Formula for buying a Gun Safe...

[Rembrandt]

After seeing several post regarding what is the best safe....shouldn't there be a more practical way of determining the best safe for the money?

Perhaps a formula that encompasses all the factors.

$= Price
F=Fire Protection rating (max temp times max hourly rating)
C=Cubic Inches (volume of interior)
S=Square inches (area of usable shelf space)
W=Weight (Separates the 14 gauge tin boxes from 1/4" wall units)

S+C+W+F/$= (higher the number the better the safe)

Any thoughts on the formula?

 

[DogBonz]

interesting...

But you can add a lot of weight to a thin sheet metal safe by adding "fireproofing" material.

 

[tubeshooter]

Nice idea. You would just have to tweak the variables with some constants in front to adjust and give the right balance to them.

I would suggest adding a variable for "how much weight can my upstairs handle?" where applicable.

 

[Roadwild17]

regarding the fire protection,

I noticed some safes have a rating of 1200 Deg F for 2.5 hours and the step-up safe has a rating of 1 hour @ 1623 (something along those lines).


I believe it has something to do with the melting point of something, but wouldn't the safe rated for 1 hour @ 1623 hold out over 2.5 hours @ 1200 deg?

 

[RP86]

Just to clarify is the formula (S+C+W+F)/$ or is it the way you had it before?

-Ryan

 

[Sisco]

Don't forget to figure capacity:
Count the number of guns you own.
Multiply by 2.5
Get one bigger than that, you'll need it in a couple of years.

 

[Rembrandt]

Good point Sisco....

L=Long guns
H=Hand guns


OK, so how's this look?.....(S+C+W+F+L+H)/$=

 

[plexreticle]

Not to derail but a good rule of thumb is to buy a safe at least twice as big as you think you need.

 

[LkWinnipesaukee]

I believe it has something to do with the melting point of something, but wouldn't the safe rated for 1 hour @ 1623 hold out over 2.5 hours @ 1200 deg?

Most likely not. My uneducated opinion, maybe the steel wont melt @1200 degrees, but it may let a dangerous amount of heat inside over the 2.5 hours=melted guns.

See what I'm getting at?


Bottom line, just dont let a fire start.

 

[gezzer]

Easy buy the biggest you can afford. Forget fire resistance the atmosphere in a fire will destroy the value anyway, Fire insurance is cheap what costs is theft. You will regret if you buy to small trust me Owner of 5 safes.

 

[Hipster]

My strategy for buying safes is to research all the safes available and compare options and sizes to determine what is best for my situation.

Then, I forget all that stuff and look at the balance in my checkbook... and buy what I can afford.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

I agree with the bottom line crowd, you buy the biggest that will fit and you can afford (within reason).
The fire rating has a lot to do with where you live and how hot you expect the fire to be.
Where I live (fire hydrant on the corner of my front yard) the fire department sits around (about 10 blocks away) waiting for something to do--I don't think they work more than one fire a year. I have a fire detector hooked to a central monitoring station in town and several of my neighbors (on each side and across the street) are home all day. I don't imagine that 2 hours a 1600 farhenheit is going to mean beans to me. If however, you live in a rural area, and your safe is in a central location that might expect high temperatures for a long time, then a good fire rating might just save the bacon.
I also am not concerned with stopping a gang of professional, well trained, highly modivated, thieves. Again, where I live just makes that possibility unlikey. The burgularies we see where I live are punks breaking in and grabing VCRs and cash to buy crack. I just need something heavy and locked to keep my guns from ending up on the street.
Of course all of that is mute as I no longer own any guns (Ya hear that Nancy!), but if I did...

Oh yeah, also like everyone else said: safes have a way of getting enough guns to overcrowd them, so buy as big as you can afford TO FILL!!

 

[Sisco]

A co-worker bought a large safe and put it in his second floor bedroom. (Glad I wasn't asked to help put it in!)
He was bragging about its fire rating when I pointed out to him that if he had a bad fire the safe was going to end up in the basement covered by debris and water and most likely everything in it would be trashed.

 

[brett30030]

Of course all of that is mute as I no longer own any guns

I believe you mean moot and not mute. See below:


mute [myoot] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, mut·er, mut·est, noun, verb, mut·ed, mut·ing.
–adjective
1. silent; refraining from speech or utterance.
2. not emitting or having sound of any kind.
3. incapable of speech; dumb.
4. (of letters) silent; not pronounced.
5. Law. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or giving an irrelevant response when arraigned, or refusing to stand trial (used chiefly in the phrase to stand mute).
6. Fox Hunting. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.

moot [moot] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. open to discussion or debate; debatable; doubtful: a moot point.
2. of little or no practical value or meaning; purely academic.
3. Chiefly Law. not actual; theoretical; hypothetical.
–verb (used with object)
4. to present or introduce (any point, subject, project, etc.) for discussion.
5. to reduce or remove the practical significance of; make purely theoretical or academic.
6. Archaic. to argue (a case), esp. in a mock court.