I had my garage door open.

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There is something to that. Doing what I do for a living, I drive around neighborhoods all day long... and see in open garages all the time. I'm always surprised to see a safe in the garage... in plain sight. With the amount of traffic now in neighborhoods... not only service people, like myself, and delivery drivers like FedEx and UPS, but allllll of the others... Amazon, DoorDash, Uber, et al... I would no more have my safe out in the open than anything. Heck, I cover my RockChucker mounted on the work bench...

My two safes are at the back of a single garage. Large metal cabinets next to garage door and more along one long wall. Pickup is backed up to garage. I can open two cabinet doors and no view of safes. Security cameras in this garage. This serves as my reloading room and the issue here is the summer heat.

I wish I could find a picture of the barrier I made for my garage to conceal my safe. I cannot find it. Anyway, my safe sat against the wall facing the opposite wall and I built a makeshift wall with a sheet of drywall with 2x2s for a frame. I braced it with a 2x2 strut against the perpendicular wall.

From the sidewalk you really couldn’t tell it was a screen to hide something.

Why not just use a dehumidifier? I have a small table top one in my gun room. A garage you will a need a bigger one though.

Here we have high temperatures, high humidity, and a lot of rain (technically a rain forest). Like others have said, a Golden Rod is the answer.