After seeing what my neighbor is going thru and reading the posts above I'll also stick with my old fashioned dial!
Each has their advantages:
A mechanical (dial) lock is slower to operate, but often more reliable. These locks are servicable, and last the longest with periodic maintenance. The combination should be changed by a locksmith.
Electronic locks are faster to operate, but have a higher failure rate than mechanical locks. These locks are not servicable, and are simply replaced when needed. The combinations are easily changed by the consumer.
Great - we've got a safe coming today with an electronic lock so the wife can open it...
My girlfriend has electronic locks on all of her safes, and we've had zero problems with them. They are however, like anything else electronic. They will eventually fail, and usually very inconveniently.
What's the normal "lifespan" on an electronic lock?
This can depend on the lock, as some are better than others. In a commercial setting, 5 years tends to be a good run. I've seen locks 10 to 12 years old in residential settings that are still functioning.
The problem with the electronics is the complexity. There are literally a million things that can go wrong inside the lock.
for what ever it's worth my neighbors safe is about 12 years old. maybe there was some maintance he missed............I was surprised that he did not have a way to go around the electronic lock
He's had a good run with that lock. If he replaces it with the same model and get's another 12 years, I wouldn't complain at all.
These locks do not have key overrides because that would make the lock much less secure.
A very close friend of mine, as in family, is a locksmith. He has seen several instances where some idiot has thought that whacking away on an keypad with a big hammer would open the lock. In none of these instances had they tried to pry open the door or peal a side, just your 99.99 percent of the time small time thief who came across a safe and gave it 15 seconde of his time. End result is a costly call to the smith. On the other hand he has not seen this assumption made with a dial. I stick with dials myself!
I've seen both smashed, and on a regular basis. The good thing about the electronic locks, is that you can usually sister a new keypad to the wiring and coax it to open. Hitting a mechanical lock's dial can instantly set off relockers that wouldn't have been fired on the electronic lock. This can create a much nastier situation to deal with.
If you're going to replace the electronic lock anyways, I'd suggest you look at the Lagards, or Globalocks. The Lagards tend to be more reliable than the S&G's, and cost about the same. Globalocks are a little more money, but are much more reliable. They also have a built in back up for every part of the lock. If one side fails, the other side will still open the lock, then code you that the lock is failing.
