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Losing my loading room. Setting up in a utility shed.


Chert Rock Chuck

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So, I have recently had to move in with my aging, widowed mother and help to raise and provide  a strong role model for my 8yr old nephew that she adopted as an infant due to unfortunate circumstances.

 This has caused me to loose the spare space I had created for loading and all other manner of gun maintenance and repairs.

 I had space inside my home for this in the past, but now, at Mom’s I don’t. I have purchased a 12’x24’ storage building that I am going to have to set up as a basic workshop space.

 I’m concerned about how the lack of climate control is going effect everything.

I dread the thought of having to store powder and other moisture sensitive items

elsewhere  in order to keep them from spoilage.

 I am curious how some of you deal with a similar situation. Do you load in the garage, shed, workshop that is not a climate controls environment? What measures do you take to prevent corrosion and spoilage?
 I plan on installing an air conditioner for the hot Florida summers, but really don’t want to be forced to maintain climate at all times.

 Chertrock.

B7629B62-959F-4013-9C3A-55CE7E9FB8C8.jpeg

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I see from the pic that there is a Utility owned transformer close to your out building. Build a 100 amp, 120/240 volt, 1 phase, overhead service with meter and interior panel. Install receptacles through out the building and install a window shaker a.c. unit. Make sure the unit is large enough to handle the area to be air conditioned. Leave the unit running during the summer months to keep the humidity out. I know this sound expensive but in the long run, you'll be glad you did.

 

YMMV

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First off, Chuck, it is an admirable thing you are doing by moving in with your aging mother to take care of her.  Kudos Sir.

 

Secondly, if you can find an old upright freezer that doesn't work, you can use that as a "powder safe" by simply installing a dehumidifier designed for gun safes.  That will keep all of your powder dry, as well as provide storage for various guns.  I have one that I have been using for about 10 years in NW Florida and south Alabama heat and humidity and have never had a problem.

 

Then install a small 110V air conditioner and you are good to go.

 

Hope this helps.

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Because you are starting from scratch, You might want to consider dividing the building into smaller sections.  You could build a storage room on one end that you can climate control independant of the rest of the building. Just be sure that the AC unit is not too big for the room.

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Chuck:  when you get electric to the new building, a MUST to buy is a dehumidifier. Keep it set for 50% humidity and 70 degrees ... you will have no rust issues

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Happy your able to handle your problems.  Was helping with my mother for the last several years, but do not think I could handle losing my loading room.  Best wishes for you and your mother           GW

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I loaded in the milk house of an old dairy barn for a few years without climate control. It was simply not economical to heat or cool the space though I did have lights. During the spring and fall you could watch steel rust.

 

I kept the dies, powder, primers, and scale inside a decommissioned refrigerator with a 60 watt light bulb constantly burning inside the refrigerator. This is the same refrigerator that I used to store welding electrodes and filler. That worked very well. 

 

Work in the milk house during the summer was unbearable for all but the predawn hours. I made it work. 

 

I was put in this situation when we became the full time caretakers for my father in law. What we thought would be a few months of rehabilitation became 4 years of round the clock care up until his death. I do not envy your situation but I do have the highest respect for you. Take time to care for yourself while you are caring for others. 

 

 

 

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Smaller refrigerators work well too and are easier to move and to find space for.

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I would suggest getting a mini-split heat pump for your climate control. They are not super expensive and will do a much better job than a window unit and are much more energy efficient. You would probably save the difference in price in a year or two.

Pioneer is a decent brand and available on Amazon.

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Thank you all for the response.

There have been a number of great suggestions made that I will consider as I get moved in.

I am thinking that a division of the space, along with some insulation and a unit of some sort will be the ultimate goal.  It has aluminum siding that will accumulate condensation with temperature differentials that become too great. I will be using it often, and for other projects as well.

 It came with basic lighting and a few receptacles, but will need a thorough upgrade immediately. 

 Fortunately I do have another shed to utilize for general storage. 

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This may be a repeat, but I also have a shed for my reloading, here's what I did.  Insulate the walls and made sure that there was fresh air moving from the soffit to the peak of the roof in the summer that helps to vent the heat.  My building is on the small side so I bought a window A/C that was oversized (to allow for it not being as tight as a house) and had a "eco" setting.  On mine it samples the air every minute or so and only runs the compressor when needed, it made little difference on the electric bill.  I also put in a de-humidifier that drains outside, on cooler days it keeps it dry and adds some heat.  And because I'm anal I put silica packets in any open powder and also put the silica in the drawer with the primers.  In 2 years I've never had an issue with anything rusting or bad powder/primers. 

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kudos on what you are doing , compliments on your solution , i agree to get power to it and condition what you can , 

 

i have that in the summer and the opposite in the winter here - im not sure what is worse , i would need a heatpump that would only function perfectly 80 percent of the time as we hit extremes here on both ends so then i need backup , i keep my equipment in the house where i have control but im cramped and its far from perfect , i think climate control is what its all about , 

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Tequila made the suggestion that was my first thought:

- INSULATE the inside walls and ceiling of the building.  Cover with drywall or 1/4” plywood.  

- Don’t store powder and primers in the house.  The old freezer or refrigerator idea, inside your shop is best.

- Do get an electrician to install a good power run to a circuit box on the outside of the building and maybe lights inside.

- if you don’t have the building on a foundation of some kind, I suggest you work on that first.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

That’s what I’d do to begin with.  The building is large enough for several things.

 

Thanks for looking after your mom and the child.  It’s a big deal!  God bless you.

 

Cat Brules


 

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My reloading shed was rebuilt for that purpose. It includes:

  - full insulation. 

  - double floor (thought I'd have the safe out there).

  - window shaker a/c (when it fails I'll get a window shaker that is combination a/c & heat).

  - steel door. 

  - of course, the work bench is heavy duty to mount the presses to.

 

Add a 2 or 4 drawer cabinet ($10 at the University's surplus store) and you are on the way. 

 

Good luck, 

BS 

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I load in a garage in Florida. Powder and primer storage isn't a big deal. Keep the powder in the original containers, and put that in an air tight container which you can buy at Target for 20 bucks or less. I also store primers the same way although they aren't really climate sensitive.

 

The big issue you will have is rusting dies and steel. You can try keeping everything oiled or waxed with a micro-crystaline wax or paste wax. Or you can do what I do and bring dies and powder measure inside for storage. The rest of my equipment like the press, my digital scale, wrenches etc all have been fine over the last 3 years on account of them being aluminum. The few steel parts I liberally oil, wax, or grease depending on function.

 

As for the heat, I put in a portable AC in the garage that I run when I'm going to get a session in...and a fan.

 

 

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I have some experience in what you are dealing with- my business re-purposes shipping containers into portable offices/break rooms. First off , I would have started with a one trip 20' shipping container. But the same methods can be used with the yard barn.

 Spray foam insulation, closed cell- all 4 walls and ceiling. One inch sprayed between the studs will make a huge difference in the "weather" inside the unit. And it seals up cracks and air leaks.  After we do this in our containers we can heat and cool them with a window unit 12,000 BTU that heats and cools. A unit runs about $700.00 but it does need 220 electric. You could go with a window unit for cooling and use a electric heater, but i feel the window unit is safer/simpler. Before the spray foam is applied make sure to install any openings, windows, doors etc. The foam is tough enough that you can leave it exposed if you don't want to spend $$$ on paneling. Just spray it with latex paint. Maybe panel the walls and paint the ceiling. We still use T-8 bulbs for lighting but LED is going to be the thing. We install a 60 amp box inside for power. The contractor who does our insulation charges $1300.00 to do a 8x20' container, 4 walls and ceiling. Prices vary and so does the quality of work. Our guy makes it look as smooth as bedliner and he covers the floor and windows with plastic. Also you'll want to tape over the studs and then peel the tape off if you plan to panel.  Just for comparison I'' give you some numbers-We start out with a NEW 8x20  ($3900)  container. Insulate, panel with either plywood or metal, heat & cooling unit, overhead lighting, welded in walk in door and window, 60 amp service, receptacles for $12,000.00. But you have your structure and can do it much cheaper, but I do encourage you to look into the spray foam to start with. 

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A couple of you have mentioned using an old refrigerator as a powder magazine.  Do they actually make acceptable powder magazines, or is this a case where as long as you're not using black powder, you don't need a proper magazine?  I'd assume that you wouldn't want to put an electric device inside a powder magazine with black powder, right? 

 

I'm going to start reloading soon (we're pricing sheds now).  I will be loading black powder fairly soon once I get the smokeless stuff figured out.  So I want to make sure anything I set up will be good to use with any kind of powder. 

 

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2 hours ago, No Horse Hair, SASS #77464 said:

but I do encourage you to look into the spray foam to start with. 

 

Where I live in E TX we have a black beetles and black crickets. Both of which love spray foam insulation and the crack sealer used on  our concrete parking lot. After 4 years the walls look like swiss cheese .

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Not in the least bit familiar with the Florida issues, but here in Manitoba, a fan running 24-7 keeps the air moving, and does a lot to keep things from getting rusty, crusty or moldy. I have my gun stuff room in the basement, and a heater runs all year round, even in summer. if I don't, rust, and rust on top of the rust. 

 

My hunting buddy used to say, the truly unsung heroes in this world are the men that go off to work at a job they hate, day in and day out, to provide for their family with nary a complaint. You sir are one of the good ones, you deserve to be a bit selfish outfitting your new digs, which look to be a decent size, and well constructed. 

 

BB

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Where I live in E TX we have a black beetles and black crickets. Both of which love spray foam insulation and the crack sealer used on  our concrete parking lot. After 4 years the walls look like Swiss cheese.”

———————-

Geeze!  That’s just dandy!  >:-(

Spray that framing real good with insecticide, then spray the foam with the same.

Either that, or mix insecticide in with the foam prior to spraying, if that will actually work.  I suggested that to a friend prior to insulating (Fiberglas blanket insulation) his new construction home.  He had the exterminator come in to spray the framing throughout the house.   According to the bug guy, their insecticide isn’t hazardous after it dries.  That was nine years ago and aside from a few ants, he hasn’t seen bugs in the house.  I don’t know, it might work for you and it might not.  Just a thought.

 

Cat Brules

 

 

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14 hours ago, Major BS Walker Regulator said:

Check with your county to see if they have specific laws for BP storage.

 

Laws are one thing, but I'm generally more interested in what's right than what's legal.  I probably shouldn't hijack this thread with a discussion about best practices for storing powder. 

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I forgot one thing...lighting!  I made sure that I had a nice bright LED overhead light where the bench is, also an outlet or two then if you have an electronic scale or a press light you can plug them in.

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1 hour ago, Tequila Chase said:

I forgot one thing...lighting!  I made sure that I had a nice bright LED overhead light where the bench is, also an outlet or two then if you have an electronic scale or a press light you can plug them in.

 

I initially read that as LIGHTNING.  I was scratching my head and reread it 3 times trying to figure out how an overhead LED and an outlet protected against lightning. 

 

I've heard some kooky stuff about lightning protection, but that woulda taken the cake. 

 

 

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Thor hurling down lightning bolts for some real or imagined slight??

NAH.....

 

Cat Brules

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I purchased a 12 x 24 prefab building like yours that I originally outfitted as a woodworking shop in 2003.  I insulated the walls & ceiling, plenty of lights, electric outlets, small AC units in 2 windows & a portable space heater, TV & internet.  Someone gave me a 6 ft glass sliding door that I put in an end wall.  I made a lot of furniture for myself & relatives in there, always comfortable but quickly found out that 288 sq ft ain't THAT much space.

 

When I got into CAS in 2011, I set up my loading gear out there as well.  I just thought it was a small space when I was making sawdust!  Now we have (2) Dillon 550s, a MEC Grabber, a single stage press & (2) luber-sizers on one table.  I have my casting furnace set up on the table saw & do gun work, etc, on a table that houses my thickness planer.  It's tight, but it works really well for us.

 

I live in the FL panhandle so humidity is always high.  During the summer (which means March to October) it can get up close to 100 deg F in the building.  I was given a 25,000 BTU window unit that will cool it back to 85 or so in less than an hour.  During the cold months a small space heater keeps it comfortable for me.  All my powder, primers & other reloading components are stacked on shelves in the open.  I have never had any issues.

 

Holler

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I had a shed that was 8'X20' back in the '80's.  I bought it on a farm auction and slid it home 20 miles on utility poles behind a tractor. 

I used the unfinished half for a feed shed and the other end for my reloading.

I only had a fan for cooling in the hot months and a small (15 gal) wood stove for winter heat.  I always oiled the dies, press and what I left out there, but they still rusted.  The primers and powder were sealed in ammo cans.

We deal with high swings in temp and humidity in S/E NE and the shed was definitely not the ideal set up for me.

Now the whole shebang is in the house again.

 

MG

 

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Having been there, done that twice, there are three things mentioned in this thread with which I completely agree.

 

1. Get "proper" electrical service to the building with an interior breaker panel with room for expansion.

2. Insulate it.

3. Mini-split for climate control.  While more expensive up front, they're way more efficient than window units and most have a dehumidify (dry) function.  Most require 220, so see #1.

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Keep your dies, primers and powder in your house so they are in a climate controlled area. You only need a shelf or two in a pantry or bedroom closet. Only carry what you need for your reloading session and then bring everything back in. Heard a oops from a cas shooter whose setup was in his garage, loaded up a bunch of ammo only to realize that his powder level wasn’t moving. The humidity had caked his powder so after the initial drops which he checked nothing else dropped. Dehumidifiers can do alot but Florida is crazy humid. I’m in eastern NC and live with it too. For what your building cost couldn’t you have added an 8x10 room on the house? 

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