OT - Recommended Safes/Dealers

RRP

WARNING: former banker side of me compounded with conservative old fart opinions follow: (LOL)

Except for gun safety issues at home if you really desire safety for your valuables then a safe deposit box at a bank is your best bet for sleeping soundly without worries. Weighting the annual rental cost versus the TRUE value of your secured valuables is something only YOU can decide and certainly nothing to be discussed on this BBQ forum.

Granted with that that said I still use a small safe at home for temporary safe storage between trips to the bank. I doubt some thief will sneak into our humble abode, get past our 4 legged security alarm a.k.a. a fearsome 16 pound Westie and attempt to "crack open" that safe or hauling it off without us hearing a peep! (However then the secured pistol vault becomes valuable.)

So really what was important to me when I was shopping was the fire ratings and water proofing. Just like @fishlessman said safes can be securely anchored to basement floors and firemen have a great reputation for saving basements! 

WeberWho

You can get it decked out with all kinds of accessories. The most common are led light strips and dehumidifiers. These will be included in higher end gun safes. 

Ozzie_Isaac

RRP said:

WARNING: former banker side of me compounded with conservative old fart opinions follow: (LOL)

Except for gun safety issues at home if you really desire safety for your valuables then a safe deposit box at a bank is your best bet for sleeping soundly without worries. Weighting the annual rental cost versus the TRUE value of your secured valuables is something only YOU can decide and certainly nothing to be discussed on this BBQ forum.

Granted with that that said I still use a small safe at home for temporary safe storage between trips to the bank. I doubt some thief will sneak into our humble abode, get past our 4 legged security alarm a.k.a. a fearsome 16 pound Westie and attempt to "crack open" that safe or hauling it off without us hearing a peep! (However then the secured pistol vault becomes valuable.)

So really what was important to me when I was shopping was the fire ratings and water proofing. Just like @fishlessman said safes can be securely anchored to basement floors and firemen have a great reputation for saving basements! 

Problem here, is I have to then go to the bank.  I am horribly unorganized, and you would be shocked to know the number of times I need some random paper or document at 7pm on Saturday night.  Planning ahead to get things is not my strong suit.

Plus, around me, many banks no longer offer that service.  I wish they did, and wish they didn't work bankers hours.

WeberWho

Do you need a vending machine?

https://youtu.be/1AwVrqcQpe8

caliking

Re: bank safe deposit boxes, they are becoming harder to come by. Down here, banks are getting out of that business, especially after Harvey and other flood events. 

ColbyLang

Ozzie_Isaac said:

ColbyLang said:

@Ozzie_Isaac, check out Liberty and Browning Legacy Series. My 2 are Brownings. One has firearms and cash. The other is firearm overflow and important documents. The second has shelves and document holders on the door. Both weigh 6-700# empty. They ain’t leaving without me. 

What sizes?  I could fill a 48" easy, but seems like two 36" or even 28" would be better.

I have 2 36”. My good bolt action guns with high end optics, My AR’s and all my pistols and class 3 stuff in one. Everything else in the other with documents. It claims to hold 32 guns. I’ve got 10 long guns and 14 pistols in it. 5 suppressors. It’s full to my comfort level 

chard

I have a Liberty Lincoln. Only regret is not going bigger, as others have said.

fishlessman

Pretty much I can get into a safe.  It's really not that hard.  The door lock side is hard, there's five other sides. I turned a five by five x four foot deep safe into a welding rod locker

lousubcap

Safes are like closets and refrigerators-regardless of size, they will always get filled. 

stlcharcoal

JohnInCarolina said:

alaskanassasin said:

I prefer a key pad over a dial knob

Only one of those is likely to survive a fire.

True, but the electronics are inside the safe......not in the keypad.  So if the keypad breaks or someone tries to screw with it, you can get get a new one and still enter the same code to open it.  It's just three wires running to the board inside somewhere inside the door.  It's actually a little safer than a dial lock since there's only a tiny little hole in the exterior.  Also, the techs know where to drill on your safe.  If there's fire, there's a good chance the door isn't going to open without some help either.

Terpderpitude

Ozzie_Isaac

stlcharcoal said:

JohnInCarolina said:

alaskanassasin said:

I prefer a key pad over a dial knob

Only one of those is likely to survive a fire.

True, but the electronics are inside the safe......not in the keypad.  So if the keypad breaks or someone tries to screw with it, you can get get a new one and still enter the same code to open it.  It's just three wires running to the board inside somewhere inside the door.  It's actually a little safer than a dial lock since there's only a tiny little hole in the exterior.  Also, the techs know where to drill on your safe.  If there's fire, there's a good chance the door isn't going to open without some help either.

As a kid we were messing around with my friend's dad's safe.  He bet me I couldn't open it.  I won the bet.  That started my fascination with security devices and locks.  

fishlessman

I'm thinking the safe crackers are not coming to my house to open the safe but I do have my first post as as an egghead locked away in there as well as my first dollar and a rock I kicked over as a kid

JohnfromKentucky

I have a Liberty safe rebranded as Cabelas. My son worked there, got the black friday discount then employee discount, so this cost me $500. The Fire King safe was left there by previous owner.  I prefer the electronic lock...MUCH easier to open. But I think the Fire King has a better fire rating.

RRP

caliking said:

Re: bank safe deposit boxes, they are becoming harder to come by. Down here, banks are getting out of that business, especially after Harvey and other flood events. 

Doc...I do understand. Again I know I'm showing my age, but many if not ALL little satellite bank branches don't have the basic VERY expensive MASSIVE vault doors, much less the super secured walls, nor the square footage itself. BUT you know what else is driving up that cost? INSURANCE which includes just how the bank personnel handle access to a customer's SD box. My last bank had such lousy practices I quit...even though I really knew my box would be safe, but why waste $45 a year wondering if that clown might forget to close that vault door, which in my estimation wouldn't last 5 minutes by a "burning bar"! Insurance rates can be HORRIBLE when even a can opener might get an experienced bank robber access.

No thanks...I went back to a home office facility with a SDB vault and personnel who knew how to verify access etc.

And, yes a small temporary vault at home to secure "stuff" until I get back there!

Again..."your" valuation of the items YOU want to secure is YOUR call.

Ozzie_Isaac

RRP said:

caliking said:

Re: bank safe deposit boxes, they are becoming harder to come by. Down here, banks are getting out of that business, especially after Harvey and other flood events. 

Doc...I do understand. Again I know I'm showing my age, but many if not ALL little satellite bank branches don't have the basic VERY expensive MASSIVE vault doors, much less the super secured walls, nor the square footage itself. BUT you know what else is driving up that cost? INSURANCE which includes just how the bank personnel handle access to a customer's SD box. My last bank had such lousy practices I quit...even though I really knew my box would be safe, but why waste $45 a year wondering if that clown might forget to close that vault door, which in my estimation wouldn't last 5 minutes by a "burning bar"! Insurance rates can be HORRIBLE when even a can opener might get an experienced bank robber access.

No thanks...I went back to a home office facility with a SDB vault and personnel who knew how to verify access etc.

And, yes a small temporary vault at home to secure "stuff" until I get back there!

Again..."your" valuation of the items YOU want to secure is YOUR call.

Everything is insured under its own rider, so that helps some of the peace of mind.  However, many items are irreplaceable.

fishlessman

my safe is an old bank vault mosler.  probably 3 times heavier than the new ones. nobody is going to steal it.  i would go with an old one and dress it up with some paint. big brass dial looks nice

Ozzie_Isaac

fishlessman said:

my safe is an old bank vault mosler.  probably 3 times heavier than the new ones. nobody is going to steal it.  i would go with an old one and dress it up with some paint. big brass dial looks nice

I had a friend who stored his in a carport.  Bolted down and covered with a ratty tarp.

fishlessman

Ozzie_Isaac said:

fishlessman said:

my safe is an old bank vault mosler.  probably 3 times heavier than the new ones. nobody is going to steal it.  i would go with an old one and dress it up with some paint. big brass dial looks nice

I had a friend who stored his in a carport.  Bolted down and covered with a ratty tarp.

they still can get stolen though. a friends ramp truck went missing one night and they used the winch thru the drivethru window to grab a safe. and the big supermarket chain here was losing atm machines, guy hid inside the storage area and when it was late he jumped on the forktruck, grabbed the atms and crashed out thru the front door to a waiting truck. not sure i would leave it outside. where theres a will, theres a way

DuckDogDr

@Ozzie_Isaac

PM me… I can’t figure out on here

RRP

I would avoid a plywood vault, even if it has a h/d combination dial>>>



and also skip the metal vaults made by POW in 1917 out of spent cannon casings!

Ybabpmuts

Why would they use a spent casing for a vault. By it's very mature, the contents have already been spent. It's a decoy, isn't it? You have all of your real valuables inside a live cannon vault somewhere don't you. Very sneaky I must say.

Ozzie_Isaac

Ybabpmuts said:

Why would they use a spent casing for a vault. By it's very mature, the contents have already been spent. It's a decoy, isn't it? You have all of your real valuables inside a live cannon vault somewhere don't you. Very sneaky I must say.

*Nature

Botch

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Ybabpmuts said:

Why would they use a spent casing for a vault. By it's very mature, the contents have already been spent. It's a decoy, isn't it? You have all of your real valuables inside a live cannon vault somewhere don't you. Very sneaky I must say.

*Nature

(that's his "safe" word)