I Have a New Safe....

[Bo]

I bought a sizable safe,(60x42x30). How much desiccant do I need? Is a Golden Rod and a Remington stick on too much? Or is a Golden Rod enough?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Get the larger sized Golden Rod. It should be all you need unless your safe is in a damp basement or out in a garage where temps swing alot. The heater only needs to keep the safe at or a few degrees above room temp. It doesn't need to heat it up like a toaster over...I have a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer in my safe. I put the "outside" unit that sends the signal on the back of my safe. I put the display in the safe. It shows the room temp and the safe's interior temp. The display also shows the humidity percentage inside the safe....It was about 11 bucks at Walmart.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Short of having a climate controlled environment, I don't think you can ever spend enough on prevention and preservation.

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

I don't use anything in my safe. I keep my safe in a climate controlled room. I haven't had any problems.

 

[medalguy]

Don't use dessicant. It gets filled with water and has to be replaced periodically. A golden rod should do fine. Where is your safe-- garage, basement, inside the house? Your choice of location will make a big difference.

 

[a1abdj]

The Goldenrod (or similar devices) does not eliminate the moisture, it simply raises the internal temperature of the safe, which in turn raises the dew point.

What you do not want to do is reduce the actual moisture content to the point that the lack of moisture causes damaged. Wood stocks can crack, leather will dry out, camera lenses will be damaged, etc..... 45% to 55% is an ideal level for most items. Buy a digital hygrometer (about $30) and monitor the interior conditions. If you're getting numbers higher than 55% then you may need some desiccant in addition to your Goldenrod.