# Safes?



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I need a fairly big safe. Like a heavy safe-old school thick and fire proof is what would suit me best. maybe 4-5' tall x 2' wide??

There's a gizillion used safes for sale on CL for $100-$500.

Ideally, I'd like to get one thats too heavy to steal easily.

Contents would be loot, coins, gold, maybe a few guns.

If you buy a 100 year old safe even with the seller giving you the combination, I would think there's no guarantee it wont get stuck. Have any of you had luck with older safes?

Or better to buy a new one? The old ones with steel wheels on them look really sturdy.

Can anyone recommend a brand of safe?


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Loot? Are ye a pirate? If I was to buy a safe again. (I just have a small one). It would not be a sams club one. I went to a locksmith shop recently and they sell safes also. They had a sams club type one there all broken up and it shows how cheap they are made. I suspect those might be more of the kinds you see on CL. This place had ones like you are wanting. All priced over $1000. They were so very heavy duty. No electronics. no batteries to go dead.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Guy at my work has a father in law that sells champian safes. He is out of York/Mt Wolf Pa.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

15+ years ago I bought a Liberty gun safe at Menards when they had it on sale. Store rifles and ammo in most of it. Use the top shelf to store important paperwork. I think it is a pretty nice safe but I do think there are better ones on the market. The only thing I don't like about it for storing rifles is if you want one of the rifles in the back you almost have to take out every one in front of it to get to the one you want. I've always wanted to buy a Revolution safe as I really like the way you can spin it around to get whatever you want.


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

There was one of those old safes you are talking about in our parlor room when we bought the place from my mom . It had sat in the same place my entire life . On the out side it was 6 foot tall 4 foot wide on the inside it had three separate safe compartments all with combination locks so 4 safes in one. So long story short big safe little storage it had to go .

Now comes the fun part took the doors off at least 200 lbs each next it has nice big wheels on it so we roll it about 3 feet and it falls through the floor thank god for 2by12 oak floor joists or it would be in the basement. We where lucky nobody got hurt so a simply one hour project turns in to a 2 day fix the floor ordeal . Only good part was I found a guy with a rollback truck to give me $200 for it .

My advice is go spend the money get a good modern safe that is fire rated and bolt it to the floor if somebody wants to rob you they will new or old .


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Something to think about where you place the safe if you have a basement.Guy I know house burnt down,safe ended up in the basement siting in 5' of water from fire dept.Got the safe open and all the papers were soaked.Atleast they were not burnt but the safe was not water proof so it was quite the mess and some stuff could be ruined from water.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> Something to think about where you place the safe if you have a basement.Guy I know house burnt down,safe ended up in the basement siting in 5' of water from fire dept.Got the safe open and all the papers were soaked.Atleast they were not burnt but the safe was not water proof so it was quite the mess and some stuff could be ruined from water.


Good point, if possible place your safe over a crawlspace along the outer wall, if god forbid you ever have a fire then the FD can hose the outside wall down. Fire rated or not safe's can only take heat for so long before whatever is in them is fried.

For my real important stuff like taxes, the books and wedding photos are all backed up to thumb drives then stored in a safe deposit box at the bank. Also have back ups on a Time Capsule and a My Book thats stored in a fire proof filing cabinet.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

The best safes are the ones you build yourself when building new homes. I have built several when building houses with poured foundations. Include a poured walled room in the basement/downstairs area in the corner of the home or underneath a front porch. Just buy a safe door the size of a walk in door and attach with the proper hardware. Get a good fire rated door. Works really well and if your room is built large enough you can use it for a storm shelter also. I always used corrugated metal for the ceiling and poured concrete for the ceiling slab and then it was fully protected. You can also include metal piping for fresh air supply if needed. As far as gun safes go, Browning and Pendleton both make excellent safes that can be used for much more than just guns.

Regards, Mike


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

I've had good luck with old safes. Thay tend to be heavier with thicker walls (less internal space) and have only evef had one safe combo go tits-up. The innards are brass or bronze as far as thd combo workings go and dont corrode under normal conditions. The combo is generally more difficult to open by uninvited guests on the older safes than the run-of-the-mill newer gun safes. I have drilled an older safe and it took nearly 1/2 hour to open (but im no pro). I would avoid any safe with a key bypass;the cheapies with a key bypass don't take too long to gain entry for a lock picker with a little experience. 
Just my experience, yours may differ

Mark


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