high security safes Archives - Page 2 of 3

Avoid Injuries When Working with Safes: Part 3

Posted on October 9, 2014January 16, 2019

I get nervous when parents bring kids into our shop and then don’t watch them closely. I warn them that “safe doors are not kind to little fingers.” That is true at home, too – if you have a safe do not allow children to use it. It doesn’t take much for a safe door to injure or even cut off a small finger.

The same can be said for adult fingers when a heavy safe is involved, especially when the safe is a high-security plate steel model. Some years ago one of the fast food chains standardized on a TL-30 plate steel safe in which the door was 1 ½” solid plate steel. The doors fit with very close tolerances and had sharp 90 degree edges. I know of several instances just in our area where employees using the safe were not careful enough. As a result, the door was closed when their hands were in the way and their pinky fingers were severed. When a 300# door wants to close, a little finger will not stop it. I know one of the restaurant managers well. She went through terrible anguish as they put the finger on ice and rushed the girl to the hospital. But it could not be re-attached.

Think about how you as a business owner or manager would feel if that happened to your employee! Think about the potential for a lawsuit! As a consumer, how would you feel if your child was injured like that?

There is a solution to the problem. The “slam damper” is a hydraulic deceleration cylinder that will slow down the door as it closes. The picture looks down on a slam damper (not installed) and the kind of heavy plate steel safe which is the biggest problem — the door is 1 1/2″ steel with sharp edges. The device is mounted inside, usually to the top of the safe body. The door is stopped before closing and the user needs to push the door the rest of the way, making them think about what they are doing.

Total cost for the slam damper and its installation should run about $350 to $400. It sounds expensive, but how much sleep would you lose after an accident? How much would a severed finger cost you in court? Train your employees in the importance of being careful when using the safe. For additional protection have a safe technician install a slam damper.

Avoid Injuries When working With Safes: Part 1

Posted on September 17, 2014January 16, 2019

Moving safes can be dangerous. You should not attempt to move large units, like gun safes, unless you have experience with this kind of task. It is not uncommon for people to be injured when moving a safe. We are occasionally called to stand up a safe that has fallen over when it was being handled by inexperienced people. Usually, their new safe is now scratched up and ugly. Frequently it also then needs to be professionally drilled open and have a new lock installed. The safe on which they “got a good deal” has now cost them dearly.

Several tips for moving a heavy safe:

1) Having too many people around can cause distractions, increasing the likelihood of accidents.

2) Take lots of time to think through all the issues and risks – hurrying can cause accidents.

3) Rolling a safe across the floor on golf balls sounds like a good idea, but has been the cause of many accidents. Trying to slide a safe on blocks of ice is really dangerous. Use pipes instead.

4) When moving a safe by pallet jack, forklift, crane, etc., be alert and stand far enough away that the safe cannot possibly reach you if it falls.

5) If the safe wants to fall, especially a tall one, don’t be a hero. Don’t try to stop it, let it fall. Paying to have it repaired is cheaper and less painful than broken bones.

6) We normally advise not taking the door off to lighten the safe. Dropping the door on your foot could cause a serious injury. A heavy, tall, awkward safe door can catch you off guard and knock you over. (You will probably also damage the paint trying to put the door back on its hinges.)

7) When taking a heavy unit downstairs be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS. Consider standing at the top of the stairs and slowly lowering it with straps. Consider reinforcing the staircase from underneath.

8) Best advice: Pay to hire professionals.

Too many people are injured, or damage their safe, or damage their home when doing work they should not attempt. Buy you safe from a dealer that offers delivery service.

The Best Way to Install a Safe

Posted on August 21, 2014January 16, 2019

We are frequently asked whether it is best to install a safe flat on the floor or to raise it up off the floor to provide air circulation. Since each method involves trade-offs, the “Best” method depends on your situation and your primary concern.

If security is the only issue the safe should be flat on the floor, bolted down. But won’t that cause rust and stain the floor if there is no air circulation? Very possibly, depending on the type of floor and how well the bottom of the safe is primed or painted. Most residential safes are primed, but some companies do a poor job of it. Sliding the safe across rough surfaces will scrape off primer, making rust more likely. The primer itself may stain. So just make the assumption that the floor will get stained. Then decide whether the potential of burglars removing your safe is more important than the risk of a discolored floor.

If the safe is going into a basement which has a history of water problems, I recommend elevating it on 4” x 4” or 4” x 6” wood. Putting the safe on concrete blocks will lift it even higher. These arrangements will be functional but they won’t look great. IMPORTANT: When elevating a safe make sure it is supported right out to the front edge or the safe may fall forward when the door is opened! This is especially true with tall units like gun safes. Note that raising the safe makes bolting it down pointless — the open space allows pry bars or pallet jacks underneath which can pull the bolts right out of the floor. We often use hockey pucks or thin strips of wood to create a ventilation space underneath. Hockey pucks even look good. But this small space makes a great home for mice and bugs.

Finished hardwood floors are easily scratched when maneuvering a safe into place. Here are two things that work out well: Put the safe on a piece of up-side-down carpet, soft side to the floor. The safe will slide easily into place and it won’t scratch the floor. Four thick felt pads under the safe will accomplish the same thing. But be careful using pads because some safes are bowed on the bottom and the middle might still scrape the floor.

f you are not concerned about someone removing your safe, and you do not want the floor stained, and you don’t want to create a home for small critters, and you want it to look nice, buy a 4” high carpeted pedestal. We sell them for $70.

Relock Devices: External Relockers

Posted on July 21, 2014January 16, 2019

External relockers are located outside the lock body, but usually right next to it, inside the safe door. The external relocker stops the transfer bars from moving, so that the safe bolts cannot be forced back by a burglar into the unlocked position. Two variations of the most common arrangement are shown below.

If someone pounds on the dial enough so that the dial spindle drives the lock or lock cover backward, then it releases the spring-loaded relock bolt. On some safes (picture on right) it will block the cam from moving by dropping behind the cam or into a notch on the cam. Safes that use gear drives rather than cams will be different. On the gear drive Fort Knox on the left , the relock bolt goes behind a block welded to the transfer bar. Some safes have a notch in the transfer bar into which the relocker goes. A qualified safe technician will be required to open a safe after an external relocker has been set off.

Interesting note: The safe on the right is a popular brand that we will not sell, and the relocker is not assembled properly. The lock cover plate is installed so that the roll pin rests on top of it, rather than being fit into a hole in the plate where it is supposed to be. I guess it takes too long to make the parts fit correctly.

When buying a safe make sure it has an internal relocker. Most cheap safes, especially Chinese made safes, do not have them.

Relock Devices on Safes: Internal Relockers

Posted on June 30, 2014January 16, 2019

Most safe manufacturers tell you that they have relock devices in their safes, but they never tell you what one is or what it does.

The most common form of relocker is the “internal” relocker. “Internal” because it is located inside the lock body on safe locks that are rated Group 2 or higher. Burglars attempting to break into a safe will frequently smash the lock dial on the outside of the safe with a hammer, bat or anything else they can swing. The force of that blow will drive the dial spindle back into the safe, against the back cover of the lock body. The lock body is located inside the safe door. Enough force will cause the back cover to break away along a line that is intentionally made weak by the lock manufacturer. When this occurs a spring loaded “relock trigger” pops into a hole in the lock bolt. The lock bolt is the part that actually keeps your safe locked, by preventing the big bolts in the door edge from being pushed back in. With the relock trigger in that hole, then the lock bolt is deadlocked and cannot be forced to unlock.

Picture on left shows back cover of S&G Group 2 lock. Picture on right shows lock with cover removed. Relocker is the angled brass piece in lower right. Since the lock cover is removed the relocker is “fired”, and you can see the right end of it is in the hole on the lock bolt.

If the relocker is set off this way a burglar is much less likely to get into your safe. You will not be able to open it either. An experienced safe technician will be able to open your safe and make it useable again. Note that most locksmiths are not skilled at opening locked safes, especially when a relocker has been set off.

Next posting will be on external relockers.