Safe Buying Guide
Your Comprehensive Guide to Buying Safes
Buying a safe seems like a simple task at first. However, if you are not well-educated regarding the different factors of a safe that make it efficient or not, then you may end up with a safe that is very different than what you truly need.
What are you protecting?
The first question you must ask yourself is: what are you planning on storing in the safe? Gun owners would be wise to store their firearms in a gun safe, especially if there are curious and wandering children around the house. It’s a good idea to put together a list of the items you wish to protect in your safe so that you can determine the size safe you will need.
Protecting Guns
While wood and glass gun cabinets are attractive and elegantly show off your firearms, they also display to children and burglars (if visible from a door or window) that you have these firearms in your home and available for use. Storing your guns in a gun safe is a safer and more secure way to ensure that the probing eyes and hands of curious children will stay away from your firearms.
Locks
There are three different types of locks that typically come on safes.
Key Locks
Generally, it is not recommended that you purchase a safe with a key lock. They tend not to be as sturdy and theft-proof as other locking mechanisms.
Keypad Locks
Keypad locks use a combination that is entered on a digital keypad. These provide excellent security. The “wrong try” lockout feature offers even more security, keeping hackers from trying more than a certain number of code combinations. You are also given the opportunity to create your own code, unlike with dial combination locks. Be sure to change your electronic lock battery at least once a year. Normally, this can be done on your own, without professional assistance. Also, be sure to relock your safe after opening it. Unlike dial combination locks, keypad locks do not lock automatically when the safe door is closed.
Dial Combination Locks
Combination locks are manually rotated on a dial. These locks are superior to key locks simply because the key to your safe could be found by curious kids, and this is just asking for an accident to happen. However, if a combination lock also has a key lock, this is double the protection and prevents the dial from being rotated.
Lock Bolts
Lock bolts are used to ensure the safety of the contents of your safe. Even if the hinges of the safe are destroyed or cut off, lock bolts will maintain your safe’s integrity. Seven is the magic number when it comes to lock bolts. This is the minimum number needed to efficiently secure your safe. Three of the bolts are located on each side of the door, and one would be located at the top.
More than seven lock bolts certainly increases the security of your safe, and lock bolts in more high quality safes tend to be located at the corners of the door, providing even more security. The recommended diameter of safe lock bolts is one inch. This makes the bolts virtually saw-proof.
Steel Thickness
When it comes to the security of a safe, the steel thickness is by far the most important factor to consider. Thin steel can easily be broken through with a fire ax and provides virtually no security.
If you live in an urban area where there is a greater likelihood that neighbors or passersby would hear a thief attempting to break in, thus deter the burglar earlier in the theft, your safe’s steel should have a minimum thickness of 12-gauge.
If you live in a rural area where a burglar could spend more time attempting to break the security of your safe, you should opt for a heavier thickness. The absolutely minimum should be 3/16 inch thickness, as this will deter most attacks with tools.
Those of you who plan on storing irreplaceable, sentimental items in your safe may want to take even further precautions and plan on steel thickness no less than ¼ inch.
Fire and Flood Protection
No safe currently being manufactured is fire proof simply because of technological limitations. Every safe is susceptible to fire and heat damage if exposed to high enough temperatures for a long enough time.
However, your safe can and should be fire resistant. Fire resistant safes are manufactured with materials that provide resistance to high temperatures for limited periods of time. Be sure to purchase a safe that is UL or OPL fire resistant certified. These are the only safes that have been put through extensive testing to ensure that they can withstand high temperatures for a limited period of time.
To further protect your belongings, store your safe in a place in your home where combustible material is decreased or absent. Ideally, keep your safe in the lowest point of the home, against an outside corner. This is the point of your home where the fire will typically reach last.
To prevent water damage, you want to make sure that all holes in the safe base and sides are sealed with heat-resistant silicone. It is also helpful if you mount your safe above ground level. Keep in mind that water protection is just as important as fire resistance, because the water that firefighters use to put out a fire can damage your safe’s contents just as badly as fire.
Extras
Some high quality safes include technological advances that will slow down a burglar’s attack on your safe, making him or her more likely to give up for fear of being detected. These may include:
- Hidden hinges
- Recessed doors
- Drill defectors
- Central placement of the door handle to cover up the direction of the door swing
- Positive locking systems
Before You Go Shopping...
• It’s a good idea to put together a list of the items you wish to protect in your safe so that you can determine the size safe you will need.
• Find out the maximum size that the safe can be. If you own your home, this depends wholly upon where you plan on placing your new safe. If you rent, you should first acknowledge concerns such as: stair access constraints, property modification restrictions, floor loading limitations, etc.
Dos and Dont's
• Do buy the largest safe possible. For whatever reason, safe owners all realize that once a safe is purchased, it is filled to the brim with firearms, ammunition, and other valuables. Your gun collection is also bound to grow over time, so you’ll be safe off purchasing a safe larger than what you think you need.
• Do purchase a safe that is UL or OPL fire resistant certified. These are the only safes that have been put through extensive testing to ensure that they can withstand high temperatures for a limited period of time.
• Do be sure to purchase a safe that has a UL listed lock. These locks are put under extensive testing to ensure that they will stand up to the roughest abuse.
• Do purchase a safe that has a UL Residential Burglary Certification. These safes have been worked upon by a team of expert safecrackers and have stood up to their attacks.
• Do add to your safe’s weight by storing your ammunition at the bottom of your safe.
• Do bolt lighter safes to the floor or wall. Otherwise, you are just inviting thieves to pick up your safe and remove it from the premises.
• Do consider hiding your safe from view. This can include placing it in a closet or attic. You can also invest in a safe that is installed in your wall and can be covered by a mirror or painting. At the very least, make sure that your safe is not visible from windows and doors.
• Do keep sentimental, irreplaceable items in a smaller safe within your larger, main safe. This will help to further protect your most treasured items from fire and flood.
• Do make sure that your safe has a good door seal. Good door seals help to keep moisture out of your safe, preventing rusting your firearms.
• Do install interior lighting in your safe. This will make the contents easier to see. Also, if a low-wattage bulb is kept on at all times in your safe, this can help to stave off moisture.
• Don’t store gun powder in your safe. Storing large quantities of powder in tightly-sealed metal boxes is the equivalent of a bomb waiting to go off.
• Don’t leave the wooden pallet (from moving the safe in) on your safe. This is inviting thieves to rent a pallet jack and steal your entire safe.
• Don’t leave power tools near your safe.