The 6 Best Gun Safe Dehumidifiers to Keep Your Hunting Gear Safe and Dry (2021 Review)

When it comes to your gun safe and what’s inside, the last thing you want is for everything to go to hell.

We’re talking about moisture seeping in and rusting rifles, mildew spreading on all your ammo and surfaces, your weapon documents getting all wet. For gun owners, this is the worst possible scenario.

Quick List of the Best Gun Safe Dehumidifiers

  1. Stack-On SPAD-1500 Rechargeable Dehumidifier – Best Rechargeable/ Cordless
  2. Eva-Dry E-333 Renewable Mini Dehumidifier – Best Compact
  3. SnapSafe Silica Gel Dehumidifier
  4. Dry-Packs Silica Gel Canister Dehumidifier
  5. Lockdown Silica Gel with Rechargeable Beads – Best Budget Option
  6. Goldenrod Original Dehumidifier – Best Overall

This simply will not do. Your gun safe should do exactly that — keep things safe from all attacks, whether they be thieves or moisture. Thankfully, gun safe dehumidifiers battle the latter assailant, keeping your gun safe dry as a bone.

In this article, we give you the ultimate gun safe dehumidifier buying guide. On top of giving you our definitive dehumidifier list, we dive deeper into what dehumidifiers are, types of dehumidifiers, benefits, whether they work, and other tips and tricks to keep moisture out of your gun safe.

So what are the best gun safe dehumidifiers? Read on to find out!

What Are Gun Safe Dehumidifiers?

They’re exactly what the name suggests. They are dehumidifiers that you put in your gun safe to help remove humidity from the air.

A dehumidifier’s main job is to remove excess moisture from a specific space. Different sizes of the dehumidifiers usually translate to the cubic feet they can reach to help remove moisture.

Types of Dehumidifiers

Electric

If you have easy access to an electrical outlet from your gun safe, electric dehumidifiers might be your best bet. You never have to recharge them and they’re on so long as your power is on.

Cordless Rechargeable

These battery-operated dehumidifiers typically last days before you have to even think about recharging. A rechargeable dehumidifier lasts you a long time for the overall lifetime and you don’t have to worry about it that much, making it a solid option.

Mini

For small spaces where you might store your handguns or additional ammo clips, a mini dehumidifier could be the ticket. Mini versions can also work for lower overall humidity levels.

You can also pair a mini dehumidifier with another normal-sized one, putting the mini in the various nooks and crannies within your gun safe.

Desiccant

Desiccants are hygroscopic substances that induce dryness within the vicinity. The opposite of a humectant, most dehumidifiers have desiccants. (Which should come as a shock to no one.)

One of the most popular desiccants is silica gel, while others include bauxite, calcium sulfate, and montmorillonite clay. Odds are, you’ll choose a dehumidifier with silica gel.

Gun Safe Dehumidifier Benefits

Dehumidifiers only offer a handful of benefits, but those advantages are crucial for your gun and ammo wellbeing.

  • Keep your ammo dry: Wet ammunition is never a good thing. With a dehumidifier, your loose ammo, ammo boxes, and clips will remain dry within your gun safe.
  • Keep mold and mildew out of your gun safe: Mold and mildew are tough to get out of your gun safe once it runs rampant. Plus, it leads to bad bacteria getting into your house, something you do NOT want for your health. Dehumidifiers reduce the relative humidity of the gun safe, which means zero molds and zero mildew build-up.
  • Protect your safe from rusting: Another way moisture can mess up your gun safe is via rusting. Not only that, but your guns can also rust if you don’t care to dehumidify the area.
  • Protect your documents from getting wet: Water ruins anything paper. We all know that. But if your gun safe stays dry, your weapon documentation and hunting credentials remain dry. It’s the easiest way.

Do Safes Need Dehumidifiers?

If your gun safe is in a part of the house or a part of the world that has a ton of warm air or a humid climate, then definitely yes, it needs a dehumidifier.

Humidity control is tough in certain American states, including the southeast and other muggy areas.

Dehumidifying removes the element of humidity (obviously). If you live in a humid place, it’s essential that you get one.

Do Gun Safe Dehumidifiers Work?

In a word, yes.

No matter which dehumidifier type you go with, electric or rechargeable, it’ll get the job done.

Your hunting and shooting equipment will stay dry because it’s a relatively small area, and dehumidifiers do great work of keeping small areas dry.

What Else Can You Put in a Gun Safe to Keep Moisture Out?

You can put in silica gel desiccant packs. These aren’t dehumidifiers in the traditional sense. They’re gel packs that either look like ice packs or those tiny packs you find in dry food packages. (The ones that say “Do Not Eat.”)

Quick note: If you use these packs, make sure they don’t touch your guns or ammo. This is so that silica doesn’t get on your equipment, keeping everything preserved as best as possible.

Considerations Before Buying

Don’t grab the sponsored dehumidifier at the top of that Amazon page just yet! You want to be searching for some very pivotal characteristics:

Dehumidifier Brands

Certain companies provide amazing, high-quality products. Look for these brands:

  • Peet SafeKeeping
  • Eva-Dry (sometimes misspelled as “Ever-Dry”)
  • Lockdown
  • Goldenrod
  • Stack-On
  • SnapSafe
  • Cannon Safe SGD57 Silica Gel

Absorption Capacity

How much moisture your dehumidifier can soak up is key. While some product descriptions might not specify, if you stick with a quality brand — like the list above — you can be sure that the dehumidifier has a strong absorption capacity.

Size and Coverage Area

This you should be able to find from the product description. Mini dehumidifiers cover a smaller area but are also small themselves. Conversely, electric ones have cords that might take up some space in your gun safe.

If you have an extra-large gun safe, this won’t be a problem. Simply measure out your gun safe, figure out which type of dehumidifier works best with that size, and go from there.

Installation and Usage

You want it to be an easy installation and simple maintenance. If the dehumidifier comes with a 12-page instruction manual, you know something is wrong.

Or, if you need to drill holes or alter your safe or walls in any way, that particular dehumidifier might not be the right one. Get one that’s intuitive to install and straightforward on the usage and upkeep.

Dehumidifier Type

If you get a cordless rechargeable one or an electric dehumidifier, charge time and duration are vital pieces of information to know.

How long does each of them last? Will a mini version get the job done? Is desiccant the best option no matter what? Each gun safe has its own unique situation. Try your best to match your safe up with the ideal dehumidifier.

Price and Warranty

If you’re on a budget, you want a dehumidifier that’s under said budget. Plus, you want your dehumidifier to last a long, long time. That’s why finding one with a lifetime warranty is huge. If not, at least a long-term warranty that’s worth it.

The 6 Best Gun Safe Dehumidifiers

1. Best Rechargeable Cordless Dehumidifier: Stack-On SPAD-1500 Rechargeable Dehumidifier

The Stack-On SPAD-1500 is cordless, making it a great dehumidifier for those gun safes out of reach of an electrical outlet. It is miniature, so it can fit in small crevices within the gun safe. Out of sight but still getting the job done.

This dehumidifier absorbs moisture without you having to drill holes and run electrical cords through your safe. What’s more, it doesn’t even require you jamming AA batteries into the device. There is a moisture gauge on the front that tracks when it needs to be recharged.

When it gets low on the gauge, simply take the dehumidifier out, plug it into a standard electrical outlet overnight, and put it right back in. That’s it.

The SPAD-1500 pulls excess moisture from 100 cubic feet for a time frame of four to six weeks per charge. Make sure to recharge in a well-ventilated area because the dehumidifier will be releasing all of the excess moisture it trapped while in the gun safe.

Other than that, it’s a great dehumidifier that keeps your gun safe intact and removes moisture with the best of them.

Buy The Stack-On SPAD-1500 Rechargeable Dehumidifier Here


2. Best Mini Dehumidifier: Eva-Dry E-333 Renewable Mini Dehumidifier

Renewable mini dehumidifiers might be your best option, depending on your gun safe’s size. And the Eva-Dry dehumidifier is the best miniature version you can find, period.

This economical twin pack helps you remove moisture from spaces that are less than 100 cubic feet, probably closer to 60 or 70 cubic feet. However, what it lacks in size it makes up for in performance. It has a silent operation and is renewable for up to 10 years.

That means you can reactivate one of these dehumidifiers for almost a decade, then swap over to the other one. Or, use both dehumidifiers at opposite ends of your safe for increased dehumidifying range.

What’s more, you don’t need to refill them, so no messy silica gel spills. They’re clean, quiet, and efficient. They’re Eva-Dry E-333 Mini Dehumidifiers.

Buy The Eva-Dry E-333 Renewable Mini Dehumidifier Here


3. Best Desiccant Dehumidifier: SnapSafe Silica Gel Dehumidifier

Desiccants are natural compounds that take away moisture. And while the majority of dehumidifiers on this list have desiccants in them, that doesn’t mean they provide the best overall desiccants. SnapSafe takes that crown.

One of the best-known desiccants for gun safe dehumidifiers is silica gel or silica gel beads. The SnapSafe Silica Gel Dehumidifier protects against moisture and mildew in isolated areas. It’s small, lightweight, doesn’t require any batteries, and is easily reactivated.

The dehumidifier also includes an indicator system with a built-in signal to let users know when it’s time to recharge. It can sit on any shelf within your gun safe and eliminate condensation and dampness with ease.

Silica gel works wonders on relative humidity levels. The SnapSafe Silica Gel Dehumidifier stands up to moisture like none other and is an excellent choice.

Buy The SnapSafe Silica Gel Dehumidifier Here


4. Dry-Packs Silica Gel Canister Dehumidifier

This dehumidifier is also a silica gel canister. From Dry-Packs, this 750mg dehumidifier can cover a ton of space while not needing electricity. On top of that, it’s free of cobalt chloride, a suspected carcinogen that’s extremely toxic.

You don’t want cobalt chloride in your house, and Dry-Packs ensures you won’t with this dehumidifier.
The lids of this canister dehumidifier change color with an orange moisture indicator. It’s made of the silica gel material already inside.

When it turns orange, it’s indicating to the user that it’s at capacity and needs to reactivate. And it’s easy to reactivate, with years of potential use.

To add to all of that, it’s big enough to dry out gun safes all the way up to entire RV interiors. So you can feel at ease with the power of the Dry-Packs Silica Gel Canister Dehumidifier.

Buy The Dry-Packs Silica Gel Canister Dehumidifier Here


5. Best Rechargeable Desiccant Dehumidifier: Lockdown Silica Gel with Rechargeable Beads

Lockdown is one of the best dehumidifier brands in the world. These last two dehumidifiers come from this company, and they might be the two best dehumidifiers on this list.

This particular dehumidifier has a bunch of silica gel bead options at your disposal, including a 40-gram pack (for small handguns), a 450-gram bag (up to 33 cubic feet), and a 750-gram vented can (up to 57 cubic feet).

You can also get one with a hygrometer, which measures the amount of water vapor in the air and might be a priceless feature.

The crystals inside the dehumidifier change color once it’s fully saturated, at which point you can recharge it in your home oven. And because it comes in various shapes and sizes, you can find the perfect one for your gun safe.

It also has a bunch of mounting options if you prefer that, or it can simply sit in your safe.

Lastly, this is the first dehumidifier on this list with a warranty of any kind. It’s covered for one year, but at least it’s something. So far, the Lockdown Silica Gel with Rechargeable Beads is the cream of the crop. Will our last dehumidifier challenge it?

Buy The Lockdown Silica Gel with Rechargeable Beads Here


6. Overall Best Dehumidifier and Best Electric Dehumidifier: Lockdown Goldenrod Original Dehumidifier

Goldenrod dehumidifiers are so great, they’re golden. Terrible pun jokes aside, this is our top-ranked gun safe dehumidifier for a reason.

This Lockdown dehumidifier rod includes a plug-in cord, so this works only if you want to drill holes in your gun safe or have it crunched by the safe door.

If electric is the way you want to go — if you never want to deal with recharging or reactivating — this is the best electric choice. It comes in numerous sizes, including 12-inch, 18-inch, 24-inch, and 36-inch.

The cool thing about these rods is that they are completely out of the way. You can span it across the gun safe floor, mount it to one of the walls, or place it on the top of the safe.

With attachable legs and a cord with a quick plug-in attachment, you can set up this dehumidifier in the most optimal way.

The Goldenrod Original fits the small spaces of your gun safe that isn’t normally used, making it super-efficient. And to top it all off, this product has a limited lifetime warranty.

It checks all the boxes you could ever need for an electric dehumidifier and our top choice by a mile.

Buy The Goldenrod Original Dehumidifier Here


Conclusion

A gun safe dehumidifier is necessary to keep your hunting equipment, rifles, and ammo safe from moisture. Find the one that fits best for your gun safe. That way, your guns will be dry and ready to go the next time you go hunting or shooting.