Fireproof Home Safes

1 Hour Fireproof Home Safes: Lets start with what you may be finding in your local stores.  Its pretty easy to find a Sentry Safe at most large retailers.  I use the word “safe” loosely.  It is really refered to as a “fire box” by most eveyone in the industry.  Fireproof will range from 15 minutes to as much as 1 hour on most Sentry models.  Most have a very thin layer of steel or plastic on the outside and a foam based insulation layer then an internal layer of plastic.  Often with a couple of bolts and lock.  (This internal layer of plastic gives too much and allows the bolts to slip out when pryed…see Youtube and type in “Sentry Safe”, its a real let down) Not much else is special.  Most people see them and want something better. (Can’t blame them)  Lets look at a Hollon 1 Hour Fireproof Home Safes for a comparison.

Hollon 1 Hour Fireproof Home Safes: I start here because if your house really catches on fire you gonna need a 1 hour safe!  (If you are not at home, your house can be on fire for as long as 30 minutes before the fire dept has been called and they show up) Start with a thick steel outer layer.  Reinforced with concrete/fire retardant and reinforced with another layer of steel on the inside.  This has been tested to stand up to more than your average house fire.  Which will burn at 950 degrees or so.  These safes get tested at much higher rate.   

Steel on Steel Safes: When you sandwich concrete between two layers of steel you get a very stiff safe.  Because you put steel on the inside it keeps the bolts from slipping loose when pryed. Making for a very theft resistant safe.  These safes are also designed to be bolted down to your foundation.  Making next to impossible to bend over and pick up so you could walk out with it. 

Electronic Keypad: The easiest to use lock is the electronic keypad.  It is also the easiest to change the combination on and doesn’t require the cost of a locksmith to come out and change the combination like on a dial lock.  Keypads are also rated higher for security.  The Hollon Safe keypads have a “LockOut” technology in all of them.  Which means if someone enters the wrong code 3 times it locks down and will not allow anyone to enter another code.  If they do, the 10 minute timer starts over.  You cannot even remove the batteries in hopes of reseting because your code and timer is on a computer chip.  You could even remove the batteries and come back in 10 years and put them back in the keypad.  It will still start the count down and remember the code you programed into it. One last thing about a keypad.  Its easy to operate, you most likely will not need reading glasses to see the keypad, and its faster to open making it more convient. Hopefully you will use it more often.

Safes Recap. Get a safe that will last as long as the fire will.  Make sure its made of steel both inside and out.  Get a lock you find easy to use. Bolt down the safe at home. Feel free to call and any questions you may have regarding Safes.