Home Safe (Vanity)

Vanity

[Lima_Two_Zero_Alpha]

I am trying to buy a good home safe. My wife wants a combination lock and I want a key-board (push button) safe. Does anyone know of any advantage of one over the other? Also,what is the best brand.

Sorry for the vanity but I am desperate to get away from the banks.

[Sax]

Are you calling my asfe big? Thems fightin’ words!

[mkjessup]

I have no recommendation on which type of safe you ought to buy, except for this:

Buy TWO safes, one of the highest possible quality for securing cash, valuables, etc., and then a second safe, into which you store perhaps a few hundred dollars, some paste/fake diamonds and 'rare' gemstones, maybe some fake gold and silver bars, and 'hide' it behind the usual painting on the wall, perhaps even scrawl the combination on the wall next to it, while the FIRST safe (which holds your reaaally valuable stuff) is hidden exceptionally well, perhaps in the floor under the carpet in your living room, the kitchen (again in the floor) beneath the range or fridge, I'm sure you can think of some other locations as well.

Let the thieves raid the second safe and think they're getting away with something. Might even put a GPS in one of those fake silver bars too. Heh.

[SF_Redux]

in the old days, they would put goods in a jar or can and pull a fence post and put it in under it

[SF_Redux]

how much safe can you handle, they snatch ATM’s out like cattle thieves

[MrB]

Buy a drop safe for the basement floor and keep it under a sturdy piece of furniture.

Buy another wall or floor bolted safe and keep some small amount of cash/valuables in it.

The latter is for the time that the home invaders are holding a gun to your wife/daughter’s head and demanding you open the safe and give them your valuables.

[SargeK]

It’s not the lock, its the overall construction. Most home safes are designed for fire resistance more than burglary resistance. Even most bank vaults today don’t have more than about an R4 burglary rating. They rely on the alarm systems, which are a lot harder to beat than the physical safe.

I have gotten into weak safes in five minutes flat with an angle grinder. Time becomes immaterial once the burglar gets it out of the premises. That’s why floor safes used to be so popular, they are imbedded in concrete.

Look for mass, plate steel construction, preferably 1/8 inch or better (don’t buy anything-guage), fully welded tubular door frame (to resist peeling), all-round locking bolts, collapsing lock mechanism.

Above all, SECRECY! Some of these safes have beautiful graphics and paint jobs. Resist the temptation to show it off. Anchor it well into the structure. Pay for a first class alarm system. Know if there will be a timely armed response to the alarm (most jurisdictions these days regard residential burlgary alarms as a nuisance and a very low priority call). Arm yourself - if word gets out, the bad guys may not bother to break into the safe. They’ll invade your house at 3:00 AM and put a gun to your kid’s head and make YOU open it.

All that having been said, you are still taking an awful chance if you keep your life savings in it. Most often, in my experience the safe burglary is committed by, instigated by or facilitated by a family member or friend.

Just my two cents from a lifetime in LE.

[Nervous Tick]

>> Buy TWO safes &etc

Not a bad idea! Thanks.

Around here there have been a rash of home invasions. The first thing the perps have been asking is “Where’s the safe?” Not clear if they’re hitting places they *know* have safes, or if it’s just a robber’s strategem.

Mrs. Tick and I have been kicking around how we’d answer that question if it were put to us. Assuming we didn’t get a chance to blow them away.

[Lady Lucky]

Do a search for “hidden door” and consider some home improvement. It’s fun; it’ll take your mind off safes and put it on vaults.

[Slings and Arrows]

Vertical stripes are slimming.

[woodbutcher1963]

Combination safe and make sure you BOLT it to the floor , preferrable to the concrete floor in the basement.

There was a show TV where two former buglars would break into your house. They always brought a hand truck with them to move a safe. They said the biggest mistake people make is to not bolt them to the floor, preferrably concrete in the basement. Plus the basement will not get as hot in a fire and the safe is more likely to survive.

[goseminoles]

Freeper need a safe? Find a Liberty safe dealer in your area.

[woodbutcher1963]

I knew a guy who kept the cash from his corner store in a coffee can on the shelf at night. He left the cash register empty and open. I do not think he had a safe.

[Kirkwood]

A push button lock will show a shine over the buttons that are pressed most often. Someone can figure out the combination in a short time.

A combination lock takes longer to open and is subject to misdialing when you are trying to hurry.

[bgill]

Canning jar

Flower bed

[wolfcreek]

There ya go, giving away ‘state’ secrets again. ;>)

[Charles Martel]

Check some of the gun forums for advice; there have been problems with the electronic keypad locks. The lock mechanisms are pretty much the same regardless of the size of the safe.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Electronic Keypad vs convential dial

The electronic keypad is faster in an emergency. The numbers are big and easier to see for elderly of those with poor vision.

It is easier to manipulate if you shake or have arthritis.

You have to change the batteries annually that power the electronics. If you forget, then you may get locked out of your safe and need a locksmith to open it. I think newer safes have external battery leads so you can take a battery and still get into your safe.

Of course, if your battery dies when you haven’t used it in a while and you don’t have a spare on hand, then you have to go to the store and get one. That may or may not be fine. Maybe OK for a home money/jewelry safe, but I would not want to be locked out of a gun safe when I needed to get in.

Electronics can go bad over time and the lock suddenly doesn’t work, for example a loose wire or broken battery terminal. So there is a higher failure rate with electronic keypad locks.

Dial safes are more foolproof with a lower failure rate and you can’t get locked out unless you forget your combination. They are slower and more complicated to activate so if you haven’t done it in a while, it can be frustrating. If your memory is really bad, you may lose track of how many spins you did in each direction.

FWIW, I recommend that you program the lock with your own custom numbers, even if you need a locksmith to do it. If you are buying a new safe with a dial, I am sure the selling company will be happy to program the dial with your custom numbers.

It is FAR FAR easier to remember numbers near and dear to you than a set of random meaningless numbers. Shoot, you can pick birthdays, favorite cartridge caliber, favorite month of the year, shoe size, dress size, TV channel. It doesn’t matter. But the fact you chose the numbers from something important makes it far easier to remember and you will be less likely to leave them written on paper somewhere the burglar can find it.

[Iron Munro]

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple.

Do you trust an electronic lock system powered by a battery to never have a problem or go bad?

I can’t reall anything electronic we have ever had that was trustworthy or didn’t eventually fail.

We’re getting ready to toss out our second $1,200 refrigerator because the electronics on both kept going haywire.
If someone still manufactured one with an 1980’s technology without all the electronics, dampers, fans, thermisters, etc. I would buy it.

If I was buying a safe of any type I would opt for the one without electronics.

Just one man’s opinion.....

[Iron Munro]

Somewhere on the net there must be a larger ASFE graphic.

[impimp]

Don’t get “sentry safe” brand as the door doesn’t close well.