Rust, sweating in a stick build shed.

How to keep stuff stored in a simple type "tuff-sheds" from rusting (inexpensively)?

My experience is cold steel meets a warm moist front

and the equipment sweats. And rusts, and paper manuals get damp and moldy.

Happens on a weekly cycle, all winter. Only "good" time is a during 2 week freeze.

Here sheds are not taxed or permitted if 144 sq feet or less. So I figure 10x14

sheds would fit my 40hp class tractors. Need 8ft wide door.

This is bugging me; however, I also don't want another perpetual bill just for heating storage sheds. Please, I bet someone here knows the right approach.

Don't know how to, practically speaking. Assuming I 

could, would a massive amount of desiccant work out?

Probably not, I tried on small scale with plastic bins

and dessicant including rock salt and silica. Rock salt doesn't 

suck enough, silica needs heating out often, like every month.

Typical dehumidifiers don't work when cold, they freeze up.

There are desiccant type dehumidifiers which are rated for lower temps.

I never owned one. But maybe that would be the way to go.

I don't care if it gets ice cold in there, just want no rust.

I was told keeping the temp 7 degrees above the dew point prevents

sweating. If that would prevent rust, I don't know. Would need a fancy weather based thermostat. Supposedly fans prevent sweating, but I don't think that is guaranteed. I doubt that will stop rust.

Insulating the shed would be expensive, but then I still have a heating bill,

although less as you spend more on sealing and insulating.

I think $290 per year with electric heat and dehumidification.

Hard to calculate. I extrapolated from my propane heated

430 sq ft spray foamed shop.

A headache, there is much I do not know.

don't close up the shed !!!

you need air flow.

All 4 of my D-14s had their own 9x12, 2 walled ,steel roofed shed.NEVER ever had humdidity problems, in 10 years.... never had vermin in there either....

didn't matter time of year, hot,cold,snow, rain,...no 'moisture' problems....

I think the problem in NY is he has a high humidity all the time... and the TRACTOR a stable temp due to its mass..... then the temp drops 20- 30 degrees at night and EVERYTHING starts to sweat... IF you exchange the air with vents, you still have the MASS of the tractor at one temp and the surrounding air is COOLER over a few hours.. Think of a glass of ice tea, setting on the table.. Within a few minutes it starts to sweat.. You could turn on a fan, etc... and it still sweats.

The only way to stop this is to maintain the AIR in the building at the same temp of the tractor.. or have a suggnificant drop in HUMIDITY in the room ( dehumidifier) as the air temp drops... Because the TRACTOR is going to stay stable.

I have a big open shed in Illinois , open sides, and it works great... There was one time several years ago when the steel roof and EVERY tractor was sweating on cold day in November.... i think it was VERY HUMID and warm for several days  and the temp dropped 30 degrees overhight.

Ventilation will help, but I doubt you are going to completely eliminate condensation without a vapor barrier and insulation with an air gap between the insulation and vapor barrier.