Dan73 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hi All - can anyone help please? I have a standard Brattonsound 3 gun cabinet which houses my three shotguns. The cabinet is located on the corner of two external walls and for reasons which only my wife knows, I cannot move it anywhere else. I'm having trouble with condensation in the cabinet - naturally during the day the general heating is off in the house, but on in the early morning and later in the afternoon and evening. This causes a considerable amount of condensation in the cabinet - I have put 3 napier pads inside, but I'm still seeing some rust spots on a barrel and a few worrying marks on the stock of one of the guns - I'm quite OCD about cleaning them after each use so they are extremely well kept otherwise. Anyone got any useful tips to help stop this - I'm thinking of resorting to keeping the guns in their slips whilst in the cabinet or lining the cabinet with some old towels!!! Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattslaptop247 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 I have my cabinet in the loft, as it's always a pretty constant temp up there and when it does change it changes slowly I dont get condensation problems at all, although loads of other people try to tell you otherwise. It's only quick changes in temp that cause it. Will she let you move it to the loft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 you could mount a fan in it? or perhaps stick a small heater by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Is your house old-as in not having a cavity? Makes me think theres so much cold migrating through the masonry that its condensing inside the room temperature cabinet. Only thing i can suggest is either move the cabinet to an internal wall or put some sort of insulation between wall & cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan73 Posted November 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Its an old house - the loft would be ideal except that the loft hatch is in my youngest's bedroom and although there is no-way of them getting to the loft etc, I'm just happier (as is my wife) where it is. Putting some insulation between the wall/cabinet is a good idea - I'd need to find out about the legalities from my FEO, but that's not a problem for me to do. I'm also going to keep them in a lined case for now whilst I find out about this - that's after I give them a damn good clean again this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 get a silicone impregnated gunsock and put you gun inside it. M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codling99 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 i allways keep the silica gel packs you get with electronic stuff and throw them in cabinet,havent really got problem with damp mind,but does help when guns are wet coming home from lamping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SXPhil Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 I use these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Browning-VCI-Gunsock...=item2c519d665c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 I had this with my house a while back and moving the cabinet has stopped it, I had to move it out of necessity as I took the roof off above it but would advise getting yourself some 25mm thick celotex and installing it between the cabinet and each wall. Clamped up it won't keep the cabinet far from the wall and just bung something down the side to cover it. It will help a lot as mines not happened since the wall was insulated though also worth looking into is where is it in relation to bathrooms and kitchens as most damp like this is from insufficient ventilation keeping the general humidity levels high. Another option of course is a dehumidifier in the room but it is a bit overkill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 it sounds like the house is too cold, and not enough venting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart028 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 I lined my cabinets out with the thin foam bed/mattress that you sleep on when you go camping, it comes rolled up about 6 foot long and 3 foot wide, only a couple of quid at a camping shop, it`t enough to do a cabinet, I also put silicone gel packs inside aswell, Does the job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burntout Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Being an old house with little if any cavity wall insulation the wall is acting as a cold bridge to the cabinet. I'm guessing if you feel the cabinet it will be colder than another metal object not flush against the wall. As mentioned before the best bet is to isolate it from the wall with some insulation - even some rubber washers on the back would help but then you've got a slight gap which could be levered. Either this or try to keep the cabinet at room rather than wall temperature using a heater. No amount of dehumidifying inserts will essentially dry the whole room out. This is much the same with single glazed windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bangs Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Mine's in the loft too and it seems to be ok up there, no condensation anywhere that I have seen, I stick a couple of the silica packs in too for good measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I used to suffer from this problem some years ago in my old cottage. Cured it with a sheet of 1" ply the same size as the cabinet between the wall and the cabinet and ran a cable into the cabinet powering a small heating element. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 perhaps try one of these http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/proteam-wirele...88#descTabSect2 designed to keep caranvasn etc dry while stored so should be fine in a cabinet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 until you have sorted out the insulation off the wall etc put a cup of uncooked rice in the cab and change it when it is swelled up .... not as good as silica gel but easy to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott82 Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hey. I was worried about condensation in my house (old, single glazing and were apparently too poor to have the heating on for too long! I battened my cabinet with a couple of 3x1" and have had no trouble (so far,) my PLO was happy too. As has been said, you need to insulate it. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 When we had the snow my house wasn't airing properly and I was getting condensation in the loft really badly - water was dripping off the roof all over! I drilled a hole in the top of my cabinet and fitted a 14W reptile tank heater inside, its about the size of an A4 sheet of paper (including the thickness!) so you can bent it around and let it sit halfway down the cabinet. Worked great, was warm enough to keep the cabinet dry. Don't need it now as the loft is airing properly, but I'll save it for next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I use the silica gel packets you get in shoe box's. Chuck a few of them in your cabinet, seems to work for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 (edited) 3 options: Silica gel sachets (although there's a chance they can dry out the woodwork on stocks but if you look after your woodwork then not a major issue): you can buy 10 big sachets from the Bay for around a fiver. The dehumidifier linked to by HDAV - although this may also cause issues with the timber. VP90 sachet - will keep the cabinet moisture protected for a year - more expensive but it'll be the option I'm gonna go with when my cabinet arrives. Edited March 17, 2010 by Egg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 VP90 will only work under normal conditions though - I have a VP90 pouch and two "Vapour inhibitor impregnated" gun socks any my guns were still getting rust on them. I admit that my loft was very damp due to the snow on the roof preventing the membrane from "breathing" though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Find a load of old shoe boxes and take the bags of silica out of them and stick them at the bottom of the cabinet. That should do the trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 VP90 will only work under normal conditions though - I have a VP90 pouch and two "Vapour inhibitor impregnated" gun socks any my guns were still getting rust on them. Gotcha - never realised things were that soggy up there. Silica gel sachets it is then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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