Tag: burglary safes

Gun Safe Accessories 3; Controlling Humidity

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Humidity can cause guns to rust, and damage other items locked inside a gun safe.  This applies to fire safes and burglary safes, too.  Usually humidity issues are just a result of the ambient air being damp.  Air can be really damp in a Mid-west basement, in places like Gulf Coast, or just about anywhere after a rainy stretch.  There are several good ways to control humidity inside gun safes.

  • We sell Dri-Rod brand heat bars.  These heat bars are put in the bottom of the gun safe with an electric cord running out the back into a wall outlet. They run all the time, heating to about 120 degrees, lowering relative humidity.  Convection from the warmer air rising creates air movement.  I advise against using heat bars in a safe which holds photos, stamps, historic papers, leather items, etc., because I believe the warmer air will artificially age these things.
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  • I prefer Peet brand safe dryers. Many folks have Peet brand boot dryers to dry out damp boots after a day of hunting.  Their safe dryers are very similar.  They take up less space in the bottom of your safe than heat bars.  The “stack affect” seems to create more air movement in the safe that heat bars.  Note that the first time you use them they give off a burning smell, so “break it in” outside the safe or with the door open.  Same warning as above about things that may age with heat.
  • Desiccant is hygroscopic – it actually absorbs moisture from air inside a safe, without changing the temperature. Desiccant is what they put with electronics, medicines, etc., to keep moisture from affecting products during shipping and storage.  It comes in one-pound bags, boxes and cans for use in gun safes.  Desiccant needs to be dried out after it gets saturated.  Drying them out normally takes many hours in an oven at about 200 degrees – not very convenient.
    Eva Dry brand desiccant products are what I usually recommend for humidity control.    They are plastic containers (two sizes) full of beads, with a color indicator that tells you when the unit needs to be dried out.  The good thing is that rather than using your oven, Eva Dry has a small internal heat unit.  There is a built-in electric plug that you just stick into an electrical outlet, and In 10 to 12 hours the unit is ready to go to work again.  They usually last three to five months in your safe before needing to be dried out, depending on how often the safe is opened.  They are guaranteed for five years.

Gun safes protect guns and other items from external threats.  Humidity is an internal threat that you control with proper gun safe accessories.  Controlling humidity is an inexpensive form of insurance to keep your things in top condition.

New Year’s Resolutions: Improve Home Security

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I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions.  One reason is that if I had any flaws I would have fixed them already.  The other reason is that most resolutions are never fully met.  If you resolve to lose 20 pounds and keep it off, you never really finish.  If you resolve to “be a better person”, you never get to quit being good, or you blow your resolution commitment.

If, however, you want to do something meaningful and have an end point at which time you can say “I achieved my resolution” — then I have an idea.  Do that home security upgrade that you have been thinking about.  It could be installing security cameras, installing deadbolts on your doors, putting motion activated lights outside your house, locking up papers and jewelry in a fire/burglary safe, securing your guns in a gun safe, properly protecting your coin or stamp collection, etc.

Take some time to study what you need, spend enough money to buy quality products, from a neighborhood business, and then arrange for installation.  By the middle of January you can sit back with a cold beer and feel proud that you accomplished your resolution.  No guilt for the rest of the year!  Besides, if you try to be a better person than you really are, that’s likely to cause more stress, which might make you eat more, resulting in gain weight, then you feel bad so you start to drink more than you should, which causes . . .

Have a great 2018!

Gun Safe or Burglary Safe: The Affect on Insurance

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Customers always ask about insurance coverage when they have a gun safe or burglary safe.  There are lots of assumptions and questions, so I called several agents that handle home insurance, and here is what I was told.

One said that usually, if you have a burglary safe you can get a small savings on your annual insurance cost, probably around $10; the other disagreed.  Ask your agent.  The next paragraphs talk about coins in particular, but collections of guns, jewelry, watches, etc. will be similar.

They both said that, if you don’t have your coins scheduled or itemized on a rider, your policy will usually cover up to about $500, whether they are in a safe or not.  But they will only be replaced at face value, so numismatic value will not apply.  A penny that is worth $50 to a collector will still be reimbursed for $.01.  Value of the silver or gold content most likely will not count either.

If you have your collection appraised and covered on a rider, they will be covered up to the appraised value.  (My coin guy charges $50/hour to do written appraisals.)  When that value is based mostly on the gold or silver weight, however, be careful.  If the appraisal is done when gold is $1300 per ounce, and you are robbed when gold is worth $1600 per ounce, you will be reimbursed at the original $1300 value.  Cost of the insurance rider will probably run about $38/year for every $10,000 in value provided the collection is in a safe.  Cost will go up about $4 to $5 per $10,000 in value if there is no safe.

All kinds of variables affect insurance, including where you live, which insurance company you use, your loss history, etc.  For an extremely high value collection there may be better coverage with a TL-rated safe.  There might be specialized policies for high value collections, like there are for classic car collections.  Some items are irreplaceable because of sentimental value, like Great Grandpa’s old rifle or Grandma’s wedding ring.  To the insurance company they are probably only worth generic value.  I am certainly no expert.  Don’t make assumptions – ask your agent lots of questions.

You should always have insurance coverage on your valuables.   But the best protection against theft in the first place is to have a really good gun safe or burglary safe and good home security.  Don’t take a chance that you may not be properly reimbursed after a loss.  Prevent the loss!

New Year’s Resolution: Home Security

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I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions because if I had any flaws I would have fixed them already.  No, that’s not really it.  The real reason is that most resolutions are never fully met.  If you resolve to lose 20 pounds and keep it off, you never really finish.  If you resolve to “be a better person”, you never get to quit being good without blowing you resolution commitment.

If, however, you want to do something meaningful and have an endpoint at which time you can say “I achieved my resolution” — then I have an idea.  Do that security upgrade that you have been thinking about.  It could be installing security cameras in your home or putting motion-activated lights outside your house, installing deadbolts, locking up papers and jewelry in a fire/burglary safe, securing your guns in a gun safe, properly protecting your coin or stamp collection, etc.

Spend some time studying what you need, spend enough money to buy quality products, and then arrange for installation.  By the middle of January, you can sit back with a cold beer and feel proud that you accomplished your resolution.  No guilt for the rest of the year!  Besides, if you try to be a better person than you really are, that’s likely to cause more stress, which might make you gain weight, then you feel bad so you start to . . .

Have a great 2015!

In-Floor Safes Part 2, the Downsides

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In-floor safes provide terrific security from theft, but most customers decide against buying one when they learn about all the negatives.
1)  Difficult to install:  Floor safes are hard to install, especially if you need to cut a hole into an existing concrete floor.  Even when pouring a new floor it can be difficult to properly set the safe.
2)  Lack of space:  If all you are storing is gold or cash most floor safes will give you plenty of room.  But for bulkier items like silver or a coin collection or documents, you will run out of space quickly.
SQUARE & CYLINDER IN-FLOOR SAFES
3)  Inconvenient to use:  Getting down on hands and knees to unlock a floor safe is awkward.  Reaching down below floor level into the safe is worse.  Even if your knees and back allow you to do that now, will they still be OK in five or ten years?
4)  Water and moisture problems:  Most floor safes are not water-proof around the door, so a broken water heater, sewer backup, water from a fire hose or heavy rain can flood a floor safe and damage its contents.  A rising water table can flood the safe from below ground if there are cracks in the welds.  Floor safes tend to be damper than above ground units, so they are more likely to develop odors and mildew.
5)  Rust:  When safes are installed so that there is contact with damp sand, most can rust through in just a few years.  A plastic or fiberglass safe body can prevent this problem.
6)  Lock problems:  Since the lock is below floor level, it is easy for sand and dirt to get inside it.  That will cause problems for any kind of lock.
7)  You can’t take it with you:  When you sell your house you will almost certainly need to leave a floor safe behind and buy a new one.

All that being said, the high security provided by floor safes make them appropriate for some folks.