Fireproof safe recommendation

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

I am looking for small fireproof safe. Just to keep important documents and papers, maybe small gun. After looking over youtube how easy any electronic safe can be open in 15 sec with magnet, probably I need mechanical lock.
Any recommendation, experience, word of wisdom?

Thank you, Ed.

[Matt Meiser]

Get a real one used from a locksmith. It'll be more expensive, but will actually work.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Matt, what do you mean -will actually work?

Get a real one used from a locksmith. It'll be more expensive, but will actually work.

[Matt Meiser]

The ones sold in big box stores have a lot of plastic parts, including often in the latches. Really not fireproof. And they often offer virtually no burglar resistance.

[Wade Lippman]

You have to decide if you want a security safe or a fire safe. You can get some that are both, but they are really expensive.
I kinda made one by putting a security safe inside a truck box and stuffing insulation between them. I think it should survive a fire, and bolted to the floor it isn't going anywhere. I am sure a professional can break in, but I don't expect to be burglarized by a professional. And they would be very disappointed if they did.

[julian abram]

If you are just looking for a small safe I would go with what Matt suggested and check out used safes at locksmith shops. Any time I've been in local locksmith shops they have 2 or 3 small used safes for sale. Folks always buy safes too small for their needs and then have to upgrade. For many years I've had a large Liberty safe for guns, cameras, etc. It's 12 gauge steel with mechanical lock, 8 locking door bolts, fire rated for 30 min at 1200F. Liberty is the largest manufacturer of safes in the country. Many companies buy Liberty safes and put their names on them. The fire rating is a function of how much insulation is installed in the unit. With thicker insulation some are rated up to 90 minutes at 1200F. Consider your future needs carefully before purchasing. Again, Matt had a good suggestion if you feel like you only need a small safe.

[Rick Potter]

I have a floor model from Cannon. It is guaranteed to be replaced if damaged in a fire, along with a promise to come open it if you ever can't. I think they make small ones also. If you buy one small enough that two guys can carry it, be sure to bolt it to something solid.

Our local county fair always has several safe companies with booths.

[Steve Peterson]

I have had a couple of $100-200 fireproof safes. They have lasted between 5 and 10 years before something went bad. The plastic handle broke off one of them. Another one just stopped working. Both of them were easy to pry open in less than 10 minutes. Even with 2 lockbolts on all 4 sides of the door, it was easy to pry the frame past the lockbolts. They are nothing but 2 layers of tin with fire retardant. I suspect that they would do a great job in protecting valuable paperwork from any normal house fire, but they won't stop a professional thief.

If you want a theft deterrent, you need to step up to something with thick welded plate steel. Good ones are probably many thousands of dollars.

Steve

[Matt Meiser]

Not used. We payed $350 and its big enough to hold several laptops. Had my choice of a few sizes and features in that price range. Won't stop a professional forever but an amateur is going to work pretty hard to get in. Cost another $150 to have 4 guys deliver it.

The local lockmsith has a few of the big box ones that have been through fires. They don't do well.

Note that one to protect magnetic media in a fire will be much more expensive.

[Tom M King]

I have a big old Victor that belonged to my Grandfather. It probably weighs a ton or a little more. I took the inside cover off the door to lubricate the lock mechanism, Most of the weight is in fire clay-not metal.

[Ken Grant]

If you are just looking for a small safe I would go with what Matt suggested and check out used safes at locksmith shops. Any time I've been in local locksmith shops they have 2 or 3 small used safes for sale. Folks always buy safes too small for their needs and then have to upgrade. For many years I've had a large Liberty safe for guns, cameras, etc. It's 12 gauge steel with mechanical lock, 8 locking door bolts, fire rated for 30 min at 1200F. Liberty is the largest manufacturer of safes in the country. Many companies buy Liberty safes and put their names on them. The fire rating is a function of how much insulation is installed in the unit. With thicker insulation some are rated up to 90 minutes at 1200F. Consider your future needs carefully before purchasing. Again, Matt had a good suggestion if you feel like you only need a small safe.



Most of the gun safes you will find at big box stores are nothing more then a thin metal box (12 guage is .109 inches thick) lined with sheet rock for fire protection. They put some fancy paint and impressive looking locking bolts on them and charge you $1000. These offer little actual theft or fire protection. Check out this video for how easily some can be broken into:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M


Also, fire ratings are often done by the safe company themselves and can be highly exaggerated. (kind of like how my craftsman shop vac has a "5 hp motor") If you want real fire protection, look closely at the ratings and who did them. The better fire safes will be UL listed for fire protection.

[julian abram]

Most of the gun safes you will find at big box stores are nothing more then a thin metal box (12 guage is .109 inches thick) lined with sheet rock for fire protection. They put some fancy paint and impressive looking locking bolts on them and charge you $1000. These offer little actual theft or fire protection. Check out this video for how easily some can be broken into:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M


Also, fire ratings are often done by the safe company themselves and can be highly exaggerated. (kind of like how my craftsman shop vac has a "5 hp motor") If you want real fire protection, look closely at the ratings and who did them. The better fire safes will be UL listed for fire protection.

Friend, I find it humorous that you think a safe made from 12 gauge steel "is nothing more than a thin metal box." Your video is a infomercial, I would love to see those bad guys walk up to my "thin 12 ga, 980 lb. steel box" and push it over. If they ever managed to pry the hardened steel 1" locking door bolts loose, I would love to see the bad guys try to lift the door by themselves from a horizontal position as in the video. There are certainly some cheap economy safes on the market but those are made of steel more in the 18-20 gauge range like the one in your video.
Didn't mean to high jack Ed's thread.

[Jim Koepke]

My brother used to pick up 4 drawer file cabinet fire safes from Navy Surplus auctions. This was many years ago. The going price was usually about $100.

jtk

[Richard McComas]

I went to the biggest safe dealer in Anchorage. Told them I was looking for a small fireproof safe. He kind of laughed and said, there's no such thing as a fireproof safe, just fire rated.