Posted: 10/5/2005 8:19:40 AM EDT
| Ok, here is my situation. I have started to accumulate enough firearms to where I think I really need a good safe. I live in a two story standalone condo with a two car garage and no basement. So first what is a good reasonably priced gun safe and second where the heck can I put one? I was looking around online and the ones I looked at are like 800-1500 lbs. My options are put it in the garage or my upstairs office. I don’t really want something that heavy upstairs and that might not even be feasible. From the little I know on the subject keeping it in the garage is probably a bad idea because the garage is not heated or cooled and it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter here. I might be able to squeeze it in on the ground floor but I think my wife will not allow a huge safe in her living room or kitchen. So what are my options here? |
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Don't sweat having it in your garage. First off, neither the heat nor the cold will affect your guns. It's the HUMIDITY that might. Get a Goldenrod dehumidifier (or equivalent), and you'll be fine. I kept my guns in a National Security safe in my garage in Miami florida for the better part of six years. Not a spot of rust anywhere. Goldenrods rule. Just remember to bolt it down to the concrete. As for protection, you have to make do with what you can afford, depending upon your needs. Ideally, I'd love to have a huge fireproof monster safe either built into a wall or even as a safe room. Unfortunately, I live in a second-story apartment, now, so I'm stuck with a gun cabinet bolted to the floor in a locked closet. That's what insurance is for. In my case, there is a fire sprinkler directly outside the closet, so from that standpoint I should be OK. I'm sure the advice will flow in. Good luck! |
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Oh, I'd love a bunker, but that will have to wait until I have my own home again, and one that I most likely won't be moving from for some time. As for Goldenrods, most decent gun stores and safe suppliers carry them. As for electric locks, they are all battery-powered, and I prefer them to the manuals. Much quicker and just as secure. The batteries on my NS lasted over 5 years. NEVER had a problem. Unless you live in a swamp and keep chlorine for the pool in the garage, no, keeping the safe in the garage (and using a GoldenRod or DampRid, etc.) should pose no trouble to your rifles at all. |
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I would love to have a bunker! I know someone with one built into there basement and its awesome! I dont have enough guns for a bunker and I dont have a basement so that kind of rules that out. I am just going to try and pickup a nice safe, goldenrod and whatever I need to bolt it to the garage floor. Thanks for the help. |
I got the sam's safe also seems pretty much OK so far, for the money |
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You might also check your local Wally World. This time of the year they sell gun safes and cabinets.... I just got a 14 gun electronic lock non fire lined Sentry for $349.00. ETA: I went for a lesser safe, with the fact that I'm moving from NY to  Wa State in 18 months. I needed just enough for security, while saving the money to put a mega safe into the retirement house.ETA2: Since this is my 2nd safe, getting the electronic lock version let me program the combo to be the same as the the mechanical lock on #1 safe. |
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If your looking for "security" then the minimum you want is a Champion Trophy Series 25, it has five lugs on each side and one on top and bottom, 1250° 45-minute fire rating and has a lifetime warrenty, if anyone ever breaks into a Champion they will replace the safe itself, no one has ever cracked one. It comes with a dial but can be upgraded to electronic. Champions are made by some guys who used to work for Liberty and started their own company. There are cheaper safes like the one at Sam's and others but they can be cracked within about twenty minutes if you know what to do, they usually only have four or five lugs on one side and one lug plus the hinges on the other side. Never get one with the hinges on the outside. If you have enough guns to require a safe then spend the money to protect them. I know this stuff because I'm a Locksmith and part of my job is to crack safes. I really love my job ... 
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I have a champion ch 35. 1350F for 1 hour fire rating, 995lbs. Champion might not be the cheapest safes out there, but for the money they are hard to beat. Safes you buy at sams/walmart/sears, etc are there for one thing. Price. If you just want a lock box they will do the job. But if you want a safe you are going to spend 1k+. One thing with safes now days, get them to take off the back door panel and look how the bolting system works. Then find out how the door is made. Some clame to have a 1" door, but are only 12ga Steel formed to look like 1". The U.L. rating on a gun safe is only a 5 min rating. It doesn't take much to get that rating so that is why you can get away with some chessey doors and locking systems in safes. I work for a safe store, and we are always on the look out for new brands to bring in. We have carried Liberty, Champion, Amsec, Gardall, and even the Winchesters. Right now the only safes I would put my guns in and not worry about is the Champion and the mid to higher end Amsecs (gardall makes gun safes but there only 4 models and way over price) and Ft Knox. Liberty is living off its name. They are on there 4th owner now and the safes are nothing like they used to be. Again just take off the door panel and look inside. If you want to see a really scary looking "safe" check out the inside of a Heritage safes door. Look really close to where the handle and the lock come togetter. And think about what would happen if a hammer where to hit the handle. As for a safe weight on your floor. We don't like to put more then a 1000lbs empty on a 1st level floor. It depends on the size and the foot print of the safe. Also have to think about how much stuff you are going to put in it and what it will weigh. Just remeber get what you want the 1st time around and get room to grow. P.S. Sorry for the bad spelling 
We won't even stock E-locks on the safes we sell. Way to many problems with them. They account for about 1% of the locks we sell, but give us 99% of the problems. |
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