Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 15

Thread: So, about storing ammo......

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    11,856
    Feedback Score
    0

    So, about storing ammo......

    I have, depending on where you are from, a "root cellar" or "fruit cellar". It's the little storage room in your basement right underneath the front porch. I had steel security door installed with multiple locks. Although my gun safe is in there, essentially the entire room is a gun safe. I keep all my gun related stuff in there (except home defense handguns of course).

    Now, the basement is cooler than the rest of the house in the winter, but obviously not as cold as outside. In the summer it is warmer than the rest of the house but again less so than outside. I have a dehumidifier running in the laundry room/gun workbench area just outside the fruit cellar/safe. In the summer the fruit cellar will get a little bit more humid than the rest of the basement because I leave the security door closed all week while I'm working and usually just open things on the weekends when I'm off and screwing around in there. In the winter it stays cooler than the rest of the basement for the same reason but the air is dry as a popcorn fart.

    I know ammo is supposed to be stored in a relatively temperature controlled environment. My SHTF stuff is all in ammo cans. While in the winter the fruit cellar gets chilly it isn't "cold" per se (as compared to outside). In the summer it gets a little stuffy in there but not like outside. While I don't have a thermometer I'll wager a guesstimate that temps in the gunroom fluctuate yearly between the upper 40's to the low 80's with reasonably reduced humidity during the summer (considering the security door is closed during the week as I mentioned above).

    Is that a sufficiently "controlled" environment to store ammo in long-term?
    Last edited by ABNAK; 01-07-18 at 17:35.
    11C2P '83-'87
    Airborne Infantry
    F**k China!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    3,485
    Feedback Score
    58 (100%)
    Sounds OK to me.

    I have an outbuilding that's my "gun room". Temps here range from 0 to 110 degrees with humidity ranging from nothing to 90% in summer.
    I run a de-hue when humidity is high and the temperature is controlled with a "zone line" AC/heater.
    My temperature range may not be as great as yours, but humidity is probably similar.

    There is ammo, powder and primers that are 25 yrs. old and still functions as new.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    11,856
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by gaijin View Post
    Sounds OK to me.

    I have an outbuilding that's my "gun room". Temps here range from 0 to 110 degrees with humidity ranging from nothing to 90% in summer.
    I run a de-hue when humidity is high and the temperature is controlled with a "zone line" AC/heater.
    My temperature range may not be as great as yours, but humidity is probably similar.

    There is ammo, powder and primers that are 25 yrs. old and still functions as new.
    The temp fluctuation I was referring to was in the gunroom, not outside.
    11C2P '83-'87
    Airborne Infantry
    F**k China!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    3,485
    Feedback Score
    58 (100%)
    Yep, I got that.

    My understanding is extremes in humidity are a bigger problem than temperatures.
    My experience bears this out.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    11,856
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by gaijin View Post
    Yep, I got that.

    My understanding is extremes in humidity are a bigger problem than temperatures.
    My experience bears this out.
    It's TN so yeah, the summer (even inside in the gunroom) is more humid than the winter. But of course the change is gradual as the year progresses and is not as humid as outside during the summer.

    I realize I may be splitting hairs but I have a good deal of $$$ tied up in quality SHTF ammo so was just trying to see if my particular setup was GTG.
    Last edited by ABNAK; 01-07-18 at 17:33.
    11C2P '83-'87
    Airborne Infantry
    F**k China!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    2,519
    Feedback Score
    1 (100%)
    Have you thought about adding a vapor barrier and insulating the room. That will minimize your humidity and shrink the temperature fluctuation.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    11,856
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Inkslinger View Post
    Have you thought about adding a vapor barrier and insulating the room. That will minimize your humidity and shrink the temperature fluctuation.
    ?????
    11C2P '83-'87
    Airborne Infantry
    F**k China!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    2,519
    Feedback Score
    1 (100%)

    So, about storing ammo......

    Quote Originally Posted by ABNAK View Post
    ?????
    What don’t you understand? These are methods to better regulate the climate in your room.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    2,062
    Feedback Score
    9 (100%)
    Have central air? Add a return and register in your basement. That will keep the humidity and temp regulated.
    AQ planned for years and sent their A team to carry out the attacks, and on Flight 93 they were thwarted by a pick-up team made up of United Frequent Fliers. Many people look at 9/11 and wonder how we can stop an enemy like that. I look at FL93 and wonder, "How can we lose?". -- FromMyColdDeadHand

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    194
    Feedback Score
    0
    How are you people keeping ammo for any length of time? Ammo to me is like whiskey to an alcoholic; never around for any length of time.

    For any ammo that is in danger of getting old I keep it sealed in a can and don't let it get too warm. I have shot/used ammo, powder, and primers from 60 years ago that was stored "relatively" well and never had a problem.

    Also, when I was younger, the old men I grew up with were veterans of WWII and Korea. They had much ammo from that era. Surplus and excess. Ball and black tip. I still have some and I have been shooting it for the past twenty years. It has all worked exactly as it is suppose to. No Idea as to how well it was stored.

    Seal it in a can and don't let it get baked. It will easily outlast you.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •