Comparing Safes

[DonaldW]

Ive done some very extensive research on gun safes, and I have come down to 2 companies that fit my needs.. I will be storing guns and irreplaceable documents in here. I don't need a huge safe, nor do I want one the size of a highschool locker. Something like 20x30x60 or 20x30x72 (DxWxH). Ive narrowed it down to sturdy safe and visalia safe. I know this size is sufficient, money nor space is preventing me from getting a bigger one.

Heres what I need -

1. 7-8 gauge steel to prevent AX penetration

2. Fire lined with the best available fire liner (ceramic wool liner UL listed 2300 degrees indefinite)

3. 1/4in - 5/16in door's to not allow flexibility to be pried open

4. external hinges to allow door 180 degree opening

5. relockers to help prevent drilling

6. steel plate to protect lock

Both of these safes include all those options listed above.

The differences between the 2 are:

The visalia safe has 3 1 inch locking pins on the opening side of the safe, however a tight gap between the safe shell and edge of the door (hard to get pry bar in.) (approx 1/16in gap)

The sturdy safe also has 3 pins, but a welded C channel frame on the inside of the door to prevent the door from flexing open from a pry bar. Also a small gap between door and safe shell.

Remember though, both are 7 gauge steel.

The sturdy safe has solid pins on the hinged side of the door that dont move from the locking handle, and the visalia has a solid plate that runs down the entire inside of the door on the hinged side, plus the visalia has a continuous hinge that runs all the way down the outside, where as the sturdy has 2 seperate external hinges. These are both great safes, and after seeing both in person I would say they are better made than even an American Security safe or a Fort Knox.. The upside to Sturdy Safe and Visalia is they don't dump alot of money into advertising so you arent paying for the name.. Im asking for all comments and suggestions between these 2. No matter their sizes, they both have the same security features, fire lining is optional for both and both can be bolted down.

Please don't recommend another brand of safe to me, im not interested. I want to know what everyone here thinks of these 2, and which is going to keep my guns and documents out of the hands of thief's.

Here are the links to their webpages, they both have ALOT of information about their safes. If anyone sees something that I don't please feel free to say.

www.sturdysafe.com

www.visaliasafe.com

 

[jakemccoy]

If I were interested in a substantial safe, I'd go with Sturdy Safe. I don't know too much about Visalia. I do know that I appreciate Sturdy Safe's no frills approach to safe making. You can get a Sturdy Safe customized to your specific needs.

There are safe gurus here that will probably chime in to say neither of these are really safes. However, for my purposes, they’re safes.

======

Regarding the important documents, you might want to think of additional protection besides a safe. I scan-in important data (documents, pics, etc.) and back them up online remotely. I wouldn't trust any safe to protect my documents from the floods or fires we've seen in America lately.

 

[DonaldW]

Thanks Jake. They seem to be really straight up people over there. He really explains what he sells. My important documents have photo copies of them, stored at safety deposit box's, relatives homes and such. I have thought about putting them on a storage server remotely, not a bad idea.

 

[Boiler_81]

Corrected link

http://www.visaliasafes.com/

 

[CB900F]

Jake;

It isn't what I think of either of them that counts. Underwriter's Labs won't rate either of them as safes because neither of them is plate steel construction, all 6 sides. And that's what it takes before U.L. will rate a container as a safe. Argue all you want, U.L. isn't gonna pay much attention to you.

I've always said, find what has the features you need at the least price & go with it. You don't have to have a true safe in order to be protected, but if you don't have a true safe, then it's a very good idea to have layered security measures.

900F

 

[a1abdj]

Donald,

Of the two safes mentioned, I like the Sturdy.

With that said, I'm going to point out and add some additional information based on your post.

I will be storing guns and irreplaceable documents in here.

Gun safes are not designed to store documents of any type, especially those that are irreplaceable. If they are absolutely irreplaceable, they should remain in a bank safe deposit box, or if that's not possible, in a UL rated container.

1. 7-8 gauge steel to prevent AX penetration

1/4" steel is about the minimum I would trust to stop an ax. Actually, I have even seen 1/4" beaten through with either an axe or a sledge, but it took them a while to do it.

2. Fire lined with the best available fire liner (ceramic wool liner UL listed 2300 degrees indefinite)

The best available fire lining is a composite concrete material. Some of these concretes are designed to encapsulate moisture which is then released when the safe is heated. Others are designed to simply not conduct heat.

UL has some pretty grueling tests on the safes that they certify. I don't believe they've ever certified a safe using ceramic wool as an insuation. Even after the last 100 years worth of technology, insulations which contain moisture have been known to be the best insulators on safes.

3. 1/4in - 5/16in door's to not allow flexibility to be pried open

1/2" would be the minimum I would look at to prevent prying. Even 1/2" can be pried if given proper motivation.

4. external hinges to allow door 180 degree opening

I prefer external hinges myself, for a variety of reasons.

5. relockers to help prevent drilling

Unless you're talking about glass plate relockers, most relockers do not prevent drilling. Most relockers found on gun safes assist against punching attacks.

6. steel plate to protect lock

This is what prevents normal drilling. A hardened steel plate will stop standard drill bits, but It can also be drilled if using the proper equipment. I haven't run across anything too difficult to penetrate in a gun safe. I even drilled a Liberty using the ball bearing hard plate in less than 2 minutes.

The visalia safe has 3 1 inch locking pins on the opening side of the safe, however a tight gap between the safe shell and edge of the door (hard to get pry bar in.) (approx 1/16in gap)

The sturdy safe also has 3 pins, but a welded C channel frame on the inside of the door to prevent the door from flexing open from a pry bar. Also a small gap between door and safe shell.

Remember though, both are 7 gauge steel.

On thinner steels, the extra bolts can help. The problem with thinner metals is that they bend easier. The additional bolts reduce the potential flex.

The sturdy safe has solid pins on the hinged side of the door that dont move from the locking handle, and the visalia has a solid plate that runs down the entire inside of the door on the hinged side, plus the visalia has a continuous hinge that runs all the way down the outside, where as the sturdy has 2 seperate external hinges.

Both of these would be considered a proper design, and both should perform in a similar fashion under attack.

These are both great safes, and after seeing both in person I would say they are better made than even an American Security safe or a Fort Knox..

From somebody who works with safes every day (mostly commercial, but an alarming number of gun safes as well), I would disagree.

Again, I would not use either of these safes myself for your state purpose. However, if somebody offered me one or the other as a gift, I'd take the Sturdy.

 

[jakemccoy]

CB900F,

I agree with you. I'm not sure why you think I'm arguing. Stay safe!

Regards,
-Jake