Reloading room dampness question

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TheCarpenter

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Hey folks, still new to reloading. Have a question.

I know the saying "keep your powder dry" is a no brainer so to speak, but what about for all reloading components? In my house the last place I have to set up is my workbench in the cellar. I have a mostly dirt floor, rest is concrete. Damp, but run a dehumidifier down there from time to time. Nothing grows mold or dry rots etc and before we know it I'll be running my wood furnace own there half regularly.

All my brass, primers, powder, bullets, shell holders EVERYTHING except my press and case trimmer are kept in metal, or plastic ammo cans for easy storage and organization.

Is it a terrible idea to move it down there and set up my cellar workbench as my reloading workbench? I want to start reloading a lot more & dragging everything onto my cramped office desk or the kitchen table (which my wife loves) is a serious PITA making multiple triips and and down stairs with multiple ammo cans, press etc.

Thanks in advance folks.
 
TheCarpenter said:
Hey folks, still new to reloading. Have a question.

I know the saying "keep your powder dry" is a no brainer so to speak, but what about for all reloading components? In my house the last place I have to set up is my workbench in the cellar. I have a mostly dirt floor, rest is concrete. Damp, but run a dehumidifier down there from time to time. Nothing grows mold or dry rots etc and before we know it I'll be running my wood furnace own there half regularly.

All my brass, primers, powder, bullets, shell holders EVERYTHING except my press and case trimmer are kept in metal, or plastic ammo cans for easy storage and organization.

Is it a terrible idea to move it down there and set up my cellar workbench as my reloading workbench? I want to start reloading a lot more & dragging everything onto my cramped office desk or the kitchen table (which my wife loves) is a serious PITA making multiple triips and and down stairs with multiple ammo cans, press etc.

Thanks in advance folks.
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Set a dehumidifier at about 50% and things will be fine. Also, keep your primers and powder sealed. I keep a few desiccant packets in the plastic bags with my primers just for safe measure.
 
OP, a dehumidifier will help a lot, but it's not going to give you the results you want if your basement is damp and has exposed dirt.

I have a similar issue with my basement.

A dehumidifier, unless it's an industrial grade model, just won't keep up too the moisture wicking from the dirt.

I live in a house that was originally built in 1914. It's had several modifications since then, but the last and largest was done 45 years ago.

Things were much different back then than they are today, concerning heating and venting.

A few years ago, I had to replace the roof, so we decided to upgrade the insulation at the same time.

This all seemed like a good idea at the time, but all of these "upgrades" created another issue, "sweating."

New houses, in most areas, by regulation, need to have a heating, ventilation system which allows inside air to be exchanged with outside air, throughout the whole house, including the basement.

It's done through a system of fan assisted ducting, which gathers the inside air from all sections of the house to a central point, where a ducted fan blows it outside.

This vented air has to be replaced, with outside air, which is usually dryer than the air inside your house.

I had to do a lot of work to install this system in an old house, and eventually pushed all of the inside air into the basement, where the furnace can draw it into the combustion chamber and exhaust it, during the winter months, but I also had to install a small 4 inch, ducted fan, which runs 24/7.

This small fan draws air continuously from the basement and exhausts it outside.

The makeup air for the furnace and heating ducts, along with small leaks under doors, etc, provides the outside air needed to fill the void created by the fan.

It's made a huge difference to the inside humidity.

You likely don't need something as extensive as the system I installed, but it's something to look into, and if you do the work yourself, it's not expensive.
 
I would imagine it will depend on where the OP lives. We have an HRV here, but from May to October, we have to turn it off or the inside humidity gets too high as we [2 adults, 1 Retriever] live in the middle of a bunch of lakes & rivers. Normal o/s humidity in late spring to early fall is 65+% up to 95% [except this year, when we really could've used the humidity +/or liquid sunshine]. During those months, we have 3 dehumidifiers going in different parts of the house & the buckets get emptied every 4-5 days. The HRV earns its keep though in the other months when the outside RH is 20-40%.
 
jamesharrison said:
I would imagine it will depend on where the OP lives. We have an HRV here, but from May to October, we have to turn it off or the inside humidity gets too high as we [2 adults, 1 Retriever] live in the middle of a bunch of lakes & rivers. Normal o/s humidity in late spring to early fall is 65+% up to 95% [except this year, when we really could've used the humidity +/or liquid sunshine]. During those months, we have 3 dehumidifiers going in different parts of the house & the buckets get emptied every 4-5 days. The HRV earns its keep though in the other months when the outside RH is 20-40%.
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You need an ERV, not an HRV. I work in HVAC and have seen many situations of ultra-high humidity space because the HRV discards some heat from the outdoor airstream but humidity cannot be discarded so it just keeps building up.
 
OkayShooter said:
You might get some surface rust on your dies.
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Absolutely.
I reload in our unfinished basement but it has a concrete floor. It stays cool year round as it is 4 feet in the ground but i can get water in there when the spring freshet is on and the river level is high. I remove my powder/ primers during this time but i can get surface rust on my dies.
 
DFarmer said:
Absolutely.
I reload in our unfinished basement but it has a concrete floor. It stays cool year round as it is 4 feet in the ground but i can get water in there when the spring freshet is on and the river level is high. I remove my powder/ primers during this time but i can get surface rust on my dies.
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Same, I have a unfinished basement. I run a dehumidifier 24/7. Winter it gets as low as 5 degrees down there.

But the humidity might improve due to the well being decomissed and removed.
 
TheCarpenter said:
Hey folks, still new to reloading. Have a question.

I know the saying "keep your powder dry" is a no brainer so to speak, but what about for all reloading components? In my house the last place I have to set up is my workbench in the cellar. I have a mostly dirt floor, rest is concrete. Damp, but run a dehumidifier down there from time to time. Nothing grows mold or dry rots etc and before we know it I'll be running my wood furnace own there half regularly.

All my brass, primers, powder, bullets, shell holders EVERYTHING except my press and case trimmer are kept in metal, or plastic ammo cans for easy storage and organization.

Is it a terrible idea to move it down there and set up my cellar workbench as my reloading workbench? I want to start reloading a lot more & dragging everything onto my cramped office desk or the kitchen table (which my wife loves) is a serious PITA making multiple triips and and down stairs with multiple ammo cans, press etc.

Thanks in advance folks.
Click to expand...
My reloading room is in the basement, I just run a dehumidifier three seasons of the year. Don't need one in winter, too dry. - dan
 
I would second the vapor barrier. If you could somewhat level the dirt area and lay down at least a 10mm vapor barrier it would make a huge difference. Maybe cover the barrier with some sand and then maybe 4x8 plywood where you walk and work. Sounds pretty bush I realize but an open dirt floor could breath a lot of moisture.
 
rombat said:
I would second the vapor barrier. If you could somewhat level the dirt area and lay down at least a 10mm vapor barrier it would make a huge difference. Maybe cover the barrier with some sand and then maybe 4x8 plywood where you walk and work. Sounds pretty bush I realize but an open dirt floor could breath a lot of moisture.
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Poly is cheap and easily laid, main issue is sloping floor and rocks. Other issue is years of totes and "stuff" down there, freezers etc. don't really want to mess with that beast.

going to measure the Humidity in a few spots down there and see how awful it is. Seems like the big consensus is humidity here.

If it's bad enough I may tangle with the poly monster.
 
OkayShooter said:
Same, I have a unfinished basement. I run a dehumidifier 24/7. Winter it gets as low as 5 degrees down there.

But the humidity might improve due to the well being decomissed and removed.
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I leave a dehumidifier set at 40% running year-round in my unfinished (but concrete floor) reloading room, as it can keep to the room at roughly 50% at the worst time of year with that setting. It hardly ever turns on in January and February through, and maybe runs for only half of December and March. Room gets to maybe 10C and 30% RH in the winter.
jamesharrison said:
Could that be added on or in to our 1 year old HRV?
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You might be able to switch out the heat exchange core, but it is probably cheaper just to replace the unit.
 
mactroneng said:
I leave a dehumidifier set at 40% running year-round in my unfinished (but concrete floor) reloading room, as it can keep to the room at roughly 50% at the worst time of year with that setting. It hardly ever turns on in January and February through, and maybe runs for only half of December and March. Room gets to maybe 10C and 30% RH in the winter.

You might be able to switch out the heat exchange core, but it is probably cheaper just to replace the unit.
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Yeah not getting 40% in my basement. Not with a 4ft wide well down there.
 
so, just checked, my concrete floor cold cellar has 90% indoor humidity. not sure if thatys the same as relative humidity?

Nothing spoils and things last well in there, 65% on my main floor of house. no rain here, that's just normal. doesn't feel damp at all.

My tools aren't really rusting, i'll run the dehumidifier for a day or so see if it changes much.
 
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