New & Used Safes Palm Desert

Gun safes are very popular among our clients. Because not only are guns valuable, it’s also crucial that they be kept out of the wrong hands. The challenge is finding the right kind of gun safe, and one that will actually help protect your valuable possession. In the past, gun cabinets made from glass and wood were used. They were fine for displaying the guns, but they are not very secure. There are gun safes now that are nothing but a thin metal cabinet made of 14, 16, or 20 gauge steel. These types of gun safes are easy to break into, even for amateur burglars. All it takes is a hammer and a large screwdriver. If you want a gun safe that can’t easily be broken into, you need a minimum of 11 gauge steel in the body. For best results, you should go for 10 or 7 gauge steel.

The door construction is also crucial. You want a gun safe with at least 1/4” of solid plate steel or something equally sturdy for the door. The most secure gun safes have doors of steel as thick as 3/8 to 1/2” minimum. The best ones will typically have high B Rated, U.L. TL-15 (Tool Resistant) to U.L. TL-30 ratings. There are also gun safes that have no official rating but are built to specs that are similar to TL levels of protection. In cases like this, it will help to have knowledgeable people like The Safe Company’s staff to guide you towards a purchase.

People who want cost-efficiency should not automatically go for the highest security rating. The key is to consider the type of valuable you need to protect, then choose a security rating that is ideal for that range. While security ratings are still subject to personal preference, there are de facto industry standards that can serve as a guideline in conjunction with your insurance company’s specific limitations:

• For Valuables Up to $5,000, RSC. This rating is applied to low end safes, mainly those that pass a 5 minute attack test with simple tools. But they can also be applied to safes that are sturdy and secure, but did not pass the test because the manufacturers did not bother to test.
• Valuables Up to $10,000, B-Rated. This rating is for sturdier safes consisting of 1/2” plate door and 1/4” body.
• Valuables Up to $30,000, C-Rated. 1 inch protection on door & up to 1/2 inch on body.
• Valuables Up to $200,000, U.L. TL-15. A rating of TL-15 means that the safe door has been tested and proven to resist attacks for 15 minutes, using common hand tools, picking tools, and even mechanical and portable power tools such as grinders and drills.
• Valuables Up to $375,000, U.L. TL-30. A TL-30 rating is given to a safe door that exceeds a TL-15 test by as much as 30 minutes, excluding attacks from the top.
• Valuables Up to $500,000, U.L. TL-30X6. This rating is for safes that survive the same 30 minute attack test from all 6 sides.
• Valuables Up to $1,000,000 and up, U.L. TRTL-30X6. This rating is for safes that resist the same attacks for 30 minutes on all six sides, including a torch attack.

There are also some situations where manufacturers have products that are not rated, but claim to provide similar protection to a specific rating. In cases like these, you can get advice from The Safe Company and we will help you make a wise purchase decision.

If you are using a wall or hidden safe to keep items out of kids’ hands, then they are a good idea. But if you want to place to store high valuable items, hidden safes and wall safes are not ideal. This is because burglars already know to look for hidden and wall safes. And if found, they won’t take long to penetrate because the safes are attached to studs in the wall. They can be easily cut or pried out of the wall. Most of these types of safes are also vulnerable to fire, because their only protection is limited to the sheetrock in the wall.

Fire rating should be one of your top considerations when choosing a safe. You should prioritize buying safes that have a 1 hour fire rating, at the minimum. Most house and establishment fires will last that long. The fire rating is particularly important if you plan to store guns and ammo on the safe. If you have a limited budget and can’t afford 1 hr rated protection, you should still choose the safe with the longest fire protection that fits your budget.

If you plan to store flammable items like documents or paper bills, choose a U.L or U.S. made safe with a CERTIFIED fire rating of 1 hour or more. You should also consider the fire seals on the door. Because there are cheap safes that don’t have fire seals. These fire seals are important because not only will they protect from fire, they will also prevent moisture from getting in and destroying your valuables.

Not necessarily. If a safe is labeled as fire resistant, they are only referring to its ability to resist fire. It does not necessarily mean that they are safe against burglary. You need to consider both the fire rating and the security rating. Additionally, you should avoid products marketed as “fireproof.” There are no consumer safes that are truly fireproof. They are only fire-resistant, meaning they will protect your valuables from fire over a period of time, not indefinitely.

A key thing to note about fire resistant safes is that they protect valuables from heat and smoke, but many of the cheap ones are made of very thin metal that can easily be broken into by simple tools. A material can be fire retardant, but still easily punctured. Some of the cheap fire resistant safes can be opened just by dropping them on a hard surface.

If you have high value items in need of protection from fire and burglary, you are going to have to spend a little bit. There is no getting around it. If you are going to buy a cheap safe to protect a really valuable item, you may as well just keep it in a drawer because it’s going to be easy to steal either way.