Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Having your loading room in an outbuilding

Wasn't sure where to ask this. So how many have their reloading room in an outbuilding?
I have one friend who does because he can go out to the basement of his garage and smoke his cigars,
do woodwork, reload, whatever he wants without the wife complaining.
We should be moving into a place where if I want a Den I will have to build a room in the basement. Not a problem however.
Out in the garage there is also a very nice woodshop that my wife suggests I make my Den. Problem is keeping it heated in the winter.
Right now it is just heated with a heater when being used. I don't want to heat it all winter to keep a stable temp.
My question is will it hurt the powder and digital dispensing equipment to be cold except when I fire the heater up when I plan to be out there for the day?

Powder fares better in a stable temp environment with moderate humidity.

I had my stuff in a garage while I lived in Houston for a while. Big mistake.
Now I’m in a drier environment with no problems. I do keep powders, primers and bullets inside when they aren’t being used.

I think you’d have to control the temp and humidity year round. That could get pretty expensive in an outbuilding. I’ve considered the same thing but still use the basement. The temp is no issue that way, but I do run a dehumidifier from May until Nov here.

When our kids came along my reloading setup was banished to a small, 2 story barn I had built. I keep everything in an insulated 12x16 room out there and use an electric heater to make sure that the temp never drops below around 45F.

I may be looking at this soon myself. I think humidity is a greater factor than temp but that’s just a theory. If I can’t have a full room in our new house like I’ve always had them I intend to have a climate controlled outbuilding. If I’m fortunate enough to have the shop I want I will build a separate room in one of the corners roughly 14x14 and have it well insulated and wired for 110/220. I intend to install a window unit with heat and air that will run continuously. At that size I can have all my reloading supplies with my big bench, my big tool box with the better tools, plus a couch, pub table and chairs, fridge, and an attached bathroom. Shop I want built out $50k. Big Portable building built out $10-12k

Way more info than you ask for but I’ve put a good bit of thought in this lately. I think more than anything I’m used to having “my space”.

I run a window unit all summer in my building. It's small and insulated well, the costs are not bad. Electric and a propane wall heater for the cold.

Don't think cold is too much of a problem but heat and humidity long term may be.

I keep my powder in my clothes closet in the house. The powders in use stay in my shop....Just one pound of my most used powders out there and that’s it. No 8# kegs & such out there.

Keep all my powder and primers in an old refrigerator I wired a single 60 watt regular bulb in to that stays on 24/7. Never had a problem. Bullets are up in the freezer area.

An outbuilding wouldn't be bad. I've pondered it. Maybe one of them little fake barns from Home Depot. If I wanted to smoke ceegars whilst reloading, I'd certainly do it, so when I blew myself up, my family didn't go with me.

It should not cost that much to keep it stable year round.

I have an air conditioner and a heater and try to keep it around 70-75.

Humidity ain't your friend.

How much do you think it costs you to heat and cool...stand alone?

The problem will be humidity on the equipment. Things will rust and mildew. Wipe metal down. Keep primers in the house.

Good Lord, man....Where do you keep your beer?

🦫

This is good advice for poor people who can't build.

Had mine in a concrete floor, block wall 30x30 building.

Humidity, condensation, mouse turds, mildew, mold on boxes. Stray cat got in there knocked stuff off shelves and tables.

Tried running dehumidifier, non stop problems.



Spare bedroom now, climate controlled.

Woman don’t give me no back talk, I’ll cut her off.

I loaded out of a non heated...or cooled shop for 5 years. Our temps were -20* to 105*......never rusted a gun nor had issues. No nothing but ambient air.

I built my reloading room in a corner of my 30x36 pole barn. It measures 6x12, which sounds awfully small, but it easily accommodates a Dillon XL-650, an RCBS Rockchucker, lots of shelves and a cabinet, and all of the accessories I need. It's well insulated and I built an air conditioner into the wall and have an electric space heater inside. I am very satisfied with this setup.I live in a small cabin in the woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where the weather and humidity vary enormously.

I keep my powder, primers, ammo and other stuff in another outbuilding on the property. Most of it is stored in airtight containers. Despite the wide range of conditions, I am still using WWII surplus H-4831 and H-4895. The stuff is still fresh and crisp, and I have never had a primer go bad, even though some of my stash is 30 years old. I think a good container is more important than climate control. After all, the powder and primers in military ammo stored in the desert seems to last an awfully long time.

I don't have a basement or a large home, so my options were limited. This setup works wonderfully for me.

I had a lot of opened jugs of powder and primers stored in the open in my unheated and uncooled garage for at least 15 years. No degradation that I can tell.