Question about gun safes?

[Retired Educator]

I'm thinking about finally getting a gun safe. I'd like to store the safe in my garage. My problem is I don't heat my garage and I know I will have a significant amount of changes in temperature over the course of a year. That either will or at least may cause condensation. Do the dehumidifiers for gun safes adequately control the humidity under those conditions. Or am I better storing the gun safe in my basement?

Would also appreciate any other suggestions to look for in a safe.

 

[Hookin8easy]

Check out gunsafes.com for many brand and comparisons, good prices. I went the Winchester supreme after looking at many and comparing ratings, great safe/vault, well built. Personally...my guns are stored near me and the family

 

[2400]

I have 3 safes at my house. One is a 1899 Mosler that weighs 3600# and is about a foot thick. It lives in the shop and humidity and temperature don't seem to make any difference at all with it.

I have both a Browning Medallion and a Winchester gun safe in the house and have a golden rod in both.

My advise is to buy the best safe you can afford and use a golden rod in it.

 

[5575]

Walmart online has some pretty good deals on gunsafes and pretty much free delivery.

 

[johnr]

I would recommend putting it in the house, my garage gets majorly damp in the winter months, of course I heat it and park 3 vehicles in it each night that sometimes have a days worth of snow built up on them. My garage window is pretty well wet all winter with the excess humidity.

If you can get in the house that would be your best bet.

I picked up a Scheels brand one a few years back, its been a nice safe, plenty of room for my tiny collection. If it says its a 60 gun safe, that means closer to 35 when your guns have scopes, etc..

 

[Whisky]

Questions:

Would 1 bigger one or 2 smaller ones be preferred?

What kind of locks do people prefer most?

What accessories are required for humidity and light controls?

Does a guy really need the high end shit or would a basic model from a GOOD company like Fort Knox do the job? My main concerns would be fire protection and locking up for kids safety, not theft.

 

[Norske]

Get some advice from a locksmith. If you get a really heavy one, you may even want a locksmith service to install it. If nothing else, locksmiths get to solve problems with gun vaults.

 

[db-2]

Dial before push buttons db

 

[Sum1]

It seems with gun safes there is no middle ground. You either cringe at the price and bite the bullet or you settle for a cheap metal cabinet.

 

[Finaddict]

Get the biggest one you can afford. You will fill it up. You would be surprised what your wife will want to put in it. Dial lock, forget electric or push button. I opted for the highest fire rating I could get. Besides keeping kids away from your guns, two things are most likely to happen: fire or a break-in. A high fire rating helps minimize the first. A break-in will most likely be punks or someone looking for a quick score. Any good safe prevents that, as long as they can't carry the entire safe away. If it is a pro, all bets are off, but that is highly unlikely. Liberty is a great brand, as is Fort Knox.

My 2 cents

 

[snowcat]

I have 2 liberty's and 4 cannons all with elec push button locks, never had a problem, oldest is over 10 years old, Just had a Fort Knox vault door installed and it is very good, get it in the house, and add a golden rod. Depends on where you live from fire department, but get the highest fire rating you can. Bolt it to wall and floor if you can, if they can tip it over, its all done.

 

[db-2]

As i stated dial and push buttons are fine to until they do not work. For some never a problem. Friend had buttons and by the time he finally got it open the hunt was over. At least no rust had started. Db

 

[SupressYourself]

I had the same dilemma a few years back. Wanted it in my garage, but put it in my basement. While the guest bedroom is not the ideal place, and it was a bastard getting an 800# safe down the steps, I'm glad it's there. I don't worry about the temperature or thieves. If they somehow pried it off the bolts, it would take at least 6 strapping lads to get it out of there.
Regardless of where it is, you'll want to bolt it to the floor. On certain models, the weight of the door alone can tip it forward when it's open. I went with the Liberty Fatboy Jr and I really like it, but sometimes wish it was a bit bigger.

 

[Predel]

Personally, I'm a fan of Liberty.And I shopped for a good while because they tend to go on sale frequently. They are higher quality in my opinion when you compare specs, and I found them to be the more reasonable price. I purchased mine through Cabelas https://secretstorages.com/best-wall-safes/ who has several models that they slap their name on but are produced and have the liberty warranty. I ordered mine when it was on sale for 500 off, but the shipping cost me 200. It showed up and was unloaded into the garage, undamaged which is big if you aren't picking up yourself. Nothing worse than spending good money and having a delivery guy wreck it. They are a bitch to move up and down stairs but slide well on carpet. Sounds like that won't be an issue if it's staying in the garage.Decide how big you need (big enough to grow into, always need more guns), compare specs between safes, and compare pricing and I believe you will find the one that works best for you.Also, I'm a big fan of the manual locking mechanism. The electronic keypad, in my opinion, can become subject to Murphy's law way too easy. If you must have the keypad, make sure it has a backup/manual key to unlock the safe. A lot of them don't and if it goes on the fritz you are SOL.I like to watch YouTube videos of a similar theme when I'm looking for information about the right product. I hope this helps someone in the future. Good luck!

 

[LBrandt]

Large gun safe and big deep freezers, once put in basement never come out. If you even mention upright piano you find out how many good friends you have,

 

[( deleted account )]

One peeve I have with gun safe manufacturers is that the material they use to build them shrinks over time. We all buy gun safes that are plenty big enough, then a few years later they seem to have shrunk and you can’t get your gun collection inside and close the door any more! So you buy another one and the same thing happens. Then another one and........the moral of this story is think about the future and either buy one,that seems way too big, or plan on buying a second one in the future. A someone has already pointed out, It’s amazing the stuff you and your wife will put in them besides only guns. If you are young and mobile and could move in the future, two smaller ones might be best. As someone said, like pianos they are not easy to move.Fireproof?!?! Don’t believe it. My nephew bought what was supposedly the best most fireproof safe he could, then his home got caught in a forest fire and burned to the ground. The guns were completely cooked, no wood stocks, fiberglass stocks all melted into blobs. The steel actions and barrels were inspected by a gunsmith who told him they could be restocked and possibly used, but wiseley he refused to consider it. I wish I had a picture of his melted guns to post here. Pretty impressive.

 

[SDMF]

Strictly regarding the fire rating, 30Min fire rating MIGHT help someone who lives in a community with a well-organized, fully-staffed, full-time fire dept. That's assuming that the FD gets a call VERY shortly after ignition.

If you live somewhere protected by a rural/volunteer FD, it might be 30Min before the fire-truck is en-route and again, you have to consider how much time passes between ignition and initial call to get the fire-fighters headed your way.

Not at all meant to be a slight against fire-fighters whether urban, rural, or volunteer, but, meant to give folks a moment of pause and realize that a 30Min fire rating isn't very doggone long.

 

[db-2]

I did purchase a safe a few years ago and yes all that is said on here. Too small and glad I have dial and not buttons as I seen some they could not get open. But bought because of theft (in basement and with safe should be ok) who seem to feel they can come to our home and take. And when I find them the system does nothing.

But rust comes fast and big time. Half my guns are still bolted to wall and when one considers rust I feel better about the ones bolted and also with chains to the wall. I need to try car wax for rust. For now liquid wench seems best but not sure if that is good otherwise.

Love my guns but have names on all for the kids but they do not seem to want just yet and I guess I need a time or two yet to shoot all. But still best to give away. Out of site out of some worry.

But this summer I still intend to see if my 22 k hornet in 1938 Model 70 with 440 vintage scope, 222 magnum (shells are hard to find or for that matter on the 219) or my 219 zipper will put the best group at 100 yards. I hope to get five all touching. db

 

[Retired-Guy]

My safe is in the basement with a golden rod and silica gel. I have never seen any rust on them.

 

[( deleted account )]

Yep SDMF. Fireproofing depends on a lot of factors.
My nephews home was caught in the fires in northern Alberta and the entire section of town was burned down. All the firefighters could do was to try to stop the widespread firestorm from spreading and could only let things burn with NO attempt to save any individual homes. The burning house collapsed into the basement on his gunsafe and cooked it for several weeks! A month later when uncovered it was still hot to the touch! Hardly a fair test of fire resistance! LOL But quite an impressive meltdown picture of what was left! Thank God some bright guy somewhere thought up the concept of insurance!

I use a goldenrod and havent had rust problems, even in my slightly damp basement. I had to drill a hole in the rear of one safe to pass the electrical cord.

Had my dial lock lock quit working and despite factory phone help and a local locksmith we couldn’t open it. I took the dial lock off, about an hours tinkering, junked it and replaced it with a push button electronic one the factory sent me. No problems since, but nothing is foolproof.

- - - Updated - - -

My safe is in the basement with a golden rod and silica gel. I have never seen any rust on them.

Where do you get enough silica gel to help dehumidify a safe? And do you ever periodically put it in a warm oven overnite to drive off the absorbed moisture?
Everythung nowadays seems to have little packs of silica gel included but I always thought it would take a lot of them to help much.