To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Fireproof cabinets

To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

nehog

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
7,935
Location
Jaffrey, NH
Surplus office equipment suppliers... There probably will be one in your area.

But keep this in mind: my sister's ex-BF was a locksmith, and he clued me in that fire ratings drop as the box ages, until it only provides a fraction of the protection of when it was new. Your best bet may be a new fire-proof gun safe...
 

zeebad1

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
256
Location
Northern Illinois
I don't know where you are located, but this place is has all kinds of shop accessories, and I bought a new "scratch & dent" cabinet from them.

http://www.welterstorage.com/

I ended up spending about triple of what I had planned on, but got a lot of "goodies" on that trip.
 

6530

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
300
Location
East Coast
But keep this in mind: my sister's ex-BF was a locksmith, and he clued me in that fire ratings drop as the box ages, until it only provides a fraction of the protection of when it was new.

Why would this be the case? What fills the space between the cabinet's inner & outer surfaces?
 

mrbelvedere

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Messages
62
I just checked the literature on both my Sentry firesafes, no mention there of degradation in protection. with the guarantee they offer, you'd think they would surely have that 'out' in thier literature.

if we're talking about cabinets meant to CONTAIN flammables, those operate on the assumption that with good door seals, should a fire erupt inside, no air exists to support combustion. Should an explosion occur, they have check valves to more slowly relieve the pressure.

mrb
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

94legaleagle

Well-known member
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
294
I don't believe that the fire rating diminishes w/ age - I've got probably 9 or 10 of these things - I call them "fire files" - basically, they are lined w/ sheetrock type material, about 1 - 1 1/2 inch thick - you're gonna need at least 4 good friends to help you move the 4 drawer variety, and after you move one, they won't be your friends anymore!
 

nehog

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
7,935
Location
Jaffrey, NH
He said it had to do with absorbing moisture, when heated would create steam and degrade the insulation. IIRC, they are filled with gypsum (sheetrock). Realize he was a professional and was in an field where any degradation would have been unacceptable (military and government work as a contractor) so he may have been over zealous in his statements.

Yea, my fireproof box is almost an antique, too... And I use it.

But, as I mentioned fireproof gun safes are not terribly expensive and are well worth considering. Also if anyone is in New England, I'll be glad to check the local surplus guy (Dave Huston) to see what he's got. He gets them in (usually lateral file cabinet style) from time to time.
 

Full Size 66

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
298
Location
Wa.
I think the original poster is refering to the industrial "fireproof" cabinets like you would see in a paint shop or for flamable liquid storage. Gun safe is an entirely different animal. They do have a decreasing effective range for the reason that has been stated. The liner material is usualy MDF or pressboard. The safe companies do state that they are not fireproof but rather a time rating of 2,4,or whatever hours of fire resistance....
 

Charles (in GA)

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
12,489
Location
50 mi south of Atlanta
I think the original poster is refering to the industrial "fireproof" cabinets like you would see in a paint shop or for flamable liquid storage.

aka Flammables Cabinet.

fire250l3shelves.jpg
 

ChuckFirment

Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
14
I came across an interesting thought while looking for fireproof cabinets. Something to think about:

"Just as importantly, is your cabinet water proof? You know what they use to put out fires? Water. Lots and lots of water. A friend of mine was an accountant. She spent almost a year trying to put back together the books of a small business that had a fire. All the books were in the safe, a nice fireproof safe. Ink jet ink (particularly the original stuff they had back in the late 1980's) is highly water soluble. That means one drop of water and the ink just runs right off the page. The company's safe was fireproof but not water proof. After the fire, all the paper was wet, but intact. The ink that was on that paper, however, was nowhere to be found."

Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090825152328AAGiCsl
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom