Tag: gun safes

Putting Safes or Gun Safes in a Garage

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Safes and gun safes left in unheated garages or buildings are subject to problems with condensation when weather suddenly warms up.  Pictured is a beautiful, but very massive, antique Diebold Safe.  It demonstrates the problem perfectly.

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We recently suffered through a cold snap during which night time temperatures went below zero every night for about a week.  It took days for this 4000# antique safe to drop completely down to these temps.  Likewise, when temps quickly warmed up to 55 degrees, it took time for it to warm up again.  Our snow all melted in about two days, making the air very humid.  Warm damp air created so much condensation on the cold safe that water was running down the safe’s surface.  That water by itself will slightly damage the beautiful artwork.  But when temps plummeted again the paint was further damaged.  Just like freezing water trapped in tiny crevasses will crack the surfaces of rocks or concrete, it will crack old paint.  This kind of moisture is also bad for safe locks.

Gun vaults left in unheated environments can be damaged the same way.  Some kind of heart source inside the old Diebold would have minimized damage by keeping it from getting so cold.  We recommend using a Dry Rod, Golden Rod or even a light bulb inside gun safes to moderate temperature swings.  If you plan to keep your gun safe, or any kind of safe, in a garage, ask a safe expert for advice.

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!

Buying a Gun Safe for a Christmas Gift

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Last year in mid-December I sold a nice Fort Knox gun safe to a man who wanted it delivered after the holidays.  He and his family were spending the holidays in Florida.  He called after Christmas to tell me that, unfortunately, his kids had gotten together and bought him a “Brand L” gun safe.

He really appreciated the thought and the expense they had put into his gift, but he was also disappointed because he knew the Fort Knox provided better security and better fire protection.  Understandably, he could not bring himself to return his kids’ Christmas present. Our customer was embarrassed about backing out of the unit he had purchased from us.  He was also uncomfortable about using a safe that did not meet his needs.

Read my post from Nov. 25, 2016, which talks about the down-sides of surprising someone with the gift of a gun safe.  Forget the surprise – talk with the recipient in advance to find out what they really need in a safe.  A good gun safe is a lot more money than most Christmas gifts.  But buying a cheap unit might be a mistake.

Electronic Locks on Safes and Gun Safes

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A great recent development in security is the electronic safe lock.  The majority of gun safes, vault doors and commercial safesgun now come with them.  They are easier and faster to use than traditional combination locks.  Another advantage is that owner can easily change the combination himself, whenever he wants, without calling a locksmith or safe expert.

Well, while working on a project last week I discovered something interesting.  One of the safe manufacturers told me they actually – intentionally – make it hard for consumers to find instructions on changing codes for their electronic locks.  They do this because most of their dealers don’t tell the consumer how to change codes and don’t give them operating instructions.  That way the dealer can charge a fee for going to the customer’s home and doing it.

I don’t know whether this is treating the consumer unfairly or not, but it seems greedy.  We always provide personal instruction as well as owner’s manuals for electronic locks.  We do charge when changing combos on mechanical locks because there is potential for the safe owner to make an expensive mistake.

When buying a safe, gun safe or vault door with an electronic lock, make the dealer give you instructions for the lock.

American Made Gun Safes

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Does “Made In American” mean anything to you?  Far too many people just do not care anymore.  I believe our federal government is largely to blame for this.  They have done whatever it takes to pass trade deals like NAFTA which immediately lead to American jobs going to other countries.  There are entire industries in which the U.S.A. no longer competes.

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“Made In America” DOES mean something here at Hoogerhyde Safe where we do not sell foreign made gun safes.  And our customers truly appreciate that we take a stand.  Michigan is still a manufacturing center, but we know what it means to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs to other countries — where workers are grossly under-paid and the environment is destroyed with pollution.

We are proud to sell high quality U.S. built gun safes by Fort Knox and Graffunder.  We also sell American Security’s domestic BF and RF series gun safes, but we will not sell their Chinese units.  I have written about many of the specific quality problems and mis-representations concerning foreign made safes.  (Remember in the past, when someone mentioned “Chinese junk”, you knew they were talking about a kind of boat?)

Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.  Take a stand and Buy American when it comes to your gun safe.  The rewards include a feeling of patriotism as well as a feeling of having better security.