I want to get a large gun safe but will never be able to get into my basement given the configuration of my house and the stairs.  I'd like to put it in my garage which happens to be heated.  It's not at the temps that my house is but it is much warmer than the outdoor temp in the winter.  I can put moisture bags in although I don't get any (I'm thinking summer humidity).

 

Any thoughts on issues with doing this?  Will it cause issues with my firearms?

 

thanks with the help as I'm trying to hit a sale at Dick's.

 

 

if you live close to others they may see it, if so you can build a faux wood closet around it too hide it

are there tools nearby to help a burglar gain access.

I keep everything in my garage. Guns, reloading components, etc. My garage is heated as well and I put in a window a/c unit in the summer. No moisture problems at all.

 

Also check out tractor supply, they have a couple nice safes on sale.

There are gun safes that you can buy which you assemble. 

My safe is in an unheated, unairconditioned garage and I have not had any issues with things in the safe. Some minor surface rust on my reloading equipment that isn't in the safe, but not my firearms.

 

I have a Golden Rod and one of those rechargeable dehumidifiers in there.

Isn't dew point as big as or not bigger factor than humidity alone?

I think the biggest issue would be that you are placing your gun safe in the same room as tools that can be used to break into your safe!

 

If you do this, it may not be a bad idea to get a coffee can labeled "vacation fund" and put some spare change and a few dollar bills in it.  Then place that on top of or near your safe as a decoy.  Bad guy breaks in and has a choice: Spend 20 minutes breaking into the gun safe and risk getting caught or grab the coffee fan full of what looks like bills and change for an easy score.

 

In a case like that.  You get to keep your guns.  The thief gets $50 and change.  Everybody is happy.

My safe is in an unheated, unairconditioned garage and I have not had any issues with things in the safe. Some minor surface rust on my reloading equipment that isn't in the safe, but not my firearms.

 

I have a Golden Rod and one of those rechargeable dehumidifiers in there.

Same here. My largest safe is in the garage with a Golden Rod. I just make sure to periodically check that the Golden Rod is producing heat. No rust issues at all in years.

I have mine in an unheated garage for years with no problems.

KC17 has it right.  Dew point is what's important.  Rust happens when the temperature of the guns is below the dew point temperature of the air.  This is when the guns are cooler than the air and the air has enough humidity to condense on the guns. 

 

Keeping humidity in the garage low by running the air conditioning solves the dew point problem.  Keeping the guns slightly warmer than the air with something like a golden rod heater also solves the problem.  

 

And of course, touch up any warn bluing and make sure the guns are lightly oiled when you put them away.   You will have no problems with them in the garage.

 

KC17 has it right.  Dew point is what's important.  Rust happens when the temperature of the guns is below the dew point temperature of the air.  This is when the guns are cooler than the air and the air has enough humidity to condense on the guns.

You don't need to hit dewpoint to cause steel to rust. Follow the recommendations on relative humidity. Condensation is not required for corrosion.

 

Keeping humidity in the garage low by running the air conditioning solves the dew point problem.

AC raises humidity.

 

It is lowered if the high humidity (often saturated) air that comes out of the AC may have dropped some water content in the AC process and is then raised to a higher bulk temperature in the room and losses of total water content in the AC process (if any) cause the air to have a lower humidity at the same final temp. Doesn't usually work that way by random chance.

 

Check out any hospital or computer server building. They don't use "air conditioners" for most of the space. They use air handlers that cool air to drop out the water, then heat it with steam or heated water to drop the humidity to the proper level. If either of those things does not happen - cooling the air enough so that water does drop out, and then heating the air enough to drop humidity, then you still have humid air. And might have made it worse.

 

Keeping the guns slightly warmer than the air with something like a golden rod heater also solves the problem.

Warming the air in the safe will drop the humidity and is a good idea.