Just a heads up to anyone looking to purchase a safe for their home: OfficeMax has the Sentry Fire-Safe S3807 on sale for $135 (MSRP is $295). It has 1700* fire protection, key lock, electronic lock (for quick access), key hooks, floor bolts, etc. I'd been thinking about getting a safe for a while now and this was too good a deal to pass up. My local store didn't have any in stock, so they offered me free delivery. This was a big bonus considering it weighs 100lbs. It's a pretty big safe at over 1 cubic foot internal volume. I should easily have enough room for my wife's jewelry, our important papers, all our spare keys, our external computer hard drive, and two firearms.
you mentioned: <<I should easily have enough room for my wife's jewelry, our important papers, all our spare keys, our external computer hard drive, and two firearms.>>
I imagine you'll bolt that box to the floor somewhere out of the way, maybe inside a closet or similar. If so, how practical is to put some of the items you mention? For example the external hard drive, would you go back and forth with it, from the box to the computer? When you say "important papers" do you mean the current checkbook too?
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I don't check these boards often.
The safe is bolted to the floor in our master bedroom closet. It's about 5 feet from our bed and due to the electronic lock I can access anything in it within 10 seconds or less. It's out of the way, yet still very easily accessible. We were able to easily fit a LOT of stuff into the safe (digital camera, digital video camera, spare cash, spare keys, backup hard drive, important paperwork, etc).
The hard drive is used to back up the PC about once a month. So, I just take it into the office, hook it up, and run the backup. When it finishes I disconnect the drive and put it back in the safe. Piece of cake.
"Important papers" includes our checkbooks (we don't write checks often), passports, birth certificates, Social Security paperwork, Titles and registrations to both cars, our mortgage paperwork, etc. Obviously, we can't store EVERYTHING in there (pay stubs, receipts, etc), but we can fit a lot. Paperwork that isn't replaceable goes into the safe. Everything else will go in a locking file cabinet.
This brings up another good point they haven't brought up on the show. Burglary isn't the only household security issue. When choosing a safe make sure you choose one which is water resistant, fire proof, and secure from burglars. The water resistant part isn't just for floods either. When firemen put out the fire the water often times causes more damage than the fire or smoke does. Buying one safe which covers all three aspects will keep you valuables safe and secure. Also a good item to keep in your safe is a photocopy of your wallet/purse items. If you lose or have your wallet/purse stolen, you will have ready access to all the numbers/information for the police to cancel credit cards, give a good account, etc.
I understand that many of these safes are not actually all that safe from burglary. Sentry safes are mainly built to protect against fire, and are water resistant, though if you take a crowbar to them they can actually be pried open with enough effort.
Has anyone had this issue?
From everysafe.com
There are various levels of burglary protection available, from standard to keep children away from dangerous firearms and chemicals, to practically impenetrable for safeguarding valuables against theft by professional criminals. A UL technician will attempt to enter a safe for a sustained period of time with a given amount of tools, and the Burglary Rating that the safe receives will correspond to both how long it takes the UL technician to enter it and the tools used.
* Burglary Classification TL-15- Safe offers protection against forced entry using common mechanical and electrical hand tools, such as chisels, hammers, and drills, for up to 15 minutes. * Burglary Classification of TL-30- Safe offers protection against forced entry for 30 minutes using common mechanical and electrical hand tools, such as chisels, hammers, and drills
In addition to safes with UL’s Burglary Classification, we also carry an array of Residential Security Containers (RSC). To be classified as an RSC, it must have the ability to withstand at least 5 full minutes of rigorous prying, drilling, punching, chiseling, and tampering by UL technicians.
* RSC-B rating means that the safe has less than a ½" thick steel body construction and passes all RSC testing. * RSC-C rating means that the safe has at least 1" thick steel body construction and passes all RSC testing.
