Vaults and Safes

Safes are used to hide or protect valuables such as jewelry, money, or important documents. As such, safes follow several parameters:

~Burglar-resistance
~Fire-resistance
~Environmental resistance (as protection from water or dust)
~Type of lock—it can either be a combination, time lock, or electronic lock.
~Location (e.g. wall safe, floor safe or hidden/diversion safe)
Fire resistant safes consist of self-contained devices that have insulated bodies, doors, drawers or lids, or non-rated multi-drawer devices with containers that contain one or more inner compartments for storage of records. A fireproof home safe can help keep your valuables away from thieves and protected from fires.

A safe is also called a strongbox or a coffer. It is a secure lockable box made of durable materials. It is used to store important documents or other valuables, to protect them from fire, damage, or burglary. Many homes and offices today have safes that meet their particular type of needs. There are many types of safes that are available in the market today.  

Some types of safe are made with rotary locks. Others rely on pin codes that have been previously entered by the owner. A safe is usually a hollow cube or cylinder, with one face removable or hinged to make a door. The body and door may be made from a sturdy material such as steel, or formed out of plastic.

Cobalt Safes & Keypads 

I wanted to clear the air today after I recieved a phone call from somebody regarding a blog and Cobalt Safes.  First it was not on this blog. Second, the issue was that Cobalt Safes doesn’t take a keypad. 

I’m here to correct this issue.   A Cobalt Safe is one of the most flexible regarding locks.  They come with Sargent & Greenleaf dial combos but can easily be upgraded to electronic keypads.  The keypads can be LaGard Basic II, LaGard Audit lock and the remainder of the LaGard lineup as well as, Sargent & Greenleaf ’s entire line up of electronic locks.  You can order the keypad already on the safe or have your local locksmith put it on for you if you already own one. 

So it doesn’t matter if you want to use a dial or keypad. Cobalt Safes has you covered, secured, and protected!  If you want to see a good selection with either dial or keypad of check out Cobalt Safes

California police suggest the use of Gun Safes and Home Safes for Security. 

California police are seeing a dramatic jump in residential and vehicle burglaries and are urging residents to protect themselves.

Police receive 51 percent increase from September, a police news release states.

In November burglaries and vehicle larcenies were reported way up.

Officers believe a few individuals are responsible for most of the crimes and are using specific enforcement methods to identify and arrest the thieves. Additional officers have been assigned to work patrols each day and evening, the release states.

The burglars targeting homes are looking for unlocked doors and windows. In some cases, they have forced open windows and doors. The burglars also are entering backyards through side gates so they are less likely to be seen entering homes. Once inside, the thieves ransack rooms, looking for small valuables and cash. Firearms and electronics have been stolen, the release states.

The vehicle burglars do not appear to be targeting a specific make or model car and don’t appear to be looking for specific property inside to steal. In some cases, the car stereo was taken, the release states.

Police are asking residents to take measures to keep themselves safe. They offer these tips for deterring vehicle and residential burglaries.

Vehicle tips

• Unattended cars should be locked day and night.

• Do not leave cars idling when you are not in the car.

• Do not leave valuable items, such as laptops, purses, change, cell phones, iPods or Christmas gifts in vehicles.

• Always use your vehicle’s anti-theft devices.

• Pay attention to your surroundings when parking for holiday shopping. If anything looks suspicious, leave the area.

Home tips

• Become a “nosey neighbor.” Report unusual or suspicious activity in your neighborhood. Write down license numbers of cars and note the make and color of the suspicious vehicle.

• Participate in Neighborhood Watch programs or start one in your neighborhood.

• Evaluate locks for effectiveness.

• Install movement or dusk-to-dawn lighting around the home.

• Lock side access gates to backyards.

• Have neighbors gather mail and newspapers if you leave home for an extended time, or place holds on your mail and newspapers.

• Don’t leave garage doors open unless you are inside.

• Keep high-value jewelry and significant amounts of cash inside home safes that are internally bolted in place.

• Keep firearms in gun safes or equip firearms with individual gun locks.

• Record and keep serial numbers on valuable electronics.

• Do not hide house keys under doormats or in other obvious places.

• Break down big boxes that Christmas gifts arrive in so burglars don’t know new items have just arrived.

Check out home safes and gun safes for sale.

Three primary types of SAFES:
1. Fireproof Safes

2. Burglary Safes

3. Fire & Burglary Safes
Fireproof Safes
 Fireproof Safes are designed to protect paper from catching fire. It is constructed with a thin metal double wall design which allows a fireproof insulating material to be put between the walls.  When a fire occurs, the insulating material releases moisture which keeps the interior safe temperature below the burning point of paper. These safes are rated by the length of time they will protect their contents under extreme heat conditions. A 1/2-hour rating is used only for small fire-insulated boxes, (popular brand of this is Sentry) Most fireproof safes have 1-hour or 2-hour ratings. These are adequate for the protection of paper records in normal home and business fires. The 4-hour rating is only used for record rooms. If a safe is labeled as a fire resistant container, that label is usually provided by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL). However there are other testing agencies which test and label safes, such as Japan Institute of Standards (JIS) and Korea Safe Standards.  These labels are equivalent to UL labels.
The burglary resistance of a fireproof safe is minimal. Any metal box with a combination lock is described as a Class 1 burglary resistant container.
Media Safes are designed to protect electronic media such as computer disks and video tapes. Like regular fireproof safes, media safes have UL ratings for protection times. Electronic media and data are more sensitive to heat and humidity than paper so a media data safes  are differently constructed and much more heavily insulated than regular fireproof safes with the same rating.
Burglar Resistant Safes
The burglar-resistant safe is designed to contain valuables. It is constructed with solid metal walls and a heavy door resistant to attack by drilling, cutting or prying. Hardened and drill resistant metals are often used to slow down attempts to break in to this safe. These safes are rated in two ways:
1. The class rating (1-5) is based on a combination of door and wall thickness, and in the higher ratings (3-5), resistance to certain forms of attack such as drilling and cutting with a torch. Insurance companies use this rating to designate how much cash may be kept in the safe.
2. The UL rating is a system developed by Underwriters Laboratory which rates safes based on how long they will resist various forms of attack. The UL ratings start at 15 minutes and go to one hour. In addition they add the following letter designations: DR drill resistant, TL tool resistant, TR torch resistant, TRTL tool and torch resistant and finally the X6 designation is reserved for the very best bankers and jewelers safes. They would be designated : TRTL60X6. Please keep in mind that any UL designated burglary safe is of high quality and gives excellent protection.
There are two specialized burglary resistant safes that are commonly used for storage of cash, the in floor safe and the drop safe.
The in floor safe is a round or square tube with a heavily constructed lid which lifts out when unlocked. The tube is usually installed in a concrete floor or it can be installed on the floor surface in a concrete block which adds weight and protects the tube from attack. The main advantage of this safe is the low cost. Since the exposed lid is the only part that is heavily constructed, good protection can be achieved inexpensively.
The drop safe allows envelopes or bank bags to be inserted into the safe while the safe remains locked. The drop can be as simple as a slot in the lid of an in floor safe, or it can be an elaborate hopper or drawer designed to allow large items to be inserted. These safes are used where frequent cash deposits must be made to deter robbery. Often the manager is the only one with access to the “dropped” cash. These safes are never UL burglary rated and are not recommended for long term storage of cash. They are also quite light and should be bolted to the floor or counter to deter the smash-and-grab thief.
Fire & Burglary Safes
Fire & Burglary Safes are designed to give protection against both fire and burglary. It is usually designed as a burglary safe with a secondary wall constructed inside the safe which contains insulation. This safe can be UL rated for both burglary and fire protection.
Another type of combination fire and burglar resistant safe is one where a small burglary resistant container is installed in a larger fire-resistant container. In newer units the fire resistance is UL labeled but often the burglary container is not.
Older Safes
Most older safes are not labeled as either burglar or fire resistant. We can only guess at their true quality and in the case of the burglary containers rate them Class 1, 2, or 3 based on door and wall thickness, according to insurance classifications.
Another point to remember is that often insurance companies ask their clients to by a safe based on weight or to have the safe bolted to the floor if it isn’t heavy enough. Many of those clients come to us wanting to buy an inexpensive fire-resistant safe and have it bolted to the floor.  Though this keeps the thief from picking it up and walking out with it, It doesn’t stop crow bars and other tools.  So be carefull in this area. Because you can be penny wise and pound foolish.  Best to get some good advise.  Call our friends a Vault and Safe or visit their site.

Mutual Gun Safes model MS-5922 review.

I get alot of questions regarding “Where is it made?”  Good ole China.  As are most gun safes.  Many manufactures are touting the “Made in the USA” label though made in the same factory in China as these are.  These other companies that are carrying this label are getting the box made in China and putting on the lock in once in the USA then calling it made here.  If a gun safe is made here it will be reflected in the price. Normally they start at several thousand dollars.

But back to the Mutual Gun Safe MS-5922.  The 59 stands for 59 inches tall. While the second number 22 stands for 22 inches wide.

Lets take a look at some of the details. First it has a 1 1/2″ thick door lined with U.L. approved fire activated door seal. (This seal swells when it gets hot from a fire.) The lock area is protected by Manganese hardplate (HRC 60 hardness) and spring loaded relocker on the LaGard Dial.

Colors range from  black to green, though green has a tendency to be out of stock.  The MS-5922 is  fully lined Tan Interior though in the past it had a grey interior.  Seems the tan is more popular.   3.4 Cubic Feet, 1″ diameter door bolts — 10 door bolts total - 7 live - 3 fixed going all the way around the door opening.

 All the Mutual Gun Safes come with 10 Gauge Steel door and body and this is about as thick a steel before you get to the really high dollar models that are plated with 1/4 inch steel.  

Universal adjustable inerior options: 22 rifle slots, 11 rifle slots with shelving or all shelves, Two bolt down holes predrilled at the bottom, Brass plated handle and lock, Comes with Lagard Dial Lock, Two interior options…Gun Racking Interior or All Shelves.

OUTSIDE DIMENSIONS on the Mutual Gun Safe MS-5922

INSIDE DIMENSIONS

For more information or pricing take a look here at the Mutual Gun Safe MS-5922