Gun safe: electronic or mechanical lock?

[govnor]

I'm planning on buying a heavy gun safe soon. I've looked at the links on the sticky and everything, but I have a question. I've noticed mechanical and electronic locks on the safes. I even found a thread on another non-gun related board. The guys there said they had no problems with them, but one guy said he had a small electronic safe and was lucky to get his gun out after the battery was changed once. My thought on that is that it might have been a cheapy. I'm planning to spend at least several hundred bucks since the cheapest I've found that I'm interested in is a Redhead model safe at Bass pro (store brand) for $799. It has an electronic lock on it. I've seen $2500 safes with the same style lock, so they must not be too bad.

What do you guys think? I can't find much info on this. I'm not in a situation where I would have to get into it really fast or anything, so I don't really need the electronic lock for that purpose. I personally feel like the manual lock is safer in that it won't mess up as easily (battery change, etc), but I don't know enough about either lock to make an informed decision. The electronic lock looks cleaner, but the mechanical looks pretty cool too.

My wife is really upset that I'm going to put it in the living room...lol. I guess she won't how good the lock part looks either way.

[CHL/LEO]

I have two safes - one with a mechanical lock and the other is electronic. Over five years opening the electronic safe at least two times per day and never a problem. If it's a good quality safe you shouldn't worry about the locking device.

[govnor]

I have two safes - one with a mechanical lock and the other is electronic. Over five years opening the electronic safe at least two times per day and never a problem. If it's a good quality safe you shouldn't worry about the locking device.

Which do you prefer? Or are they both about the same?

Also, one guy suggested using lithium 9 volts in the lock. Have you done this or just regular alkaline? And have you ever had to change the battery and if so did it have any effect?

[Rokyudai]

Govnor,

I too have had this dilemma. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the selection of electronic or manual lock safes. I am curious to know if any of the electronic models you have inspected have a manual back up key access? I visited Bass Pro and found that they certainly "push" the key pad safes on me (I had one sales associate tell me that if I had a massive electronic problem when opening, to call the safe co. to replace the part...prior to purchasing). Hmm...not thinking this falls in line with my expectations as a reliable product. No thanks, I found a handgun safe which has a AC power, battery backup AND a manual key. It may not be the size you are looking for. I would love to have a larger safe with this congifuration but $$ are limited. I hope this post helps....my first one by the way.

[stevie_d_64]

Granted the electronic keypad types work well enough...

To me, I guess its a chance I'd rather leave to the mechanical tumbler style combination system...Thats just my preference and opinion...

I also would take into consideration the weight (obviously), UP fire rating, and where you think you're going to place it in the house...Because once you get it in there, I bet you a dollar to a donut hole thats where its going to stay for a very long time...

So I'd do some prep, look for a spot thats not too out in the open...I'd avoid closets, as the door widths are really not condusive to bringing in such a large piece of secure storage...Check door swings, make sure you can open and close it without hindering too much any traffic flow in the house...

I put mine up on a sandwich of (2) pieces of 3/8 plywood, and (4) 8" cinderblocks (CMU) equally spaced and in between the plywood, to make a nice elevated platform for the entire safe...At 550# empty, this is not going to go anywhere, and the tip risk is minimal due to the solid base I set up before putting it up there...No need to screw or glue the base together, before placing the safe on the plywood...That plywood should be cut to be slightly larger than the outline of the base of the safe...

I also did this to alieviate much of the risk from flooding as possible too...If I get 8" or more water in the house, we got bigger problems than wet buttstocks...I can fix that problem...We live in a high probably flooding area...

Get a guy who's bonded and has a good powered dolly to move the unit all the way to where you want it...That money will be well spent in that regard...

I put mine against an exterior wall, near a window, and up off the floor...

The fire rating I have on it is sufficient in my experience (VFD) knowing that the entire house will probably burn all the way down to the slab before I need to worry about anythin inside getting too messed up...

Just a few things to keep in mind when looking at this issue...

This sure will give you peace of mind knowing the valuables will be protected in a lot of ways...

Good luck!

[Syntax360]

Mechanical all day long - you may be looking at something more "large scale", but see my thread here for one example of why mechanical is the way to go.

[RPBrown]

I have the electronic key pad safe. The main reason is when my grandkids come to visit, I lock up all of my weapons. This includes my bedside weapon. Now, my safe stands next to my chest of drawers which is next to my nightstand. Easy reach to get to and a lot easier to unlock ina hurry than a tumbler lock. Yes, mine has a hidden key access.

The only downside that I have is when you do change batteries, you lose the combination programmed in and have to reset it.

[G.C.Montgomery]

I don't lose the combination when changing the batteries on my lock...that would have been a deal breaker because the lock would always default to the same code and any idiot could break into the safe.

I've got a safe with a Kaba electronic lock. After two years of opening and closing that safe several times a week, I haven't had a single problem with it. The chief advantages are speed and convenience. Another advantage is that I can quickly change the combination anytime I like without calling a locksmith. Having said that, electronic locks are not perfect. The need for a battery is what bugs me. I've only once had the battery die and that was the battery that came with the safe. I currently replace the battery every three months. Excessive in most books but, I haven't had the safe fail to open since I started that rotation.

Mechanical locks have the ever so slight edge in reliability. Good locks will still work after the safe has been through a fire that generally will destroy the electronic type. They never need batteries and generally are cheaper. The primary disadvantage are speed and convenience. I can open my electronic safe in less than ten seconds where as it can take over ninety seconds to open my mechanical safe. I also can't readily change the combination to the mechanical safe...That requires a call to a locksmith and labor isn't cheap. Having said all that, my current electronic safe is probably the last that I'll buy. I prefer plain old mechnical locks that may not be as convenient and I can't change the combination but there is a good possibility that I will have been dead and buried for many years before the mechanical lock fails.

[govnor]

Well this is a lot to think about. Since speed of access isn't really important, the mechanical might be the way to go. I'm not the best about changing batteries in stuff either...

[stevie_d_64]

Ohhhh, don't forget about looking into getting a de-humidifier...If you think you need one...

I figure this issue will generate some good discussion as well...

Just to complicate things...

Hey, I aim to please..."Wife-Unit" tells me to just aim...

[nitrogen]

Another thing to think about, this being a bit tinfoil-hattish, though:

An EMP from a space-based nuclear weapon can possibly render your electronic lock useless.

Not a dealbreaker, because setting up a faraday cage in your gunroom to guard against this isn't expensive or hard to do, but it's something to keep in mind if you're a tinfoil-hat type.

Personally I think it's a silly thing to worry about, but the people I bought my house from were tinfoil hatters, and had a room under the stairs rigged with one.

[govnor]

Another thing to think about, this being a bit tinfoil-hattish, though:

An EMP from a space-based nuclear weapon can possibly render your electronic lock useless.

Not a dealbreaker, because setting up a faraday cage in your gunroom to guard against this isn't expensive or hard to do, but it's something to keep in mind if you're a tinfoil-hat type.

Personally I think it's a silly thing to worry about, but the people I bought my house from were tinfoil hatters, and had a room under the stairs rigged with one.

Lol, I'm a little bit of a tinfoil hatter, but not to that extreme! I had to look up the faraday thing on wikipedia. I once had a lightning strike ruin my computer and it didn't even strike my house, but it was close enough. I could see it for something like that. I'd say if there's a nuclear strike then we have a lot more to worry about than getting our guns out. Not that I wouldn't want to, but you know. I've noticed a lot of ppl on here have things like bug out bags. I don't even have that set up yet, but probably will. I wonder if something like an EMP would make your flashlight not work too? Something to think about.

I think the extent of my tinfoil hattedness is that I have some MRE's and keep canned goods around always. I own a couple of assault rifles, but don't even have that much ammo around. If I ever get my house in the country then I would love to have some kind of underground shelter. More for tornadoes than anything else, but you never know. I'm the type of guy that would own an off grid compound, but keep some caviar, champagne and cigars in the pantry at all times...

[CHL/LEO]

Which do you prefer? Or are they both about the same?

For our weapons that we have to access daily we prefer the electronic lock. Safe sits right next to the bed so we can also open it very quickly if need be. We change the batteries in it twice a year just like we do with the smoke alarms - when the time changes. Our lock retains the combo in memory so we don't have to worry about that. You safe manufacturer will probably detail what type of battery to use in the instructions. This safe is five years old and never a problem.

Our mechanical safe is almost 15 years old and again never a problem. Not as quick access but it is used for a storage safe that we might only open once or twice a month. I have a Golden Rod dehumidifier in both safes and they seem to work well.

[govnor]

Which do you prefer? Or are they both about the same?

For our weapons that we have to access daily we prefer the electronic lock. Safe sits right next to the bed so we can also open it very quickly if need be. We change the batteries in it twice a year just like we do with the smoke alarms - when the time changes. Our lock retains the combo in memory so we don't have to worry about that. You safe manufacturer will probably detail what type of battery to use in the instructions. This safe is five years old and never a problem.

Our mechanical safe is almost 15 years old and again never a problem. Not as quick access but it is used for a storage safe that we might only open once or twice a month. I have a Golden Rod dehumidifier in both safes and they seem to work well.

I looked up that dehumidifier. Is that really necessary? I keep my house at a pretty low humidity anyway with the A/C, heat. How do you plug it in? Do safes come with a hole for power access? Also, if I did want to buy one where do you get them? The only place I saw was to buy it online and they didn't even give a price.

[nitrogen]

It gets humid in airtight safes. In my office safe, where all my papers are, I keep a bag of silica gel in there. Without it, all the papers inside get damp.