nmurph
Senior Member
On the dehumidifiers- I read up bf I bought and the consensus was that if the safe was indoors with central HVAC, then a dehumidifier was not needed. I didn't buy one. That was in 2005 and none of my guns show any signs of rust.
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Gun Safe
- Thread starter lildorris00
- Start date
Bob Wallace
Senior Member
A few things to consider when buying a safe...Holes for wires for dehumidifiers in a safe will bring down your fire protection rating I believe. If fire is a concern and you can deal with changing out humidity beads every so often then maybe look at one with the hole; Buy one with internal hinges and not external hinges; buy one with as many locking bars as you can find; check the thickness of the steel and go with the thickest you can afford; I like digital "dials while others like to spin a wheel to open it.
Placement is also very important. I placed mine with the non hinged side closest to the wall to limit any prying ability a bad guy may use.
Placement is also very important. I placed mine with the non hinged side closest to the wall to limit any prying ability a bad guy may use.
Bob Wallace
Senior Member
same here. I went with the extra 30 minutes of fire protection. I live in South Florida and all my guns are just fine.
frankwright
Senior Member
I agree with all the things said above. You can't have too big of a safe.
I bought these rods and velcro sheet and I can fit way more guns into my safe now. I got rid of the slots and rifle holders.
Just glue or staple this in place, drop a plastic rod down the barrel and stick the rod to the roof or shelf bottom.
One of the few things that works as well as advertised.
You can find it online, this is just one example.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00570T3R4/ref=s9_acsd_al_bw_c_x_1_w
I bought these rods and velcro sheet and I can fit way more guns into my safe now. I got rid of the slots and rifle holders.
Just glue or staple this in place, drop a plastic rod down the barrel and stick the rod to the roof or shelf bottom.
One of the few things that works as well as advertised.
You can find it online, this is just one example.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00570T3R4/ref=s9_acsd_al_bw_c_x_1_w
Miguel Cervantes
Jedi Master
This is a pry test video from the Liberty Safe website, will make you stop and think before buying cheap.
http://www.libertysafe.com/entry-level-pry-test-lm-videos-c-1-p-2735.html
Alot of good info and other videos on their website. Be sure and read their lifetime warranty.
http://www.libertysafe.com/
http://www.libertysafe.com/entry-level-pry-test-lm-videos-c-1-p-2735.html
Alot of good info and other videos on their website. Be sure and read their lifetime warranty.
http://www.libertysafe.com/
Jester896
Senior Clown
I like those too and just picked up enough to do Mine from the GM Close Out.
I see a few misconceptions
Gun Safe Fire Protection (most cases):
they protect the contents from reaching 350° in a 1250-1400° fire for their respective protection range, 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes at the designated temperature with a dry liner.
Record Safe Fire Protection:
they protect the contents from reaching 350° in a 1700° fire for 1-2 hours depending on the rating with a moisture releasing liner in most cases
Data Safe Fire Protection:
they protect the contents from reaching 125° in a 1700°
fire for the respective 1 hour rating.
get your wife to fire off the oven to 350° and place a printed document on the rack (nothing you want to keep)...unless it is written on Parchment you may loose the document.
Hinges:
Canceled hinges will only allow the door to open about 120°. Some companies used those as dead man pins as well ( so you can't get the door open if you defeat the hinge).
Exposed Hinges allow the door to swing open 180° and there are generally the same dead man pins on the hinge side of those as well...if you cut the hinge off you still can't open the door.
Mechanical locks may last more than a lifetime with service intervals.
Electronic locks may not last a lifetime but boy are they convenient.
Even Liberty has a line they import.
To my knowledge all Browning safes are made by ProSteel right here in Merica
Winchester Safes are imported by Granite I believe.
Graffunder... hands down the best safe in the world.
I did find the liberty video amusing... they started the competitors safes on the corners and talked about how weak the corners are then started prying on theirs right in the middle. lol
Before everyone jumps me, I had a liberty , they suck compared to graffunder, liberty is still just a press brake bent safe, graffunder is a welded steel burglary safe, 1" solid plate doors with a gap around the edge that you can't get a credit card in much less a pry bar (that's a very important thing, press bent safes have lower tolerances therefore bigger gaps around the door), 1" locking bolts, 1/2" walls with 1.5" of fireproofing then another layer of 3/16" steel and weighs in at 3,600 lbs.
The only thing most cheap safes do is put all of your valuables in one spot to be stolen quicker... you'd be better off having them spread around the house hidden.
I did find the liberty video amusing... they started the competitors safes on the corners and talked about how weak the corners are then started prying on theirs right in the middle. lol
Before everyone jumps me, I had a liberty , they suck compared to graffunder, liberty is still just a press brake bent safe, graffunder is a welded steel burglary safe, 1" solid plate doors with a gap around the edge that you can't get a credit card in much less a pry bar (that's a very important thing, press bent safes have lower tolerances therefore bigger gaps around the door), 1" locking bolts, 1/2" walls with 1.5" of fireproofing then another layer of 3/16" steel and weighs in at 3,600 lbs.
The only thing most cheap safes do is put all of your valuables in one spot to be stolen quicker... you'd be better off having them spread around the house hidden.
nmurph
Senior Member
99.9% of the residential burglars are looking for a quick pick. They aren't burglar crews like you see in movies (I've been a part of a company and had a store that was hit by one of these crews...they are looking to score hundreds of thousands of dollars). They are only interested in what they can grab in a couple of minutes. The average home owner's gun safe is more than adequate to stop the drug-fueled crook.
Sure there are better safes than Liberty, if you want and can afford a 3,600 pound solid plate steel safe. These conversations are generally however, the best quality versus cost available. Liberty wins.
I looked right at and put my hands on a Browning branded safe at Bass Pro that was made in China, no more than a year ago.
I looked right at and put my hands on a Browning branded safe at Bass Pro that was made in China, no more than a year ago.
Jester896
Senior Clown
Provided it is anchored
I don't have a problem with Liberty Safes. Their Higher end units are very good. They used to import their low end units but it seems they are "Made In USA" now. I do not know if they are final assembled here or completely made here.
I do not know of any Browning imported safes. I would be good with comparing their high end units very close to or equal to Ft Knox. Every one on their site is Made In USA. I do not know if they import a line and sell them exclusively at BPS and Cabelas.
quality versus costs depends on who's doing the prying or pulling... watch liberty's videos and they're always the hardest to get into, watch anyone else's and it's the same.
Got 2 or 3 guns? sure throw em in whatever, but there's people on here talking about 25+ gun safes... that's a lot of money in guns, most insurance companies wont cover that kind of collection without an actual burglar safe.
First thing you have to realize is those "safes" aren't safes at all, they're "residential security containers", they're not a class b or c or any type of safe, look at the UL rating for a liberty safe, it'll say "security listed UL 8M10 residential security cabinet" or RSC.
UL 8M10 is the rating for a cabinet that can withstand entry for five minutes using pry bars of 18" or less and hammers 3 lbs or less, bring a 36" pry bar and you've doubled the pressure they could put on it. (UL 8M10 is just for the door, if all areas of the cabinet were tested it would say UL 8M10 X6, with the UL 8M10 you may still be able to take the pry bar and punch a hole in the side.)
Fire ratings... These fire ratings are created by the gun "safe" manufacturers with no oversight. Each manufacturer has their own system. UL certified safes will have three standard class ratings. UL Class 350-1, UL Class 350-2 and UL Class 350-3. If your safe does not have a UL class 350 certification then it is not fireproof. UL Laboratories will not give RSC – Residential Security Containers a fire rating because they don’t meet the basic fire proof standards.
The market has been hopped up for yrs and now it's full of garbage products that people are paying ridiculous amounts of money for what they're getting.
Got 2 or 3 guns? sure throw em in whatever, but there's people on here talking about 25+ gun safes... that's a lot of money in guns, most insurance companies wont cover that kind of collection without an actual burglar safe.
First thing you have to realize is those "safes" aren't safes at all, they're "residential security containers", they're not a class b or c or any type of safe, look at the UL rating for a liberty safe, it'll say "security listed UL 8M10 residential security cabinet" or RSC.
UL 8M10 is the rating for a cabinet that can withstand entry for five minutes using pry bars of 18" or less and hammers 3 lbs or less, bring a 36" pry bar and you've doubled the pressure they could put on it. (UL 8M10 is just for the door, if all areas of the cabinet were tested it would say UL 8M10 X6, with the UL 8M10 you may still be able to take the pry bar and punch a hole in the side.)
Fire ratings... These fire ratings are created by the gun "safe" manufacturers with no oversight. Each manufacturer has their own system. UL certified safes will have three standard class ratings. UL Class 350-1, UL Class 350-2 and UL Class 350-3. If your safe does not have a UL class 350 certification then it is not fireproof. UL Laboratories will not give RSC – Residential Security Containers a fire rating because they don’t meet the basic fire proof standards.
The market has been hopped up for yrs and now it's full of garbage products that people are paying ridiculous amounts of money for what they're getting.
Jester896
Senior Clown
Spot on.
I also believe there are things that can be done to aid in this shortfall. Anchor the safe and keep in mind that it is top heavy and crates its own pry bar by being 5 or 6' tall. Put it in a spot that it can't be rocked as much. Put the leading edge against the wall to make it more difficult to get the pry bar in in most cases. Look for one with a sheet steel door instead of a brake type door mentioned above.
They are really only suitable for guns, yet people put all kinds of thing in them that they will most likely loose in a fire.
Not many people can afford an X6 composite type safe, but that is what they truly need. Maybe they could if they had 10 less factory type guns that should just about cover its cost. That also brings another problem into play. Raised Residential flooring is only designed to hold 600# in a 3' sq area and 300# on second floor levels.
I also believe there are things that can be done to aid in this shortfall. Anchor the safe and keep in mind that it is top heavy and crates its own pry bar by being 5 or 6' tall. Put it in a spot that it can't be rocked as much. Put the leading edge against the wall to make it more difficult to get the pry bar in in most cases. Look for one with a sheet steel door instead of a brake type door mentioned above.
They are really only suitable for guns, yet people put all kinds of thing in them that they will most likely loose in a fire.
Not many people can afford an X6 composite type safe, but that is what they truly need. Maybe they could if they had 10 less factory type guns
that should just about cover its cost. That also brings another problem into play. Raised Residential flooring is only designed to hold 600# in a 3' sq area and 300# on second floor levels.
Thunder Head
Gone but not forgotten
I went out and bought a safe after my friend was robbed. He was only gone for 45 minutes. He had his guns spread out and hid all over the house. They found all of them but one. The also found both places he had some cash hid.
Get a big one.
According to my fire fighter buddies the whole fire rating thing is a joke.
I put mine in a closet. Bolted thru the floor and reinforced underneath.
Get a big one.
According to my fire fighter buddies the whole fire rating thing is a joke.
I put mine in a closet. Bolted thru the floor and reinforced underneath.
specialk
Senior Member
don't put all your eggs in one basket either........
ryanh487
Senior Member
A safe won't do much to protect your guns in a fire, because while they may be flame resistant, they are not actively cooled/heat resistant. Any polymer or rubber will melt inside the safe, and aluminum will probably deform. Wood will also likely warp and/or crack/splinter, any poly coating/clear coat will melt off or bubble. Best thing a safe will do is keep your serial numbers and receivers in tact for insurance to replace the firearms -- which, btw, you need to make sure your covered for. There is also hobby insurance for $10 per $1000 coverage that will cover firearms for theft or damage without requiring serial numbers or a manifest of your weapons like a lot of homeowner's policies will.
