Weapon and Ammunition Storage 1

[jcwalter]

Greetings,

Long time reader first time poster. A quick note on my background. I am new to the HVAC field (7 months) after working at a steel mill for a year after graduating from school with a B.S.M.E. I am on my second "start-to-finish" project after helping out here and there and learning as much as I can about this industry. Enough about me and on to my question!

I am working on a sheriff's office currently. Our preliminary plan has a "Gun" room and an "Armory". I will find out what the distinction between the two rooms are soon, however it is clear weapons and ammunition will be stored here. Rooms are not large, roughly 8' x 10' each. The client specifically asked for extra dehumidification for weapons storage to prevent corrosion I imagine. I have looked through NFPA and ASHRAE, and while I have found other good bits of info, I haven't found anything regarding a specific %RH or temperature to hit for this kind of space.

Would anyone have a good starting place to find a number? I want to be able to speak intelligently about this if it comes up in a meeting. Searching around the internet, I have heard 50% RH, 30%RH, doesn't matter, etc. One person in our office suggested using a small plug-in type dehumidifier and that would be sufficient, but I would like some justification to using even that!

Thank you for the help, if further information is required let me know!

Jon

 

[IRstuff]

> All military equipment are usually specified to tolerate up to +71ºC and 100% non-condensing humidity
> Obviously, lower humidity will minimize the probability of corrosion
> However, low humidity can result in electrostatic discharges, which are REALLY BAD for certain explosives.
> Therefore, as indicated on pg. 11-7 and 12-7 in the 3rd citation below, humidity in the 50-60% range is probably the most reasonable.
> The best approach to manage corrosion is to ensure that the weapons are well maintained

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a345001.pdf

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a204964.pdf

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a268028.pdf

TTFN
faq731-376

Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529

 

[jcwalter]

Thank you for the assistance! I know have a new resource to search and something to show the client if they ask for my opinion on conditions.

 

[GMcD]

The other main issue for the design of the ventilation system is the Armory where they clean the guns. The cleaning solvents must be ventilated well and usually a shrouded exhaust hood over the cleaning bench is needed, plus the requisite make-up air, that has to be tempered and de-humidified if this project is in a humid climate zone. Check the local OSHA and NIOSH requirements for the cleaning solvents ventilation requirements.