Anyone know if these are fireproof? http://www.harborfreight.com/037-cubic-ft-electronic-digital-safe-93575.html
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Is This HF Safe Fireproof?
- Thread starter monteu
- Start date
I doubt they are, their instruction manual says nothing about a fire rating. The electronic panel also looks plastic and would be destroyed in a fire.
Hondarancher4435
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
- Messages
- 151
Any mid grade safe is just stamped sheet metal with fire resistant insulation not nearly the protection of a higher grade safe. If you can find an old heavy built one locally for sale you'd be much better off
Just fill it with your precious belongings, then drill a hole in the top and fill it with water. You're covered in either case! If it's fire proof, all your wet belongings are safe in a fire. If it's NOT fire proof, then the safe fails, and the water puts out the fire! Either case your soaking wet precious belongings are safe.
Anyone know if these are fireproof? http://www.harborfreight.com/037-cubic-ft-electronic-digital-safe-93575.html
Thanks!
No. There's no insulation on the door. It's just plate steel.
weadjust
Well-known member
Very few consumer grade (box store) fire proof safes are fire proof. I inspect dwelling fires for insurance company's. I see gun safes regularly that may still be intact but the guns are toast due to the heat. The guns will be in one piece but the finish on the metal and stocks are ruined rendering the guns pretty much worthless. It really comes down to how close the safe is located to hottest/area of origin of the fire. If it's in a room with some heat, smoke, and water the contents are usually ok. If it's located in a room where the roof and wall framing are burned not so much.
Last edited:
58Yeoman
Well-known member
I bought a safe slightly larger than that at an estate sale (but it was a better brand, although now I don't remember which). It worked great for a couple years, then one day I decided to get into it, and it wouldn't open. I kept trying, but no go. The battery compartment is accessible from the front of the door, so I tried a new battery, although the old one was great. No go.
I got online, and looked for remedy's. None of them worked. None. I took it to the shop and cut it open and got my stuff out, and I threw it away. No more digital ones for me.
I got online, and looked for remedy's. None of them worked. None. I took it to the shop and cut it open and got my stuff out, and I threw it away. No more digital ones for me.
Worsedog
Well-known member
From the owners manual:
10. The Safe is not fireproof.
10. The Safe is not fireproof.
From the owners manual:
10. The Safe is not fireproof.
I must have missed that when I looked at the owners manual online.
rayra
Well-known member
Most are 'resistant' and the fireproofing is little more than a couple layers of 1/2" drywall / gypsum board. And an expanding door gasket that swells with heat and vapor-locks the safe.
Easy to up your fire rating with interior or exterior mods.
And try not to locate your safe where the fire will burn hotter or longer.
Easy to up your fire rating with interior or exterior mods.
And try not to locate your safe where the fire will burn hotter or longer.
marinusdees
Well-known member
No safe is "fireproof". Every one will turn into an oven given enough heat for a long enough period of time. I have helped my friend, who is a registered locksmith, install some home safes, doubtless better than a HF one. He builds a box out of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood around the safe leaving about 3-4" of space on each side. and sets the safe inside. In a garage, generally the preferred location, we set it directly on the floor, then mix concrete, typically in a wheel barrow or 5 gallon bucket, and fill the box around the safe. In a bedroom closet, we put plastic (Visqueen) on the carpet before setting the safe. The concrete serves two purposes. It makes the safe heavy enough to make it difficult to move, and it lends several more hours to the fire rating. My own safe is a good quality which I lagged into the stringers, but no concrete. It has a pretty good fire rating, but is not "fireproof".
marinusdees
Well-known member
Addendum. If you can find an old, heavy one, you can probably have it for nothing. Then try to find someone to move it. I have listened to my friend talk to people on the phone about this. There was a guy in this county who specialized in opening old safes, but he retired. Rarely does anyone know the combination.
I wouldn't consider any old safe to be fireproof. The have a limited lifespan do to the design of the linings back then. They also usually have limited interior space because of the designs. They are cool, but not worth the trouble. I am a locksmith and own a few because they are cool, but would store anything of value in them.
bwringer
Well-known member
Mason jars buried in a swamp should be pretty safe from a house fire...
ddawg16
Well-known member
You can make it 'somewhat' fire proof.....
Put about 2-3 layers of drywall around it.
Put about 2-3 layers of drywall around it.
I always figured the best safes are those built into the floor of your garage or basement.
after all heat rises... figure a 6" cast iron pipe in the floor with a screw on cap is alot more safe than any safe in a fire.
Yes, but be careful what you would store in it. Any water used in firefighting would fill it up and ruin the contents of the safe.