Humidity control & measuring.

[Stonecove]

I've had to relocate my gun safe and contents to an unheated building, which means it is subject to Michigan weather extremes. We recently hit -17° F and our summers can be hot and humid. I have a golden rod in use and recently added a canister of silica dessicant. I'd like to measure the humidity in the safe. Without spending a fortune what is a good tool to buy to measure moisture.
Thanks,
Stonecove

 

[NYlakesider]

Most any hardware store/ big box has combination temperature and humidity tester on one device. You can get them cheap. I have 4 of them in my basement and unheated garage, seems to work OK!

 

[sar4937]

I am going through this with a log home I just purchased. It's a crapshoot to find an accurate gauge. It's even harder convincing someone yours is accurate. Unless you buy something that is certified, the best you can expect is close. Although I have found that it is possible to find something close enough, that I can rely on day to day. Even if it's 5% off. I have 6 gauges that I purchased with expectations of reasonable accuracy (one is a $350 data logger). Side by side, they never read the same. Probably some rooms of my home vary, but as long as I'm in the ballpark, it's ok.

 

[Narragansett]

I am sorry to hear this. Not something I would ever want to experience. I wish I had an answer to your question, but the one suggestion I do have is to run that buy a safe manufacturer. Somebody in a technical capacity. You may need more than one cal rod heater. maybe there is a pvc outer shell jacket that can be slipped over it like a water heater? If you have wood stocks, I see them suffering terribly under these extreme changes. If I had to do this, my rifles would be composite and stainless, and my pistols would be stainless and rubber

 

[Stonecove]

Are there any brands you recommend?

 

[Bill Bates]

WalMart sells a cheap (under $10) digital hygrometer/thermometer. I have a couple I use in my humidors. I salt test them and they were both within + - 1% rh of accurate.

 

[ditrina]

I use three of these in my humidor.. perfect..

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013BKDO8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]

 

[sar4937]

I have the mechanical one from Stewmac, a guitar repair parts supplier. I have an Extech data logger, and various ones I picked up that looked like they might be accurate. It's really about buying something, and then figuring out the error. I find that between 1 & 10 degrees, when water starts to condense on windows is around 35% humidity. It's about becoming accustomed to what your gauge reads. I have had NO stocks cracking. In the summer I have a humidity problem and run dehumidifiers. These will also give you feedback on humidity. I worry more about rust in the summer months than low humidity cracking stocks.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Use gun socks too.

 

[Joed49]

I have cigar humidors. The analog humidity indicators have proven to be junk, so I bought a digital from the cigar store for $10. It's extremely accurate as it matches my humidity on the humidifier in the house.

 

[V1 Rotate]

There's a method to calibrate hygrometers on the internet. As I remember, it involves salt and water in a sealed container with the instrument and finding saturation of the air. I did this to several 20 buck instruments I bought at my local hardware store a few years ago. You'll be surprised at how much variation there is between instruments. It may have been on a cigar enthusiast website. As Joed implied, cigar enthusiasts take humidity very seriously.
Bill S