Well, I got this new Liberty safe installed and loaded so I figured I'd write up a quick review since I couldn't find any when I ordered it. It seems like every review on Liberty safes is written by the Liberty PR dept, and everyone else seems to have strong opinions on whether Liberty is awesome or just sucks. Even though I just forked out $4K to get this guy, I will try to be as impartial as possible with my opinions.
I am not a security expert in any way, so I won't comment on how this safe will do against a break-in, although I do have a feeling it will fair about as well as anything else in the price range. As far as other safes go, I also considered the AmSec BF7240 and a Sturdy safe. The reason I went with the Liberty was mostly because I got a better price than the AmSec and the Sturdy interior doesn't seem as flexible/nice (although I could be wrong since I never saw one in person).
The safe itself is a beast. The outside dimensions are 72.5"x42"x30.5" and it weighs in at 1565 lbs. Let me say that moving a safe of this size is NOT an easy task and it took several guys quite a while to get it moved through the house. I can guarantee you that this is the last safe I'll ever buy because my wife will never let something like this happen again...
This review did run a lot longer than I was planning; but, hopefully it will prove to be useful for someone who is seriously considering buying a Liberty Presidential model. Let me know if there is anything else you would like me to look at or if you think I'm wrong with some of my data so I can re-check.
Also, thanks to the people on this forum that helped me research what safe to buy - even though I know I didn't get the safe that many of you recommended...
For the rest of this review, I used my trusty micrometer to get all measurements that I list.
*** Exterior ***
The exterior of the safe looks great and seriously imposing because of the size. I got the gray marble paint since it was cheapest and I can't find any nicks or other imperfections. It also seems much more durable than the paint on my previous safe from Sportsman Steel which started chipping and cracking almost from the day I received it.
I suspect Liberty sells a lot of these purely for external looks.
*** Door ***
The steel on the door is right around .19" thick according to my measurement. There is also an internal 1/4" steel plate covering the entire door and a ball-bearing hardplate. On paper, this puts the Presidential door just a bit under the 1/2" plate door from AmSec and it's thicker than the 5/16" door from Sturdy.
I measured a .2" gap around the entire door that seems like it would be a good starting place for a pry attack. The Amsec safe I looked at had a similar gap (although I didn't measure it), but the Sturdy safes supposedly have very tight fitting doors (I haven't seen one so I can't verify that).
Because of the weight of the door, it causes the entire safe to lean forward slightly when the door is opened (I can tell when I put a level on the top). Despite the total weight of the safe, I went ahead and bolted it down - partially to keep it level when the door is open. If you have the safe installed on a hard surface instead of carpet, you may not see this.
The interior of the door has 3 layers of fireboard and there is another layer attached to the back of the door that the door panel is wrapped around (more on that later).
*** Hinges ***
There are 3 internal hinges on the right side of the safe that are 2.5" tall and about .36" thick. These hinges seem sturdy, although I suspect it would be a major issue to open or close the safe if they ever get damaged - I guess that's probably true to some extent with external hinges as well.
The hinges allow the door to open almost exactly 90 degrees - which may be good or bad depending on your situation. In my case, the safe fits very closely between 2 side walls - so the internal hinges are a great way to keep me from knocking a hole in the right-hand wall when I open the door (trust me, even being careful it would have happened eventually).
To avoid having the handle smack the right-hand wall when opened, the safe needs to sit just about 1.75" away from the wall.
*** Bolts ***
The bolts are exactly 1.5" in diameter and there are 26 of them. They extend 1.65" into the safe body. All 26 bolts are active, meaning that they open and close - rather than just the bolts on the opening side of the door like many safes have.
There is a small lever hidden under the door that is depressed when the door is closed and the bolts won't open if that lever is not depressed. That's kind of a nice feature since I know from my last safe that it's easy to accidentally close the safe with the bolts open...
There are 2 adjustment plates on the left hand side of the safe to make the bolts pull the door tight. To me, this seems odd since that means most of the bolts aren't actually holding the door unless someone is trying to pry it open. For the bolts not resting on those adjustment plates, there is about a 1/2" gap (in my case) before the bolts will come in contact with the body. I guess that may be normal since my Sportman steel had a similar setup (although it wasn't user adjustable).
*** Body ***
As with the door, the body is .19" thick. This puts it just a bit thicker than the steel in the AmSec body and the same as the Sturdy body.
There are 4 layers of fireboard in both the walls and ceiling and 1 layer in the floor. In some ways, I kind of wish I could remove one layer from the walls and ceiling to reclaim the space - but it looks like that would impact my warranty.
Liberty included a power cord that has a 90 degree angle on both sides to make it easier to fit the safe close to the rear wall - although have fun sliding this thing around.
*** Interior ***
This is one area where I was pretty disappointed with the Liberty Presidential. One reason I chose it over the Sturdy was because of the interior options, but I may end up rebuilding it to suit my needs just like I had to do with my last safe.
The safe came with 2 upper shelves and a shelf with gun cut-outs that is split in half. You can opt to use both halves for either guns or storage and there are a total of 4 adjustable shelves included (as well as 2 metal cover plates that can be used to cover the gun cut-outs).
In my case, I wanted all the space for gun storage - so I promptly removed all the shelves and found that the gun cut-out shelf didn't fit tightly without the shelves to support it. This caused an issue where several guns would fall over when I bumped the shelf at all. I'll admit this is a bit disappointing in a safe like this...
To solve the issue, I bought some thick felt strips and installed them on both sides of the gun support shelf to make it fit tight; and now it fits like it should. I realize this is a simple $1.50 fix, but it shouldn't have been needed.
I stacked the extra shelves on the bottom of the right-hand side so I could sit shorter guns on that side and have them reach the gun supports.
Overall, the Liberty interior is not as nice as the rest of the safe without having to do some work to remedy its ill-fitting shelves.
*** Options ***
The options I got with this safe are all standard options with the Presidential model except for the D-Drive lock. I'll cover each option individually.
The door organizer is about the best idea I've ever seen in a safe. I can fit everything from pistols, magazines, holsters, slings and chokes to important documents without taking up valuable shelf space. I had to be careful to not load it too full or it starts to push against the guns and shelves when closing - but that's not a big deal, just something to keep in mind. I think the holsters are probably my favorite part, although the whole system is just great!
The recessed lighting is a very nice feature in my case since there has never really been enough light in that closet to see inside the safe. There is a switch mounted on the right-hand side of the safe to turn the lights on when the door is opened. There are 2 lights that are 2.25" in diameter and they are mounted on the top, near the front of the safe. As far as the install quality goes, the lights seems like they were just slapped in and I know I could have made them feel more built-in if I had done the work myself - but isn't that true for most things...
The jewelry drawer is nice and is easily removed by unscrewing it from the shelf above. It works great to sit it on one of the upper shelves since the top of the drawer can be used as a shelf itself. I removed the internal compartments from the drawer and have found this is a great place to store suppressors. Unfortunately, Liberty didn't expect this drawer to be detached from the shelf and the top of mine is a bit damaged in the back - I'll probably contact Liberty to try and get a new one under warranty.
The leatherette welt cord strip is kind of a joke - I mean, it's nice, but I doubt it cost more than $2 to add to the safe. Liberty shouldn't have mentioned this as a big upgrade of the Presidential series.
The dehumidifier I got with mine was the PEET SafeKeeping Dryer, which seems to work fine and it wires right into the internal electrical plug. I also left the absorbant that I used to use just for extra protection.
*** Conclusion ***
Overall, I'd have to say that my opinion of this safe is mixed. I feel like it is as secure as anything else in the price range and I suspect the fire lining is just about the same as well (although it is quite a bit thicker than the AmSec for the same protection).
The exterior looks great and feels solid. The interior has some great features, but the quality is lacking in some cases and I may end up doing some 'remodelling' to get it how I want. I guess the exterior is the part that can't be replaced, so I'm glad it isn't the other way around.
I guess I'd have to recommend this with reservations, but be sure to shop around since you can get a LOT better price than Liberty advertises on their website.
I am not a security expert in any way, so I won't comment on how this safe will do against a break-in, although I do have a feeling it will fair about as well as anything else in the price range. As far as other safes go, I also considered the AmSec BF7240 and a Sturdy safe. The reason I went with the Liberty was mostly because I got a better price than the AmSec and the Sturdy interior doesn't seem as flexible/nice (although I could be wrong since I never saw one in person).
The safe itself is a beast. The outside dimensions are 72.5"x42"x30.5" and it weighs in at 1565 lbs. Let me say that moving a safe of this size is NOT an easy task and it took several guys quite a while to get it moved through the house. I can guarantee you that this is the last safe I'll ever buy because my wife will never let something like this happen again...
This review did run a lot longer than I was planning; but, hopefully it will prove to be useful for someone who is seriously considering buying a Liberty Presidential model. Let me know if there is anything else you would like me to look at or if you think I'm wrong with some of my data so I can re-check.
Also, thanks to the people on this forum that helped me research what safe to buy - even though I know I didn't get the safe that many of you recommended...
For the rest of this review, I used my trusty micrometer to get all measurements that I list.
*** Exterior ***
The exterior of the safe looks great and seriously imposing because of the size. I got the gray marble paint since it was cheapest and I can't find any nicks or other imperfections. It also seems much more durable than the paint on my previous safe from Sportsman Steel which started chipping and cracking almost from the day I received it.
I suspect Liberty sells a lot of these purely for external looks.
*** Door ***
The steel on the door is right around .19" thick according to my measurement. There is also an internal 1/4" steel plate covering the entire door and a ball-bearing hardplate. On paper, this puts the Presidential door just a bit under the 1/2" plate door from AmSec and it's thicker than the 5/16" door from Sturdy.
I measured a .2" gap around the entire door that seems like it would be a good starting place for a pry attack. The Amsec safe I looked at had a similar gap (although I didn't measure it), but the Sturdy safes supposedly have very tight fitting doors (I haven't seen one so I can't verify that).
Because of the weight of the door, it causes the entire safe to lean forward slightly when the door is opened (I can tell when I put a level on the top). Despite the total weight of the safe, I went ahead and bolted it down - partially to keep it level when the door is open. If you have the safe installed on a hard surface instead of carpet, you may not see this.
The interior of the door has 3 layers of fireboard and there is another layer attached to the back of the door that the door panel is wrapped around (more on that later).
*** Hinges ***
There are 3 internal hinges on the right side of the safe that are 2.5" tall and about .36" thick. These hinges seem sturdy, although I suspect it would be a major issue to open or close the safe if they ever get damaged - I guess that's probably true to some extent with external hinges as well.
The hinges allow the door to open almost exactly 90 degrees - which may be good or bad depending on your situation. In my case, the safe fits very closely between 2 side walls - so the internal hinges are a great way to keep me from knocking a hole in the right-hand wall when I open the door (trust me, even being careful it would have happened eventually).
To avoid having the handle smack the right-hand wall when opened, the safe needs to sit just about 1.75" away from the wall.
*** Bolts ***
The bolts are exactly 1.5" in diameter and there are 26 of them. They extend 1.65" into the safe body. All 26 bolts are active, meaning that they open and close - rather than just the bolts on the opening side of the door like many safes have.
There is a small lever hidden under the door that is depressed when the door is closed and the bolts won't open if that lever is not depressed. That's kind of a nice feature since I know from my last safe that it's easy to accidentally close the safe with the bolts open...
There are 2 adjustment plates on the left hand side of the safe to make the bolts pull the door tight. To me, this seems odd since that means most of the bolts aren't actually holding the door unless someone is trying to pry it open. For the bolts not resting on those adjustment plates, there is about a 1/2" gap (in my case) before the bolts will come in contact with the body. I guess that may be normal since my Sportman steel had a similar setup (although it wasn't user adjustable).
*** Body ***
As with the door, the body is .19" thick. This puts it just a bit thicker than the steel in the AmSec body and the same as the Sturdy body.
There are 4 layers of fireboard in both the walls and ceiling and 1 layer in the floor. In some ways, I kind of wish I could remove one layer from the walls and ceiling to reclaim the space - but it looks like that would impact my warranty.
Liberty included a power cord that has a 90 degree angle on both sides to make it easier to fit the safe close to the rear wall - although have fun sliding this thing around.
*** Interior ***
This is one area where I was pretty disappointed with the Liberty Presidential. One reason I chose it over the Sturdy was because of the interior options, but I may end up rebuilding it to suit my needs just like I had to do with my last safe.
The safe came with 2 upper shelves and a shelf with gun cut-outs that is split in half. You can opt to use both halves for either guns or storage and there are a total of 4 adjustable shelves included (as well as 2 metal cover plates that can be used to cover the gun cut-outs).
In my case, I wanted all the space for gun storage - so I promptly removed all the shelves and found that the gun cut-out shelf didn't fit tightly without the shelves to support it. This caused an issue where several guns would fall over when I bumped the shelf at all. I'll admit this is a bit disappointing in a safe like this...
To solve the issue, I bought some thick felt strips and installed them on both sides of the gun support shelf to make it fit tight; and now it fits like it should. I realize this is a simple $1.50 fix, but it shouldn't have been needed.
I stacked the extra shelves on the bottom of the right-hand side so I could sit shorter guns on that side and have them reach the gun supports.
Overall, the Liberty interior is not as nice as the rest of the safe without having to do some work to remedy its ill-fitting shelves.
*** Options ***
The options I got with this safe are all standard options with the Presidential model except for the D-Drive lock. I'll cover each option individually.
The door organizer is about the best idea I've ever seen in a safe. I can fit everything from pistols, magazines, holsters, slings and chokes to important documents without taking up valuable shelf space. I had to be careful to not load it too full or it starts to push against the guns and shelves when closing - but that's not a big deal, just something to keep in mind. I think the holsters are probably my favorite part, although the whole system is just great!
The recessed lighting is a very nice feature in my case since there has never really been enough light in that closet to see inside the safe. There is a switch mounted on the right-hand side of the safe to turn the lights on when the door is opened. There are 2 lights that are 2.25" in diameter and they are mounted on the top, near the front of the safe. As far as the install quality goes, the lights seems like they were just slapped in and I know I could have made them feel more built-in if I had done the work myself - but isn't that true for most things...
The jewelry drawer is nice and is easily removed by unscrewing it from the shelf above. It works great to sit it on one of the upper shelves since the top of the drawer can be used as a shelf itself. I removed the internal compartments from the drawer and have found this is a great place to store suppressors. Unfortunately, Liberty didn't expect this drawer to be detached from the shelf and the top of mine is a bit damaged in the back - I'll probably contact Liberty to try and get a new one under warranty.
The leatherette welt cord strip is kind of a joke - I mean, it's nice, but I doubt it cost more than $2 to add to the safe. Liberty shouldn't have mentioned this as a big upgrade of the Presidential series.
The dehumidifier I got with mine was the PEET SafeKeeping Dryer, which seems to work fine and it wires right into the internal electrical plug. I also left the absorbant that I used to use just for extra protection.
*** Conclusion ***
Overall, I'd have to say that my opinion of this safe is mixed. I feel like it is as secure as anything else in the price range and I suspect the fire lining is just about the same as well (although it is quite a bit thicker than the AmSec for the same protection).
The exterior looks great and feels solid. The interior has some great features, but the quality is lacking in some cases and I may end up doing some 'remodelling' to get it how I want. I guess the exterior is the part that can't be replaced, so I'm glad it isn't the other way around.
I guess I'd have to recommend this with reservations, but be sure to shop around since you can get a LOT better price than Liberty advertises on their website.
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