[TEXAS SOLFTAIL]

Bought an Browing gun safe 28 years ago when my son was born, to mostly keep to keep the kids out. It's time to up grade, the Browning has overflowed & its not fire proof. Any suggestions on a good fire proof gun safe. I see that there are- combination, key,touch pad, & combination of all these. Witch brand & lock-up would you recommend?

 

[Juicespeare1]

Hmm. lots of variations you can buy. Price is ... sky's the limit.

Amsec RF6528 here: http://www.amsecusa.com/gun-safes-HS-main.htm

or

one of the Graffunder's here: http://www.graffundersafes.com/

 

[Juicespeare1]

I should also add that the Amsec can be had cheaper if you forgo the shiny exterior paint and fancy painted interior and look locally to where you are for a safe dealer who specializes in actual safes. Not residential security containers like almost all guns safes are.

You can get the equivalent to the Amsec RF6528 as a jeweler's safe called the CF6528 (painted gray or blueish) and it too is UL rated TL-30. You can then order the gun interior from Amsec for about $300, have your safe dealer drill a hole in the back of the CF6528 for a power cord for your golden rod.

You WILL save a couple of thousand for this setup over the RF6528.

Just bear in mind the delivery and setup cannot be done by a couple of guys and a dolly/hand cart. Professional installation is around $500 depending on the number of steps the installers encounter. You won't get this on a second floor unless the 2nd floor is a concrete type commercial building.

This safes weighs in at approx 3200 lbs empty. The door alone is around 800 lbs.

About the best fire/tool resistant safe you can buy for less than $5k.

 

[TEXAS SOLFTAIL]

Thanks, Juicespeare, But I'm not looking for a safe as big as Fortknox. I need something 2 people can handle & install.

 

[Juicespeare1]

I like the Cannon brand for the lower end prices.

The American Eagle AE31 is a pretty good RSC for the price: http://www.cannonsafe.com

Other good choices in that price range are the Winchester brand sold at Sam's Club.

Pretty much all the lower end RSC's are made in China, doesn't matter what the actual brand name is on the RSC though. Even the low end Browning's are made there.

As for electronic or manual lock. Either/or ... they're really about the same at that level. The electronic are quicker to get into, that's the advantage of the electronic.

 

[TEXAS SOLFTAIL]

That's more in my price range. Got a couple of questions. (1) what is RSC? (2) Is the electronic, battery or 110v ? (3) does the electronic have a back-up?

 

[Juicespeare1]

1.) Residential Security Container rating (RSC) - This UL rating is based on testing conducted for a net working time of five minutes, on all sides, with a range of tools.

These other ratings apply to actual safes (not RSC's):

Like anything in life, the better the rating, the higher the price. The TL-15 and TL-30 safes are quite expensive. The TRTL safes are VERY expensive.

TL-15 rating - The TL-15 rating means the safe has been tested for a net working time of 15 minutes using high speed drills, saws and other sophisticated penetrating equipment.

TL-30 rating - A product carrying the TL-30 security label has been tested for a net working time of 30 minutes with the same types of tools mentioned above.

TL-30 x 6 - The TL-30 (30-minute) test is conducted on all six (6) sides of the safe.

TRTL-30 - The TRTL rating designates a safe which successfully resisted 30 minutes of net working time with a torch and a range of tools which might include high speed drills and saws with carbide bits, pry bars, and other impact devices.

2.) 9V battery.

3.) No backup needed, the combination is stored inside the safe on non-volatile ROM. The keypad can be removed, destroyed, attacked and the combination is safe inside the safe door.

You can remove the 9V battery, replace it later and the combination remains the same, regardless of time elapsed. Also, in a fire, the external electronic keypad will be destroyed, mostly plastic. But the actual combination is safe inside the safe door provided the temp didn't exceed the safe's rating and the memory chip and electronics survived.

 

[TEXAS SOLFTAIL]

Thanks, thats alot of imformation. I'm not understanding, that if the key pad is distroyed or the electronics fail how do you get in it without a back-up?

 

[Juicespeare1]

If the keypad is destroyed or the keypad fails, you buy another one and plug it in, if possible.

If the wires are destroyed or cannot be reached, then a safe locksmith or safe specialist is required. This would be the case if a fire or theft attempt occurred.

In any case the contents of the RSC/safe remain safe so long as the RSC/safe was not breached or the temperature didn't exceed the ratings, etc.

Main thing is the contents of the RSC/safe.

So, in the case of theft attempt or fire, your contents remain secure inside the RSC/safe, insurance pays for a new RSC/safe. You pay for getting the old RSC/safe opened and retrieve your contents and put into new RSC/safe.

This is really no different if you have a mechanical lock either. I guarantee an unskilled thief will attack the door and the external lock mechanism first, thus destroying the combination assembly and the other external stuff first. Many of the higher end safes have a glass plate inside the safe door which will shatter when a hard impact on the door or a drill attempt is made. Once that piece of glass is shattered, you need a safe specialist to open the safe.

Main thing is the contents of the safe, as insurance will cover the actual damage to the safe itself.

Cool thing about Cannon, if you read their warranty, they will pay to have the RSC opened and fixed for you in the case of theft attempt or fire. I don't think anyone else in the industry does this for free.

http://www.cannonsafe.com/warrantyinfo.nxg

That pretty much explains it all.

Even the high end safe companies won't offer a warranty like this.

Hence, my preference for an RSC made by Cannon if you're going to go the RSC route. As for safes, I think the Amsec route is pretty good, but they still don't have the warranty of Cannon even though you'd pay a lot more for an actual Amsec safe (not RSC).

 

[TEXAS SOLFTAIL]

Cool Juicespeare1, You seem to know your safes. I'll have to go with the RSC/safe for that is in my price range. I'll be looking at the Cannon, think they have them at Acadmey.

 

[Kainam]

Thanks for all the info Juice!

 

[Juicespeare1]

No prob.

I did a lot of research on safes and RSC's when I bought my safe. I already had an RSC (AE31) from Cannon and wanted a safe. I still have the Cannon RSC.

There's a lot of info out there, some misleading, some good.

You can get a real good deal on an Amsec CF6528 jeweler's safe if you look in your area for safe dealers.

Also, like Texas mentioned, Academy sells some Cannon RSC's under the label American Eagle which is one of Cannon's lines like the AE31.

For the money and the warranty Cannon offers, I'd say this is the way to go if you're looking for something inexpensive.

A great company to get RSC's/safes from is Graffunder: http://www.graffundersafes.com/

They are very highly rated and recommended.