Outside the home storage.

[dieselmudder]

Been pondering this a lot lately, say someone wanted to store a single weapon, or maybe cache multiples outside of the controlled environment of the home. What methods or products would feasibly protect the firearms from the elements. Be it manufactured, self designed, or other repurposed items.

 

[John A.]

I have seen a lot of talk about this.

One which makes it into almost every online topic and I'll go ahead and cover it.

6 inch pvc drain pipe with screw in end caps.

What you should know about that is condensation is unavoidable. I have accessed sealed pipes that have been closed for a couple of years at one of my old jobs and they have a surprising amount of condensation on the inside of the pipe.

Even if it does not physically leak, you are very likely to get some condensation on the inside of the tube that is nearly unavoidable. If you store something inside a sealed tube, it should also be further protected by other methods while inside. Whether vacuum sealed mylar bags or other means of further sealing it, with a generous coat of cosmoline or other equivelant grease.

If it is an all metal gun (no wood or plastic), it may even be feasible to have tubes barely big enough to house the item and then fill it to the brim with motor oil. That should protect metal surfaces quite well. And would also be slower to have temperature changes which causes condensation. That technique is often referred to as "flooding".

I think another method is burying them well below the frost line, which is honestly pretty deep and that may cause problems relocating or accessing the contents after the fact. But at the same time, is usually deep enough to avoid metal detectors (ground penetrating radar is not very common around here).

 

[oli700]

6 inch PVC pipe
6 inch end cap
6 inch test plug
Silicone impregnated gun sock
Moisture control desiccant packets

Cut the pipe to need, glue on the end cap, pile in the desiccant packs, put firearm in silicon sock and place the test plug in the other end. When you pack the tube do it in the driest air environment possible if you have the luxury of waiting for a dry humidity day to do it that’s the best. Once its sealed it won’t take on moisture but any moisture in the air trapped in the tube will stay so the moisture controle packs can be adjusted to capture the moisture in the air

edited tube size for future reference

 

[dieselmudder]

John. Thats what I was wondering about condensation. The flooded idea is a good one. I had definitely thought about a coating for storage also. As far as vacuum sealing, do you think the machines for food storage would work, having never owned one I don't know if you could do an item that big.


Oli, I had thought about that, but i don't have anything that would fit inside a 4 inch PVC. 6 or 8 maybe.

Ive thought about welding up a steel box, and making a sealed lid, or cover. But there again condensation has to be combated. And getting it somewhere out of range of metal detection could be a chore. Also had thoughts of a formed concrete box. But sealing could be difficult. Looking forward to seeing what thoughts or ideas other people have.

 

[John A.]

If you get down to the root of the problem, condensation is caused from differences in temperature and/or lack of air circulation.

In a sealed pipe, obviously there is no air circulation.

Which is why I said to bury it below the frost line so the temperature is about the same all year round, but here, that is about 25 inches deep , plus add a buffer of 8-12 more inches just for safe measure so it doesn't fluctuate much (if any).

But that isn't really very practical.

The dessicant packs that Oli mentioned may work, but I'm unsure if I would trust that entirely. I guess it would depend on how long "long term" is, or if I could check on them periodically.

The food saver bags that you get in a roll and can seal the ends yourself so you can make the length you need will seal, but I tried it on an old unused stock just to satisfy my curiosity and the vacuum seal only lasted about 5 months. I think it was still really protected well especially if you would have covered the metal in bearing or axle grease or cosmoline, but like I said, after a while, was no longer air tight, which means it was no longer water tight either, but with some preventive measures like thick grease would probably work for a very long time.

 

[old mossy]

OK here's mine,,,,,6" pvc pipe cut to length, glued end cap, threaded top cap. rent a gas powered pole digger from home depot. Dig hole, bury tube vertically. Plant something or put a rock on top to remember where you put it.
As far as moisture put one of those dry buckets in each tube. JMO

 

[dieselmudder]

What about vacuum sealing, then filling the rest of the space with bulk silica sand? Even if the vacuum didn't hold there would be almost no air to circulate. And the silica would absorb any moisture.

 

[oli700]

ok, not that I have done it before lol , never did anything with tall optics or pistol grip, guess it would help if you specified what you wanted to store, lots will fit in a 4 inch tube......remind me to show you a couple of rifles stored in "sealed" plastic bag like material then put in a tube, ruined and it didn't take very long.

Also I wouldn't want to de-cosmoline a weapon if I am digging it up for a fight, heavy on the gun oil is sufficient in a tube , they aren't being stored in wooden crates in a Russian warehouse....

 

[dieselmudder]

I wasn't discrediting what you were saying, sorry if it came off that way. I actually measured several of my smaller rifles. Even the stock on a little Browning 22 was taller than 4 inches. And theoretically you would want to cache cheap, durable, and abundant firearms. I.e. military surplus rifles, Russian imports, pump shotguns. Maybe some single shot rifles. Or shotguns

 

[John A.]

remind me to show you a couple of rifles stored in "sealed" plastic bag like material then put in a tube, ruined and it didn't take very long.

I'm interested in seeing them because this is a subject of great interest to me. I would've thought them being bagged would've help prevent rust. Especially if lubed up good.

http://www.opsgear.com/index/page/produ ... proof+Bags

https://www.zcorrproducts.com/

The silica fill is an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of.

As for moisture in the tube, another thought would be to store it at a slight angle so any moisture would gather in the low spot. And silica or damp rid would help with that.

 

[dieselmudder]

And maybe not even silica. Maybe something as cheap as floor dry or kitty litter.

I also would like to see examples that others have tried, success or failure.

 

[oli700]

remind me to show you a couple of rifles stored in "sealed" plastic bag like material then put in a tube, ruined and it didn't take very long.

I'm interested in seeing them because this is a subject of great interest to me. I would've thought them being bagged would've help prevent rust. Especially if lubed up good.

I came across them not to long ago rifling through the stash and thought I should have taken some pics, I will take some though, they are still stored and will fire, the finish is ruined and the metal is pitted on the outside......and they look like they still have plastic on them but they are etched in all the spots the plastic touched , every detail , wrinkles and everything etched in the steel.....what it really looks like is the plastic melted to it.
The lube was standard, not heavy lube and not overly oily.... it was not foodsaver, another similar deal though, any trapped air not vacuumed out contains moisture in the form of humidity and the seal is not guaranteed to last for as long as you want.

 

[oli700]

I wasn't discrediting what you were saying, sorry if it came off that way. I actually measured several of my smaller rifles. Even the stock on a little Browning 22 was taller than 4 inches. And theoretically you would want to cache cheap, durable, and abundant firearms. I.e. military surplus rifles, Russian imports, pump shotguns. Maybe some single shot rifles. Or shotguns

no worries

I went to the garage and found a couple of the test plugs and they ARE 6 inch so I'm an idiot. At least I didn't replenish pipe in 4 inch lol

 

[cmcdonald]

http://www.opsgear.com/index/page/produ ... proof+Bags

https://www.zcorrproducts.com/

The silica fill is an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of.

As for moisture in the tube, another thought would be to store it at a slight angle so any moisture would gather in the low spot. And silica or damp rid would help with that.

Those zcorr bags look really interesting and they're not ridiculously expensive. The technology sounds amazing. I'm definitely interested. Thanks for posting that John.

 

[OhioArcher]

I believe G&A did an article on those bags. Buried a gun or two for a few months. Worked well. Don't recall what month it was, though.

They have 2 types: Velcro seal and vacuum seal...

 

[MossLvR]

What about vacuum sealing, then filling the rest of the space with bulk silica sand? Even if the vacuum didn't hold there would be almost no air to circulate. And the silica would absorb any moisture.

I like this idea!

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[dieselmudder]

the z-corr bags look interesting, you could put several handguns into one of the long gun bags, and save a lot of money. I would still want to put them into another airtight overpack. with another type of drying media.

 

[oli700]

yeah the zcorr bags do look like a good deal to me as well, thanks John !

 

[John A.]

Here's some video of people who have dug up their cache to check on contents.

I do like the tube within a tube idea.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Px0YB_DbXw[/youtube]

skip to 3:55 to avoid watching him dig it up
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EtfKtWn6gk[/youtube]

 

[GunnyGene]

I'll offer an alternative to vacuum. Dry nitrogen. Cheap and readily available. Pressurize your gun container just slightly above atmospheric - 2 or 3 psi is enough, and it will keep everything out, moisture included. A standard tire valve stem mounted in a steel container is all you need and a bleed valve to purge the container of air after it's closed up.