Recommendation? Home safe

Joss

Joss

Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
7,351
I am looking for a good quality home safe, mostly for jewelry & a few knives when we're away for a few days (sometimes a couple weeks). We will probably put in it a few important papers as well (birth certificates and the like). Main concern is burglary protection, with fire a secondary concern. We're not in a flood prone zone (on hill top). We also have a security system in our house.

We're willing to invest in quality. We need something "mid size" & floor mounted / anchored. I like the idea of a safe heavy enough that it cannot be carried away by a couple guys. I think I would rather get something that's not reliant on electrical power, but I'm willing to change my mind on this if there's compelling reason to.

This is not meant as a gun safe, although I suppose there's no reason why a handgun wouldn't find its place in it. It's definitely not meant as a long gun and it doesn't need to be that big.

Thank you all for your help.
 
Rather than recommend a brand, I would recommend googling gun safe reviews and watching a ton of informative videos on testing safes. There are several levels of protection they have to endure to obtain certain govt. classifications. I know you didn't say "gun" safe, but using that as a search usually works quicker.

I have several friends who have purchased safes, and there is one thing they find common ground on. Buy double the size you think you'll need. And everyone ALWAYS says that with a totally straight face.
 
sodak said:
Buy double the size you think you'll need. And everyone ALWAYS says that with a totally straight face.
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+1

IMHO, if they aren't delivering the safe in a truck with 2-3 hulks bringing it into your house, you're wasting your time. And bolt it to the floor from the inside so someone can't just take it with them.
 
I have a Liberty safe, these safes never been breached in over 50 years. That's what the guy said at least. In case of fire it Also have a fire seal that seals when the heat gets to a certain temp. Liberty safe will come out, open your safe and replace it. I think I paid about $1,300 I can fit about six rifles Or more and plenty of ammo, knives, handguns and such. It's tapconed down to the concrete floor. image.jpg
 
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It weighs aver 700 ponds empty. The safe company I bought it from also does deliveries and installation. You need a special dolly to move these guys safely.

I'd look for some of the used ones, that are in good condition. The only thing I might do is get a key pad. Makes it a lot easier for access. And they always say, buy twice as big as you think you'll need. A lot of people up grade later they said to a bigger safe.
 
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Most "fire" safes use a gypsum or similar mineral barrier that relies on being slightly damp as well as thermal mass/poor conduction to prevent damage in a fire. They are terrible for long term storage. Also look up "how to open safes" lots of things that you will learn about what you want security wise, short version is, most safes can be opened pretty easily. Even if you don't ever have guns in a safe, if you are thinking that theft is the risk, the value of that grade of safe may well be worth it. A few hundred bucks for a safe that a kid can open with a fridge magnet is kinda a waste of time.
 
One thing to consider is how far you are from the police and the average response time. Some safes are rated to withstand 30 min of determined efforts by an experienced pair of thieves. If you are in a city, you are probably ok, but if you are out in the country, ...
 
As stated above Liberty makes a great safe for the money.
A good home security system, in addition to a large safe is another layer of protection.

Go as big and heavy as you can afford.
Those small safes are meant to keep kids and prying eyes off your stuff, not serious burglers.
 
I don't have a link handy now but I have yet to come across any serious reviews that ever recommend purchasing anything you can seriously call a safe from a big box store. In fact if what you are trying to secure will fit in a safety deposit box that would probably be your best bet. Really safes actually cost lots of money and even those do nothing but by you some time. Given the right tools and very little knowledge any safe can actually be cut into. So if you think something that only cost $1300 is a real safe I think your sadly mistaken. Thickness and weight don't always indicate how well it's made and can be rather deceptive. But do make sure it is bolted to the floor and check to see what it is actually made of. Do yourself a favor and do some searches on YouTube as their is a lot of information out there on safes and how good they actually are. The best safe in the world is only a deterrent and that's all they really are.
 
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Most don't have the money for a big and crazy ultra high tech safe ... and most thieves are not safe crackers ... and most don't bring cutting torches or thermite cutting tools to rob a house ... so unless you are stashing hundreds of thousands of dollars or lots of expensive jelewlry etc ... a good safe that is heavy and or bolted down is enough deterrent to keep your items safe.

I will say buy bigger than you think you need as you will end up putting more in it than you think.
 
Dddrees said:
I don't have a link handy now but I have yet to come across any serious reviews that ever recommend purchasing anything you can seriously call a safe from a big box store. In fact if what you are trying to secure will fit in a safety deposit box that would probably be your best bet. Really safes actually cost lots of money and even those do nothing but by you some time. Given the right tools and very little knowledge any safe can actually be cut into. So if you think something that only cost $1300 is a real safe I think your sadly mistaken. Thickness and weight don't always indicate how well it's made and can be rather deceptive. But do make sure it is bolted to the floor and check to see what it is actually made of. Do yourself a favor and do some searches on YouTube as their is a lot of information out there on safes and how good they actually are. The best safe in the world is only a deterrent and that's all they really are.
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That's kinda the point.
With the right tools, and enough time, a thief can open a bank vault.

You would need to bring power tools just to get access to my safes, and then it would take a plasma cutter to get into them in a reasonable time, and the security system would catch them.
This would require either previous knowledge of where they are, and alot of planning.
There isn't any cash, expensive jewelery, or gold in my safes, just some guns and ammo, and paperwork.
Hardly worth hours of risky time and lugging heavy duty tools to a home robbery.
 
@Ddrees - I gave a lot of info in the original post. I never said $1,300 was my limit (it's not).
 
Joss said:
@Ddrees - I gave a lot of info in the original post. I never said $1,300 was my limit (it's not).
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Never meant to say you did but maybe I should have quoted the guy who recommended the $1300 safe because that led me to make the statement that I made.
 
I was lucky and won a safe as a door prize at a gun store opening.

It is an AMSEC 8300 BF. WEIGHED 810 LBS EMPTY AND HAS MECHANICAL LOCK. I thought it was plenty big. but as time passes.

my comments

GO BIG
GO MECHANICAL LOCK
PRACTICE WITH COMBO.....IT IS NOT LIKE A HIGH SCHOOL LOCKER. you will go pass numbers 3-4 times. If your life depends on a gun inside the safe you should practice COMBO until it is automatic.
KEEP A FLASHLIGHT HANDY. MINE IS ON A CHAIN AND IS PLUGGED INTO A CHARGER.
I HAVE SOME MORE REDUNDANCY BUT DONT WANT TO SOUND WHACKAFOO
 
I'll add one thing. If you end up buying a serious safe, bolted to the floor, good security system, etc., then do one other thing.

Buy a relatively cheap (but gaudy) safe from a big box store and have it in a location that easier to find. It's called a decoy safe. If you are unlucky enough to experience home invasion and a bad guy puts a gun to your loved one's head and says "Where is your safe?", it's a good idea to have a decoy filled with relative junk. Maybe papers and a couple of cheap knives/guns.

Just a thought, I read about it somewhere, and it seemed to make sense.
 
If someone had a gun to one of my loved one's head they could have my house and everything in it all of it can be replaced except them
 
sodak said:
I'll add one thing. If you end up buying a serious safe, bolted to the floor, good security system, etc., then do one other thing.

Buy a relatively cheap (but gaudy) safe from a big box store and have it in a location that easier to find. It's called a decoy safe. If you are unlucky enough to experience home invasion and a bad guy puts a gun to your loved one's head and says "Where is your safe?", it's a good idea to have a decoy filled with relative junk. Maybe papers and a couple of cheap knives/guns.

Just a thought, I read about it somewhere, and it seemed to make sense.
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A home invasion at my home wouldn't go down like that.

 
Your not going to get a heads up there are too many what if's in a situation like that I would like to think I'm ready but you never know
 
mabrowns said:
Your not going to get a heads up there are too many what if's in a situation like that I would like to think I'm ready but you never know
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What makes you think that?
;)
My home is the wrong home to invade.
They would get loved tenderly.
 
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