Best Gun Safe Dehumidifiers

You love your guns. You treat them with loving care, and always clean them after going hunting or taking a trip to the range. But are you storing them safely?

We’re not talking about keeping them locked up. That’s important, but we’re talking about what happens to your guns when they’re inside their safe. Simply put, humidity in your safe can cause rust, mold, and mildew which can permanently damage your firearms.

That’s why we’ve scoured the web to find the best gun safe dehumidifier on the market.

We’ve narrowed our list down to 9 different dehumidifiers that fall into three broad categories:

Silica packs, or canisters, contain silicon pellets that absorb moisture. When they’re saturated, you dry them out in the oven.

Plug-in dehumidifiers also use silica pellets but dry themselves electrically when you plug them into the wall.

Wired dehumidifiers work as permanent heaters, keeping the temperature of your gun safe higher than the surrounding area and preventing condensation.

Best Gun Safe Dehumidifiers

1. Hornady Canister

The Hornady Dehumidifier Canister is one of the best gun safe dehumidifiers on the market.

Key features

• Silica desiccant
• Anodized aluminum canister
• Treats up to 50 cubic feet

The Hornady Dehumidifier canister is a 5 ½-inch octagonal canister that’s 4 inches high. It’s engineered from anodized aluminum mesh and filled with silica beads that absorb moisture. It’s rated to treat up to 50 cubic feet, which is enough for most gun safes, although it will be more effective the smaller the safe is.

The lid has a small window that allows you to see the silica beads, which are translucent blue when dry, and turn pink when they need to be recharged. Recharging is easy. Simply place it in the oven at 300 degrees for 3 hours, and you’re good to start using it again. Depending on your safe’s humidity and size, you’ll need to recharge it about once a month.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Easy to read
• Recharges in the oven

Cons

• Needs recharging every 30 days

This gun safe dehumidifier is made by Hornady. Enough said.

2. Hornady Rechargeble

The Hornady Rechargeable Gun Safe Dehumidifier comes from one of the biggest names in firearm accessories.

Key features

• Orange-blue color indicator
• Treats up to 333 cubic feet
• Comes with mounting bracket

The Hornady Rechargeable Gun Safe Dehumidifier comes from one of the most respected names in the world of guns and ammo. It’s a red and black plastic box that’s small enough to fit in a pistol safe, and large enough to treat a small walk-in closet. If desired, you can mount it on the wall of your safe using the included mounting kit.

It has an internal silica bead reservoir, with a small viewing window that allows you to monitor the humidity level. Dry beads are a translucent blue and turn orange when fully saturated. At this point, you’ll need to remove the dehumidifier from your safe and plug it in overnight to recharge.

It gets warm when recharging, but isn’t overly hot. It also lasts a very long time between recharges — from six to twelve weeks.

The only drawback is the hard, fragile plastic on the front of the dehumidifier, which can crack if you drop a gun against it.

Pros

• Easy installation
• Lasts up to 90 days between recharges

Cons

• Flimsy design

This is a long-lasting gun safe dehumidifier that can treat even the biggest gun safe imaginable.

3. Goldenrod Original

The Goldenrod Original has a classic design dedicated gun owners have loved for decades.

Key features

• Available in 4 sizes
• Includes mounting hardware
• Treats up to 500 cubic feet

The Goldenrod Original is similar to the GunSaver, but it’s engineered to much higher tolerances. This dehumidifier is made in the USA, so you’ll pay more for it. However, it comes with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. Not only will you never need to recharge it, but you’ll also never need to buy another dehumidifier.

The original Goldenrod dehumidifier is available in four sizes: 12, 18, 24, and 36-inch. It protects, 100, 200, 300, or 500 cubic feet respectively. While larger models cost more, Goldenrod recommends using the largest size that will fit in your gun safe in order to get the best results.

Installation is easy. Screw the plastic mounting brackets into the side or bottom of your gun safe, and set the dehumidifier rod in place. The original Goldenrod has a removable plug, so it’s easy to run the power cord out the back of the safe should that be necessary.

Pros

• Doesn’t require recharging
• Easy installation
• Made in the USA
• Lifetime manufacturer’s warranty

Cons

• Some assembly required
• Expensive

This is the original Goldenrod that made the product line famous.

4. Eva-dry E-333

The Eva-Dry E333 Mini Dehumidifier is small enough to fit in a pistol safe.

Key features

• Silica pellet dessicant
• Orange-blue color indicator
• Treats up to 333 cubic feet

The Eva-Dry E333 Mini Dehumidifier is a small, lightweight dehumidifier that measures only 5 x 6 x 1 ½ inch. This is small enough to fit easily into a pistol safe. While it’s rated for 333 cubic feet, we wouldn’t use it in anything over 100, which is still bigger than most gun safes. The reason is that with small size comes small capacity — in this case, only 4 to 6 ounces.

Because of the small capacity, you’ll have to recharge the Eva-Dry relatively frequently, every 30 days at most, and every 20 days at the shorter end. Recharging takes 12 to 14 hours, so you’ll need to take out for more than a simple overnight charge.

This unit is reliable, and the humidity is easily read through the large viewing window. It’s also inexpensive, a real bargain.

Pros

• Small
• Easy to read
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Maximum of 30 days between recharges
• Long recharge time

This is a solid choice if you’re looking for a good, inexpensive gun dehumidifier.

5. BARSKA 150G

The BARSKA 150G is an inexpensive, easy to use dehumidifier for smaller safes.

Key features

• Silica desiccant
• Recharges in microwave
• Blue-pink moisture indicator

The BARSKA 150G is a small, inexpensive synthetic pouch that’s filled with silica pellets for moisture absorption. It measures 5 x 3 ½ x 1 ¼ inches, small enough for a pistol safe or other compact containers. The pouch itself is blue but turns pink when it’s saturated and needs to be recharged. The time between recharges is about 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the size of your safe and the ambient humidity.

Recharging is as easy as microwaving the BARSKA at 4 minutes and 600 watts. We recommend going shorter than this, however. The synthetic material melts easily. If it gets too hot, you’ll end up with a big hole, a broken dehumidifier, and silica pellets spilled everywhere. As long as you’re careful, it will be just fine.

Pros

• Small and lightweight
• Easy to read
• Easy to recharge
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Melts if microwaved for too long

This is an easy to use budget gun safe dehumidifier option that will keep your guns dry.

6. SnapSafe Safe

The SnapSafe Safe Dehumidifier is easy to use and will keep almost any size gun safe dry.

Key features

• Silica desiccant
• Aluminum mesh canister
• Blue-pink moisture indicator
• Treats up to 65 cubic feet

The SnapSafe Safe Dehumidifier is a 4-inch tall aluminum mesh canister that’s 5 inches in diameter. It’s filled with moisture-absorbing silica beads and is rated to treat up to 65 cubic feet of air, which is more than enough for most gun safes.

There’s a small window in the top that allows you to see the beads inside. They’re a translucent blue when dry, and turn pink when they need to be dried out. This is necessary about every 20 to 30 days, depending on the humidity and the size of your safe. To recharge the canister, simply place it in your oven at 325 degrees for 3 hours.

Pros

• Recharges in the oven
• Easy to read
• Small footprint
• Lifetime warranty on material and workmanship

Cons

• Needs recharging every 20-30 days

This gun safe dehumidifier canister has almost infinite reusability and requires no electricity.

7. Remington Model 500

The Remington Model 500 is an effective, easy-to-use dehumidifier.

Key features

• Silica desiccant
• Blue-pink color indicator
• Treats up to 500 cubic feet

The Remington Model 500 Mini Dehumidifier consists of a plastic shell filled with silica desiccant, with a small window to view the humidity level. The silica pellets are translucent blue when they’re dry, and turn pink when they’re saturated.

This unit is easy to charge. Just plug it into your wall outlet for four hours, and it will dry out. The easiest time to do this is overnight. Charging is infrequent, as this unit will last up to 120 days depending on how much moisture is in your safe gun.

The Model 500 weighs only 4 ounces when dry, and measures 8 x 5 ¼ x 2 ¼ inches. That’s fairly small, but the setup is unusual. Instead of laying on its back, it stands upon a 3-inch wide base, which can make placement awkward depending on your safe’s configuration.

Pros

• Long-lasting
• Quick recharging
• Small and lightweight
• Lasts up to 120 days between recharges

Cons

• Weird upright design

This is a reliable gun safe dehumidifier that comes from one of the leading names in firearms.

8. GoldenRod GunSaver

The Goldenrod GunSaver will keep your guns dry at a reasonable price.

Key features

• Available in 12 and 18-inch sizes
• Treats up to 200 cubic feet
• Includes mounting brackets

The Goldenrod GunSaver is a rod-style dehumidifier that heats up when plugged in, warming the air and causing it to circulate. The warmer air has lower relative humidity, preventing condensation and rust.

The GunSaver comes in two sizes: 12-inch and 18-inch. The 12-inch model draws 8 watts of power, and treats up to 100 cubic feet, while the 18-inch model draws 12 watts, and treats up to 200 cubic feet. Both models ship with mounting brackets, which you can use to attach them to the inside of your gun safe.

This dehumidifier comes with a removable plug, so you can detach it if you need to drill a hole to run the wire through the back of the safe. If you have a power outlet inside the safe, installation is even easier; simply mount the GunSaver, plug it in, and forget about it.

Pros

• Easy to install
• Low power draw
• Never needs recharging
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Some assembly required

This gun safe dehumidifier is easy to mount and never needs to be recharged.

9. Big Betty

The Big Betty Ultra High Capacity is easy to use and high capacity.

Key features

• Bentonite clay desiccant
• Includes humidity indicator card
• Absorbs up to a full pint of water

Unlike most of the dehumidifiers on our list, the Big Betty Ultra High Capacity Gun Safe Dehumidifier uses bentonite clay instead of silica as a desiccant. Bentonite clay weighs more than silica but can be recharged an indefinite number of times. It’s also heavy — the Big Betty weighs six pounds dry — but it also has a ridiculously large capacity.

It absorbs up to a full pint of water. Of course, this requires some space; the Big Betty measures 12 x 8.5 inches and is 4 inches thick.

The Big Betty is a plain white sack, with a simple cardboard humidity indicator. The indicator has a series of blue circles that turn pink to show what the humidity is. It reads from 10 to 60 percent. When the humidity in the safe rises to over 30 percent, you recharge the dehumidifier by putting it in a 240-degree oven for four hours.

Pros

• Can be recharged indefinitely
• Massive capacity

Cons

• Large and heavy

If you need the biggest possible dehumidifier for gun safe protection, this is the one for you.

Bottom Line

When storing guns, people make a variety of considerations. Safety, security, and ease of access all come to mind. What many people don’t consider is the possibility of mold, mildew, or worst of all, rust. Rust can turn even the finest heirloom hunting rifle into a useless red-brown husk.

As you make your choice, you’ll have to consider what’s most important to you. Is it a low price? In that case, a simple silica canister is as cheap as they come and can be recharged in your oven. Is it reliability? A plug-in-style plastic dehumidifier is probably your best bet. Is it convenient? While heaters like the Goldenrod can take some time to install, you’ll never need to touch them again. Either way, you’ll want to invest in something to keep the moisture out of your gun safe. 

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