t-20 safe? other options?

[gonefishin1]

A year or two ago I was shopping for a safe. I ended up getting by without one until now. I am about to be working out of town and its time to get a safe or RSC... I know there has been thousands of threads to this, but here we go.

I am wanting something that I can trust to hold up to some abuse and at least slow down a determined or experienced criminal for a good while. I am thinking I want something at least 3/16 and preferably 1/4 body and at least 1/4-3/8 door thickness. I also want fire protection. The size I want is around 60x30x24 or bigger.

I have narrowed it down pretty much to 3 options

1. drake safe from North Carolina. they don't have a website, only a facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Drake-Safe-Co/148476681871314
they have 1/4 inch body and door, standard fire liner, and are very reasonable the size I want is just under $1700. I think I have a way of getting it to me for about $200. Only problems is there is no door seal and low fire rating. I would try to add a seal myself and also I would add a couple extra layers of the fire board. ( he told me that a couple of his safes has been through fires and nothing was a total loss. only a couple plastic stocks started to bubble)

2. CE safe USA heavy series. 1/4 body 1/2 door 90 minute fire rating. http://cesafes.com/ce-safes-usa-series/ this one is about $3000 delivered.

3. find a used "real safe" or some kind of commercial safe. I have been looking at Craigslist and ebay etc. for a few months. I have also been to several local safe companies without much luck. They all ask what its for and proceed to try and sell me a liberty safe or lower end amsec or whatever new gun safe that they have. One place didn't even want to show me the used commercial safe he had that was the right size for me.

I know the different ratings for the most part B, C, E, F, TL-15, TL-30 etc. But what I haven't seen is the t-20 rating on this safe. http://www.ebay.com/itm/171592147387?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

any opinions on these? I would love to have a graffunder or something similar, but the budget won't allow it. I would like to keep it around 2k now and then in 5 years or so get a nice C rated graffunder or TL-30x6 safe of some kind. If the right deal comes along I will spend up to 4k now. Anyone in the safe biz have a screaming deal on a used safe?

thanks guys

 

[a1abdj]

I don't think you're going to the right "safe companies". There should be a few companies in your area that deal with a lot of commercial stuff. Most of these guys are not going to be high volume gun safe dealers that point you towards the gun safe.

Who have you been to already?

 

[gonefishin1]

I went to this place and he had a few used safes and didn't want to show them to me. instead he kept trying to push his low end tf series safes. He proceeded to tell me that it didn't matter how thick the walls or the door was as long as it had a hard plate in the door.... He told me the security of the safe comes from that hard plate and not the metal thickness of the safe. needless to say I won't be buying anything from there. I originally went here because from there website it looked like they handled a lot of commercial safes.
http://www.houstonsafeandlock.net/over-300-safes-in-stock

also I checked out this place and they only carried fort knox and browning. they just seem a little overrated and overpriced for what you are actually getting. he only had 1 used safe in stock and it was a 10 gauge body so I wasn't interested. He was very helpful and informative though. http://www.gunsafeshouston.com/

This place had some of the nicest people that I have talked to. They didn't have anything used though or anything other than gun safes. After talking to me about what I wanted they recommended the vault pro usa brand that they just started carrying. about $4000 for the 1/4 inch body model. http://www.mooresecuritysafes.com/

I also went to another place and he carries champion, superior, summit, and graffunder. he told me he would work on the prices on his safes and give me a great deal on installation. I was really considering the champion crown model he had. The only thing is I don't like the way the locking bolts are attached inside the door. everything just looks like it is made weak. http://lonestargunsafes.com/

 

[a1abdj]

I just PM'd you a contact that's a little over an hour away. I would just tell him what you want to spend, and that you want to get the best protection for that price. See what he has.

 

[txblackout]

id say go sturdy safe or used TL on craigslist.

I personally have an amsec RSC

 

[gonefishin1]

what about one of these? http://gardall.com/view-product/large-2hr-fire-safes

I found one used for $500. its the 55x25x26 model with 2 hour fire rating. Their website says class B burglary resistive features. What does that mean? I called their number and the lady didn't seam to know any more than their brochure.

a1abj have you seen one of these? I also emailed your contact you sent me. waiting on a reply. thanks again.

 

[CB900F]

Gonefishin1;

I took a look at the Gardall link you provided. Those are not class B safes. All I had to do was note the size & weights, which tells me that steel plate is not present in enough quantity to meet the U.L. designation for a true safe. They may offer decent fire protection, but they don't specifically say they carry the U.L. certification. If they met the U.L. standard & had passed the test, you could bet money they'd be crowing about it.

Go to the local waffle house for breakfast. When you order waffles, at least you know what you'll be getting.

900F