Anyone here have a home safe? ***I think I decided**Page 2**

BobS

Looking to buy a safe for storing some cards and other important documents. Anyone know anything about them? I'd like to get away with $500 or less, if possible.

Thanks, Bob

123Slider

I use a gun safe for my things, including cards. Check out cabelas, gander mountain, or similar place to see what they have. Might be bigger than what you want, but you can find something at or near the $500 for the cheaper models.

vladguerrero

You can get the tall gun safes (not the light steel kind) for under $500, many modern ones have a digital and manual lock. The tall gun safes are perfect for cards and misc things.

smtjoy

I have been real happy with mine, cost a bit more than you are looking, was about $700 delivered.

fiveniner

Got one from a Super Mkt that was going out of buisness for free however it too small.Have full alarm system though.

xbaggypants

<< <i>I have been real happy with mine, cost a bit more than you are looking, was about $700 delivered.



>>




I need one of those!

jeff8877

I have a Sentry safe from Home Depot. Holds about 300 cards and it was $99. Bolted it to the floor and it is fireproof. Put it out of the way where it wouldn't be seen.

Jeff

K

<< <i>I have a Sentry safe from Home Depot. Holds about 300 cards and it was $99. Bolted it to the floor and it is fireproof. Put it out of the way where it wouldn't be seen.

Jeff >>



No such thing as a firePROOF safe. There are fire RESISTANT safes with extremely long burn tolerances, but even $10,000+ safes will sucomb eventually. Not to mention the inside still gets extremely hot which will damage most paper products.

Brian48

This is what I use. I think it cost me about $350+ delivered. It was on sale at the time, but I think the price has come down on these.

fkw

Yup, Gun safe from Home Depot is the way I went. Large and roomy and no way someone is going to walk away with it.

storm888

It's hard to get accurate "home invasion" stats, but the
rates are skyrocketing and will continue to increase.

Visible safes are not "safe," but do provide fair/good protection
against fire and amateur burglars.

If a home invasion crew gets the drop on you, you WILL open
your visible safe.

jimrad

All I will say is yes I have a safe and it is almost impossible for anyone to find it

BobS

All very good information.

Have a little bit more researching to do, and need to decide if I want to splurge for a big gun safe or a smaller "home security" type one.

I do have a few shotguns and a rifle, so I'm leaning towards the gun safe (especially with a 1-year old boy in the house, who just became "mobile" a few weeks ago).

The main motiviation for me came this past weekend. Get this.

We got our son babtized on Sunday, and had a gathering afterwards at our house. My wife has a large family (9 siblings, most married, most have a few kiddo's). A few from my family also traveled from Buffalo for the event. This is not the first time we have had that many people in the house. Have had maybe 10 gatherings the past 4 years with anywhere from 25-50 folks. Big house, finished basement, hey - it's "the" gathering house for the family.

Anywho, we didn't open any of the gifts or envelopes Sunday, figured we would wait until after work on Monday. They were all placed in a pile next to a couch during the party. So, we get home on Monday, and we can't find all the cards. Some are missing. Of the ones that we did find, they were opened. The ones that contained a check - the check was still there. Some of the other opened ones contained nothing - Ding!, Ding! - someone stole the cash. A few calls to the folks who's cards were empty confirmed that they did in fact have cash in them before one of our guests decided to open them and ROB MY BABY. WHO DOES SUCH A THING???? So, after tearing apart the living room couch, we found the rest of the cards, all opened, stuffed underneath, with all the cash missing.

Unbelievable. All friends and family over.

So...that's why I think we may need to be a little more "secure" from now on. I'm sure it was just a crime of opportunity by one of the kiddo's, but I'm not going to take any chances with my valuable cards, wifes jewelery, etc.

scashaggy

I have a tall gun safe like the ones mentioned. I got mine through Costco it was under $500 and free delivery. You just have to keep an eye out for deals like that. You can also check if there is someone in your area that sells used safes (like a locksmith). Also Home Depot, Lowes, and Bass Pro Shops have them.

SidePocket

After the anger wears off you have to feel sorry for someone who would steal baptism money gifts.

scashaggy

Wow, I just read your story, sorry to hear that.

To me it sounds like kids, I'd think that adults would be a little less obvious than stuffing them under the couch. I'd like to think that adults wouldn't do such a thing.

Again, sorry about this.

HeritageAddict

I actually have two, the smaller one is a 16 gun safe I believe and the larger a 24 gun safe. While the smaller one is bolted to the floor it is actually more of a decoy safe, it sits in fairly plain sight and contains lower valued items that would be easily replaced within the confines of standard home owners insurance.

OAKESY25

well it had to be someone desperate.. and I don't mean someone out of work..
I don't think that desperation would lead someone to steal like this..
sounds like a drug problem.. keep ears open to family issues and I am sure you will find the culprit..
obviously money won't be recovered.. and realistically might be better if you never find out..
the answer isn't worth the heartbreak

Nathaniel1960

I've heard of possible mildew issues (inside the safe, that is). Any thoughts?

HeritageAddict

You can buy cans of desiccant to put in the safe, or you can buy small plug in dehumidifiers that are specifically made for safes.

JMDVM

<< <i>After the anger wears off you have to feel sorry for someone who would steal baptism money gifts. >>



Feel sorry for the culprit? NO WAY! Needs to be stopped before going on to bigger and "better" crimes....

JMDVM

<< <i>well it had to be someone desperate.. and I don't mean someone out of work..
I don't think that desperation would lead someone to steal like this..
sounds like a drug problem.. keep ears open to family issues and I am sure you will find the culprit..
obviously money won't be recovered.. and realistically might be better if you never find out..
the answer isn't worth the heartbreak >>



You want to catch this SOB? Put out word there will be NO MORE family gatherings until someone coughs up the thief. Until he/she is stopped, they can't be helped. If this was my kid, I'd would want to know. Silence helps no one, especially a thief with a drug problem.

Mickey71

In my opinion a safe is good for important papers and valuables to about $3000. I think when people see a safe they think extreme value. The safe means close to nothing during a home invasion. I personally use a safety deposit box. If someone gets in your house with a gun....you will open the safe guaranteed. It's probably quite simple for some really nasty people and there are more than a few out there.

In regards to Bob getting money stolen from baptism presents. I would do my best to find out who it was. The reason is: if they are family they may be watching your kids at some point. They seem desperate and lack a conscience. I'd be pissed.

scashaggy

<< <i>I've heard of possible mildew issues (inside the safe, that is). Any thoughts? >>



For that I use a tub of Damprid. It collects the moisture and you empty it out every-so-often.

cadets68

I have a small safe bolted to the cement floor, but it is not water proof. So I will need to get something better.

This is a great thread as I have been thinking about this same thing a whole lot lately

Shawn

melvin289

I got lucky while looking for a safe. I saw this safe advertised at either Office Max or Office Depot for $279. I looked it up on line and the manufacturer's suggested price was between $600 or $700 if I remember correctly. I went the next morning when they opened and the safe had been marked down to $179. I jumped all over it. The only problem they wouldn't let me take it with me but shipped it by UPS. I got home one day and it was sitting in the middle of my driveway. I did manage to get it in the house by myself (it weighs almost 200 pounds empty) and it still sits in front of my back entrance under the bar, facing the door. I figure if someone should kick the door in they would become so obsessed with the safe that they may not ransack the house. Hopefully the burgler alarm would scare them off before they get the safe out.

Ron

Davemri

$500 at Wal-Mart about 5 years ago.

leftofdial

Before anyone rushes out and buys the $299 (or so) bargain safes, check out you tube to see what a fire axe can do to these doors with only one or 2 blows. I have a big, old school very heavy safe but I mainly got it for fire reasons. I can't recall but i think it's rated for an hour where most seemed to be rated for 20 mins or so. It's not going to get carted off but like anyone with a visible safe, I can see the scenario where I would be forced to open it at gun or knifepoint. I'm now trying to figure out how to create hidden storage that still meets enviormental needs for cards. Haven't gotten too far on that yet.

There are a lot of cases where burglars have opened victims safes with items that they found at the victims house- something to consider as well.

gecko109

A $500 steel box from a sporting goods store is NOT a safe. It is simply a metal box with a lock on it. It may be called a "gun safe", or a "fire safe", but in reality, its simply a thin gauge metal box with gypsum to insulate it and a relatively low tech locking mechanism. There isnt a $500 safe (new, retail price) out there that can withstand a moderarte attack from a determined criminal. Like with anything else, its all about risk/reward. If you are comfortable storing $10,000 worth of valuables in a $500 metal box that can easily be comprimised.....then buy that $500 box. If you want a REAL safe that will keep 99.9% of burglars out, then spend the money and buy a TL-15, or even a TL-30 safe. You can get a decent, brand new TL-15 with about 2.0 cu feet of storage space for under $2,000. That gets you a safe thats been tested by UL with 2 professional safe crackers, and all common hand tools such as hammers, prybars, high speed drills, diamond tipped carbide saws, etc. A TL-15 safe will keep those 2 pros out for 15 minutes of actual hands on attack. In other words, when they go to change a dull blade, the clock stops and waits for them. Thats the type of safe I would be looking into if I was to consider keeping anything of value in my home.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6BF6dc-CKo

Excellent video on the topic!

bsavage

One thing to keep in mind.... The majority of thefts are crimes of opportunity, like when someone over at your house sees you left some money out on the kitchen counter, so they pocket it. Or, they see an unlocked display cabinet with a bunch of cards to steal. In most instances, a cheap gun safe will prevent this, if used. The op's story is obviously one of these types of crimes, although, the crime happened before the goods would have ever reached a safe.

Also, it's important to keep a balance between the cost of the security measures and the value of the items being protected. For example, would you spend $2000 on a safe that you are going to put $5000 of cards in? If you think you have about a 20% chance of being robbed, then your expected loss is $5000 x 20% = $1000, so the $2000 safe probably isn't worth it. Of course I pulled these numbers randomly just to illustrate my point. Everyone obviously has different needs based on the value of their collection and the relative security of their environment, so it's up to each person to decide how much money they should spend on protecting their valuables.

- Britt

gecko109

<< <i>One thing to keep in mind.... The majority of thefts are crimes of opportunity, like when someone over at your house sees you left some money out on the kitchen counter, so they pocket it. Or, they see an unlocked display cabinet with a bunch of cards to steal. In most instances, a cheap gun safe will prevent this, if used. The op's story is obviously one of these types of crimes, although, the crime happened before the goods would have ever reached a safe.

Also, it's important to keep a balance between the cost of the security measures and the value of the items being protected. For example, would you spend $2000 on a safe that you are going to put $5000 of cards in? If you think you have about a 20% chance of being robbed, then your expected loss is $5000 x 20% = $1000, so the $2000 safe probably isn't worth it. Of course I pulled these numbers randomly just to illustrate my point. Everyone obviously has different needs based on the value of their collection and the relative security of their environment, so it's up to each person to decide how much money they should spend on protecting their valuables.

- Britt >>





Your math is faulty as a $2,000 safe does not become worthless the minute you bolt it to your floor. A $2,000 safe is something that can last 2 or 3 generations, and even if one were to want to sell that safe down the road in say 10 years, it would easily bring $1,000. Also, dont neglect to include "expansion" into your formula. A person may have $5,000 worth of cards right now that they want to secure, but within 10 years that may have tripled to $15,000 worth. At that point, it becomes clear that the $2,000 safe was a much wiser investment than a $500 "gunsafe".

bsavage

<< <i>

<< <i>One thing to keep in mind.... The majority of thefts are crimes of opportunity, like when someone over at your house sees you left some money out on the kitchen counter, so they pocket it. Or, they see an unlocked display cabinet with a bunch of cards to steal. In most instances, a cheap gun safe will prevent this, if used. The op's story is obviously one of these types of crimes, although, the crime happened before the goods would have ever reached a safe.

Also, it's important to keep a balance between the cost of the security measures and the value of the items being protected. For example, would you spend $2000 on a safe that you are going to put $5000 of cards in? If you think you have about a 20% chance of being robbed, then your expected loss is $5000 x 20% = $1000, so the $2000 safe probably isn't worth it. Of course I pulled these numbers randomly just to illustrate my point. Everyone obviously has different needs based on the value of their collection and the relative security of their environment, so it's up to each person to decide how much money they should spend on protecting their valuables.

- Britt >>





Your math is faulty as a $2,000 safe does not become worthless the minute you bolt it to your floor. A $2,000 safe is something that can last 2 or 3 generations, and even if one were to want to sell that safe down the road in say 10 years, it would easily bring $1,000. Also, dont neglect to include "expansion" into your formula. A person may have $5,000 worth of cards right now that they want to secure, but within 10 years that may have tripled to $15,000 worth. At that point, it becomes clear that the $2,000 safe was a much wiser investment than a $500 "gunsafe". >>

.

Good thought. You are right, I have simplified the equation. Actually your probability of being robbed would need to be figured over the life of the safe (no, it's not easy to figure). If you do in fact plan on selling it later, you can just use your depreciation in the equation. As far as the fact that you may add more to it later, that would definitly need to be factored in. I guess you would just need average the amount it was protecting over it's life.

Don't get me wrong. I have a safe, and they are a good idea usually. I was just pointing out that they may or may not be the best way to handle the risk of getting stuff stolen. There are four basic ways to handle such a risk:

avoid the risk (don't own any cards)
mitigate the risk. Also called risk redution. (put them in a safe for example)
share the risk (insurance)
accept the risk (just accept the fact that they could get stolen)

Sorry, I know I'm getting a little away from what was originally asked

- Britt

scashaggy

I think we are going overboard with the "home invasion" theory. The chances of such a thing happening is actually small, contrary to what people and the media want you to think.

The fact is that a $500 gun safe is better than say, a cardboard box. If your home gets broken in to by amateurs, it may be enough to keep your stuff safe. It seems that most of these types are crimes of opportunity, get in, get stuff, get out. They may not want to take the time and risk being caught.


If it's professionals, unless you turn a room into Ft. Knox, your cards are gone. Again something like this is slim. Why would pro's pick your house? I would think at that point you were targeted. Someone you know?

That's just my opinion.

PSASAP

If the OP did have a home safe, it still wouldn't have helped his situation. All the gifts were in plain sight; if they were in a locked bedroom closet, they would have been away from the eyes of the thief. But then this thread would have ceased to exist.

CNote

I was interested in this thread until I saw Gecko posted, then got quoted, then said someone's post logic was faulty (or something like that)

scashaggy

Who said what?

gecko109

<< <i>Who said what? >>



Cnote was upset when I tried to make a valid point. He is a D-bag.

lsutigers1973

<< <i>

<< <i>Who said what? >>



Cnote was upset when I tried to make a valid point. He is a D-bag. >>



I just archived the actual moment that the pot met the kettle.

BobS

To address some points brought up in this thread.

True, a home safe would not have prevented what happened to Max's baptism cash.

I am not worried about a home invasion. If that were to happen, I'm f'ed anyway you look at it.

I decided to store my hunting guns at a buddies house, in his $3000 gun safe.

So, that leaves me with my valuable cards, some silver, some camera equipment, and our financial documents. I want them secured from a burgulary attempt and protected from a house fire.

I did a lot of reasearch, and do not think one of the $100-$300 "plastic" models is for me.

I think I've decided on this one, if I can just talk the wife into the cost:





Here are the specs:

Includes Lifetime Fire warranty

2 Hour Fireproof and 30 foot impact rated

Glass Relocker (spring load on model FB-450)

Electronic Lock
1.26 Massive Solid Steel Locking bolts
3 Directional locking bolts on large models
2 .5 Thick Walls & 5.5 inch thick door
Adjustable Shelving
1/4 Reinforced Jambs
Tri-spoke Handle
Pre-Drilled Anchor Hole and bolt down kit
1 inch thick vertical locking bar on hinge side

OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS HEIGHT WIDTH DEPTH WEIGHT
27" 21" 20 1/2" 354 lbs
INSIDE DIMENSIONS HEIGHT WIDTH DEPTH
21" 15" 13"
DETAILS: 3 moving front bolts
1 vertical locking bar
2 adjustable shelves
2.36 cu. ft.
1 Anchor bolt hole
bolt down hardware
2 Hour Fireproof
Tri-spoke Handle
Auxiliary Glass Relocker
Heavy Duty Vault Hinge, electronic keypad

vladguerrero

cost?

jamesryanbell

Get rid of that Blazer ammo!!

Like ...throw it in the trash.

BobS

Oh ya. The model that I showed sells for around $700.

No, it's not a TL-15 or TL-30, but it is a whole lot better than a big box store cheapo.

gameusedhoop

Before you spring for it, try your local lock shop. Alot of them buy back the super quality ones that they sell and re-sell them very resonably. You may be able to get a similar model, maybe even bigger for the same price or less. Most good lock shops don't carry junk, at least give them a try.

Brian48

<< <i>Get rid of that Blazer ammo!!

Like ...throw it in the trash. >>



That's actually just a Blazer box. In it is (was actually), 50 rds of .45ACP 200gr LSWC hardcast loaded with 7.1 grains of Unique using Winchester primers I reuse whatever boxes/containers I can find.

gecko109

<< <i>Before you spring for it, try your local lock shop. Alot of them buy back the super quality ones that they sell and re-sell them very resonably. You may be able to get a similar model, maybe even bigger for the same price or less. Most good lock shops don't carry junk, at least give them a try. >>




I thought this was a good idea too...until I actually tried it! A local safe store couldnt even come close on a refurbished TL-15 compared to the brand new model I was looking at online. The local shop wanted $3,500 for the same exact type of safe I was eyeballing online....new....for $1,900. Thats what happens....sad but true, but the massive overhead that local shops need to pay for really shines through when comparred to internet prices of companies that dont even stock the actual items.....but rather just broker the sale from the manufacturer directly. Cant compete.


Anyway, that safe pictured looks like a RSC class.....very tough for the ordinary criminal to compromise. Its certainly a big step up from a typical "walmart" gunsafe, but not quite as robust as a TL-15. In life, we all get what we pay for. If you are comfortable storing your valuables in an RSC class safe, then do it! If it were MY valuables, I know I'd want a minimum TL-15 safe for the times im out of town with my family on vacation. Just gives me alot more peace of mind.