John Waters1
Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2018
- Messages
- 2
In 2007 bought a exp. Liberty and it had a S&G 6120 lock and worked fine for 10 yrs and I had to change battery 1X after about 8 1/2 yrs. then in 2017 it acted up and all functions worked and beeped but I heard lock click but would not unlock and sometimes I had to run combo 20-30 X and then it finally opened, new battery same thing.
I did research and figured out it simply had worn parts in lock (plastic made in China) so pulled lock out and checked wires etc.. and when opening it after 30 more tries, knew I need a new lock as of Yesterday, dude who I bought it from had closed his store and went on a week vacation. Then spent whole night researching new locks & locksmiths and had taken all my guns out.
Safe has lifetime warranty but lock only 5 yrs. so all locks I wanted listed warranty void unless installed by a Locksmith. Called around and got quotes for a smith to come and put new lock in since I had removed old one and quotes ranges from $200. -$450. for same type of lock a Amsec ESL 20 which from reviews were allegedly 1 of the best and price ranged for lock alone online were $180.-$250.
So I had a smith sell me lock & install it for $200. total and thus got a 1 yr. warranty, lock worked great but after 3 month didn't have enough power to unlock bolt but would beep and click but couldn't unlock door. Called smith who put in in and he said replace batteries but the Duracell he put in were new and had a 5 more yr. shelf life.
That solved issue and all fine for 5-6 months then 3 months ago same issue, so took all apart and found 3 screws for body not tightened proper as well as 2 screws for relocker also needed tightening (1 of best locksmith in town, yeah right) found no loose, broke, kinked wires etc. warranty now expired 2 months so put new batteries in again and tested lock 50-60X that day and all well.
Been reading and studying a lot and seems Amsec locks have had many issues in last yr. even mine which was made in 2016 and many say that they have to change batteries every 3 months or so. Seems common issue with many different locks, but in general a lock should work 10.000 cycles before battery/batteries need replacing.
Been working rest. business over 30 yrs. and I know manual dial locks can mess up as bad as electronic, have seen that issue many times.
So this AM after testing lock 50-60X yesterday, 1st try and click but no open then opened 3X but then no open till I replaced batteries again, this is not cheap, mine takes 2 9volts and a 8 pack I got sunday at Costco was $17. there is a AC adaptor available which would solve my issue since then batteries would only be needed in a power outage but unit costs $200. since it also has a remote alarm build in and its not worth it to me.
So I figured out after 50-60X opening it it wont open but then will usually on 2nd try for another 50-60X before nothing and batt are to low, Duracell batteries when I tested them full are about 9.57 volt and seem to work 60X then usually every 2nd try for another 40-50X then dead. So in last week replaced batteries which would not work and had voltage of 9.4 next set 9.37 and next set 9.48 and all 3 sets would not unlock door which they should till down to 7.5 volts, so all mine are still good but unless at or above 9.57 volts wont work!
I know they make 9 volt Lithium batteries which put out more juice and these have a shelf life of 10 yrs. unlike Alkaline which have only 5 yrs. but the Lithiums have a slightly thicker/wider body and wont fit in many smoke alarms or safes and these would not fit in mine since my 2 batteries fit very snug and the Lithiums run about $12.00+ for 1 compared to about $2.15 for Duracells.
So I don't want to get a locksmith since they charge a ton even if I buy a lock from them and they have only a limited amount of types and each prefers 1 brand over the other, did notice Liberty no longer uses S&G locks at all but a new type and am tempted to buy 1 for $200. but unless put in by smith the 5 yr. warranty is void. Did notice that on a few Amazon now lets u buy a 2-3 yr. extended warranty for about $15.00.
So I am looking for a new good lock and where 1 runs $200. here next place has it for $300. with doing a lot of shooting in the summer I open safe about 8-10 X daily and after about 1 week of that I have to run combo 2X and it may open another 50-60X.
Hate to get a smith since I have to take all guns out of safe etc. so I guess I will keep looking and try to find a place where they sell a "Good" lock and hopefully can get a extended warranty for more $!
Have learned all kinds of tricks to get in safe doing certain things before running combo after my original lock went out about 14 months ago!
Sorry to be so long-winded but this is very annoying!
Thank's!
I did research and figured out it simply had worn parts in lock (plastic made in China) so pulled lock out and checked wires etc.. and when opening it after 30 more tries, knew I need a new lock as of Yesterday, dude who I bought it from had closed his store and went on a week vacation. Then spent whole night researching new locks & locksmiths and had taken all my guns out.
Safe has lifetime warranty but lock only 5 yrs. so all locks I wanted listed warranty void unless installed by a Locksmith. Called around and got quotes for a smith to come and put new lock in since I had removed old one and quotes ranges from $200. -$450. for same type of lock a Amsec ESL 20 which from reviews were allegedly 1 of the best and price ranged for lock alone online were $180.-$250.
So I had a smith sell me lock & install it for $200. total and thus got a 1 yr. warranty, lock worked great but after 3 month didn't have enough power to unlock bolt but would beep and click but couldn't unlock door. Called smith who put in in and he said replace batteries but the Duracell he put in were new and had a 5 more yr. shelf life.
That solved issue and all fine for 5-6 months then 3 months ago same issue, so took all apart and found 3 screws for body not tightened proper as well as 2 screws for relocker also needed tightening (1 of best locksmith in town, yeah right) found no loose, broke, kinked wires etc. warranty now expired 2 months so put new batteries in again and tested lock 50-60X that day and all well.
Been reading and studying a lot and seems Amsec locks have had many issues in last yr. even mine which was made in 2016 and many say that they have to change batteries every 3 months or so. Seems common issue with many different locks, but in general a lock should work 10.000 cycles before battery/batteries need replacing.
Been working rest. business over 30 yrs. and I know manual dial locks can mess up as bad as electronic, have seen that issue many times.
So this AM after testing lock 50-60X yesterday, 1st try and click but no open then opened 3X but then no open till I replaced batteries again, this is not cheap, mine takes 2 9volts and a 8 pack I got sunday at Costco was $17. there is a AC adaptor available which would solve my issue since then batteries would only be needed in a power outage but unit costs $200. since it also has a remote alarm build in and its not worth it to me.
So I figured out after 50-60X opening it it wont open but then will usually on 2nd try for another 50-60X before nothing and batt are to low, Duracell batteries when I tested them full are about 9.57 volt and seem to work 60X then usually every 2nd try for another 40-50X then dead. So in last week replaced batteries which would not work and had voltage of 9.4 next set 9.37 and next set 9.48 and all 3 sets would not unlock door which they should till down to 7.5 volts, so all mine are still good but unless at or above 9.57 volts wont work!
I know they make 9 volt Lithium batteries which put out more juice and these have a shelf life of 10 yrs. unlike Alkaline which have only 5 yrs. but the Lithiums have a slightly thicker/wider body and wont fit in many smoke alarms or safes and these would not fit in mine since my 2 batteries fit very snug and the Lithiums run about $12.00+ for 1 compared to about $2.15 for Duracells.
So I don't want to get a locksmith since they charge a ton even if I buy a lock from them and they have only a limited amount of types and each prefers 1 brand over the other, did notice Liberty no longer uses S&G locks at all but a new type and am tempted to buy 1 for $200. but unless put in by smith the 5 yr. warranty is void. Did notice that on a few Amazon now lets u buy a 2-3 yr. extended warranty for about $15.00.
So I am looking for a new good lock and where 1 runs $200. here next place has it for $300. with doing a lot of shooting in the summer I open safe about 8-10 X daily and after about 1 week of that I have to run combo 2X and it may open another 50-60X.
Hate to get a smith since I have to take all guns out of safe etc. so I guess I will keep looking and try to find a place where they sell a "Good" lock and hopefully can get a extended warranty for more $!
Have learned all kinds of tricks to get in safe doing certain things before running combo after my original lock went out about 14 months ago!
Sorry to be so long-winded but this is very annoying!
Thank's!
