I know you can go crazy on options, and I know that obviously more metal or whatever is obviously better than less metal, but at some point you just hit heavy diminishing returns on things.

Trying to figure out what would be worthwhile and dumb to pass up and what is nice to have, but definitely not needed.

Was looking at a Sturdy Safe and I am assuming the fire protection is probably the only thing I'd need; but who here has a Sturdy and whats your thoughts on them and the upgrades?

their type of fire protection has not been tested or studied for efficacy, and on this forum, only from what ive read, it is recommended that buying their fire protection is a waste of money.

If fire protection is important to you, I would look elsewhere.  Their fire liner is controversial at best, and there is limited evidence it's effective.

Sturdy is good if your looking for steel with no fire protection.  I would focus on their steel upgrades, and get as much as your budget, or weight limitations, will allow. The 4ga body upgrade is pretty affordable on most of their sizes.

it would also be cheaper(more work), to fire retard a room.  cant really fire proof it but you can prolong it.  Drywall is usually in safes to give it fire rating.  gun safes at least.  There are other things.

Anyway, there is type x drywall for fire resistance.  I had a room in my last house that had 3 layers of it.  I think when I was done with the room it was rated at 1 hr 30 minutes of fire resistance.  If you have that option of course

Sturdy is definitely a way to get one hell of a cheap box.

there is also fire resistant pain, and caulk that expands upon heat so you can really make a nice room

I would put the safe in the corner and upgrade the steel thickness on the exposed side and top, just my .02

id buy a amsec bf and stick with a known/trusted system.i looked into sturdy and talked with terry,but ended up with a amsec. i looked at it as a 1 time purchase and cheaping out was not the way to go

pete

I'm going to make a post in the near future showing a failure with this system.  All of them have the potential to not live up to expectations.

As mentioned above, I would probably not get the fire liner if I bought anohter Sturdy.
When I got mine, it seemed like for the price you really got a lot more than competitors in terms of thickness of steel etc.  I still think Sturdy may be the best value.
There are a lot of posts on here talking about Sturdy's fire insulation and it is probably not all that effective.  I liked the idea of it since most of the others use drywall which releases water vapor as part of the process of cooling/preventing heat transfer.  I don't like the idea of my guns getting soaked in a steam bath.
I'd probably consider getting something like a Sturdy, and building a box of drywall around it.  Won't work on the door side, of course....

I have two Sturdy Safes: one with fire lining and one without. The non-fire-lined safe I have is a 36Wx27Dx60H and the only upgrade option it has is the interior #3 which has the center support to allow the shelves to hold 150lbs each ... a great option. The second safe I purchased is their 32Wx24Dx60H which has as options the 4ga body 3/8" steel door upgrade plus additional 7ga side panels that extend behind the door jamb and also a piece of 7ga that adds to the roof steel thickness and it is one bad-ass gunsafe. If I had it all to do again, I'd just be buying the configuration of the second safe and adding more as needed.

IMO the worthwhile upgrade options are as follows in the order of importance and this is just my own opinion:

1. Upgrade steel from the standard 7ga body and 5/16" door to 4ga body and 3/8" door.
2. Add fire lining
3. Add stainless steel door plate to protect lockbox
4. Add side and roof reinforcing 7ga steel inner plate.
5. Plate entire door with stainless instead of just lock-box

Beyond all the above, I'd be looking for a good used TL rated safe and upgrade whatever support structures in my home that would be needed to hold a 3K to 5K lbs safe. In the TL case I likely would be sacrificing fire protection over what the Sturdy offers so I'd also be budgeting for some sort of supplemental fire protection which in the end would be a quite costly project.

I think if I was to order a sturdy I would get the non firelined safe with the steel upgrades.i would then fireproof the room I put it in with a couple extra layers of sheetrock.im not sold on any of their fire claims.the fact that they advertise compressing in the insulation seems even more fishy as compressed insulation doesn't work nearly as well.

to be honest I think this is the best bet in all areas that have a safe(no matter who manufactures it. preventing the fire from getting to the safe will help the contents way more than the best fireproofing .even putting a sprinkler head or two in the room with the safe seems to be a great idea if the area will never freeze.

it really comes down to how far you live from the fire dept and if wildfires are a concern.

I'd still look at a safe manufacturer that actually tests their safes in a lab.
pete

I have a Sturdy that I bought about 18 months ago.  I upgraded to the 4 ga body, 7ga panels in the sides,and  upgraded S&G lock with key.  I have an alarm system that will cover the fire risk, so I figured more steel was best and you do have more inside room and storage on the door.  Unless you are far from a fire station, I would forego  the fire liner and put that money into an alarm.  I purchased a simplisafe  system and am very happy with the system to far.

I haven't been on Sturdy's website in a while but I noticed that the 10ga stainless steel inner liner is an option at a reasonable price. For whatever reason and I can't remember if it was not available or if the stainless  was really expensive but I went with adding 7ga plates to the body and roof. If you ever have had to cut, drill or torch stainless steel you will know it is a very difficult metal to work with so had to do again with the reasonable cost of the option I would have put the 10ga stainless in the safe to replace the standard inner liner.

1. Upgrade steel from the standard 7ga body and 5/16" door to 4ga body and 3/8" door.
2. Add fire lining
3. Add stainless steel door plate to protect lockbox
4. 10ga Inside stainless steel inner liner ( replacing 7ga inner steel plate.)
5. Plate entire door with stainless instead of just lock-box

the problem with just steel is the fact that grinders and plasma cutters make fast work of steel,you really need some sort of composite material that will slow down both the metal cutting blade and stop a plasma by not letting it blow thru.
sturdy safes are definatly thick steel but until i see some sort of ul testing on both their fireproofing,my .02 is i'll stick with the big boys in the safe business.you roll your dice and take your chances,hope you never need to test it.
pete

If someone is going to be toting around a plasma cutter with the intention of cutting open a safe in a residential setting, they will also just bring an exothermic lance and do it the right way. And probably set the house on fire with either one...

We have a small exothermic torch for rescue work in my firehouse and it will cut metal, stone, bricks and concrete like a hot knife through butter. But I think the damage it would do to the items inside once it breached the safe wall would make it useless for a small residential safe. A plasma cutter would have the same effect spraying sparks and flame all around the inside as soon as it pierced the wall. I have no doubt it would set fire to the lining and any combustables before you had a hole big enough to get anything out

Has anyone ever had a sturdy safe actually in a fire?

I'd go with everyone else recommendations about upgrade.  Get the 4 ga body, 3/8th inch door, and then more steel where you feel appropriate.

I was on the fence about fire lining.  In the end I went with it. I don't regret it, but I'm still not sure it was necessary

http://youtu.be/CboBAf597uU

This guy has apparently had one in a fire, not mine.

Sturdy had a short interview-type video on their Facebook page back in May or June. The interviewee said he had suffered a house fire and the room his safe was in was totally destroyed but he said the safe's contents were intact.

Apparently no photos were taken of the safe or the home, unfortunately.

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I have seen complete burn downs where cardboard shoe boxes survived intact.  Most people do not know what they are looking at when it comes to a fire, or the safe that was inside.  They can easily assume the safe did a job that it didn't really do.  I have several photos of safes that "protected the contents" during serious fires, but the dial is still on the safe.......

My former boss suffered a house fire aboout ten years ago.  He lived in a rural area so the fire department took awhile to arrive.  A big portion of his house burned to the ground.  He had a big box store Winchester.  It didn't fare well.  Nor did its contents.

There seems to be plenty of anecdotal evidence for and against Sturdy's fire lining. But I don't think most people who are looking at Sturdy Safes are doing so with fire protection as a #1 goal. The main attraction to the Sturdy is the thicker steel and the "form follows function" industrial appearance.

Terry seems pretty good at making videos for his YouTube channel. He has a new one up now showing some of how he makes his doors. Maybe eventually he can make a video about the fire lining. Maybe stick a safe in a big dumpster and surround it by pallets or something.

Anyway, as I have said before, I believe something like the Ft Knox M2 is a "best buy" for those wanting a good bit of steel and a tested fire liner. Price, depending on size, is pretty comparable to a similar fire lined Sturdy and Ft Knox is an industry member here on ARFCOM.



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