We spend many hours talking to customers in the showroom about home safes.  The most common reason buyers want a  safe in our experience is an unhappy one where the customer has already been burgled and lost the family jools!

It is definitely wiser to buy before the event than after. 
 
The conversation usually starts "I need a safe".  This in itself is insufficient information for us to provide any useful advice.
So in the following short paragraphs we will try and provide some helpful tips...

The first point to consider is the proposed location of the new safe. If you decide to make it hard for an intruder to find and hide it in the floor under the bed you will find that it is too much of a chore for you or the family to use.  Under these conditions you tend to leave things on top of the safe or nearby to put away next time it is opened.  Not a very efficient way of using the safe.!  
Also if you install it in a dark wardrobe you may not be able to read the combination dial accurately.
Floor safes whilst being cheaper to buy are  expensive to install and very inconvenient to use unless you enjoy getting down on your hands and knees to dig below floor level for the contents.

Another worthwhile consideration is protection from fire.  A safe with a true fire rating and a good degree of security will cost the earth and is rarely sought for home use because of the cost.

Some safes available from us:-

A few good home safes on the market in Australia however do enjoy a limited degree of fire protection but are NOT certified.  You should look out for these inexpensive types of safe as the extra protection is well worthwhile.
We are not referring to the "Fire Safes" sold by hardware stores for $200 - $300 as these have practically zero burglar protection.  They appear to be good heavyweight safes but they are only designed  for fire protection as they consist largely of a metal skin about as thin as car bodywork and the rest is concrete or similar.

The locks or combinations on these fire safes are generally of  low quality and our lock Technicians often gain access to the contents in minutes without even damaging the case.

This brings us to the next point.  Generally there is a choice of three types of safe locks:-

The cost of any one type of safe fitted with a "key" lock is always the cheapest.  The "combination" lock was until recently a common choice but today for speed and ease of use the more expensive "Electronic" digital lock is in our experience the most sought after design. 

The advantage of the "keyed" lock is that it is quick to use.  The disadvantage is that it requires the owner to carry around a large bit type key.   Furthermore duplicates of safe keys cost at least $30 each and require written authority to copy.



Let us quote you for supply or supply, delivery and installation. We have safes for all purposes and too many to include here.

The more expensive combination lock is very reliable and more versatile as any number of users may be given the combination.  However customers often find that they have difficulty in manipulating the precise combinations required.  i.e. rotate 4 times to the left, 3 times to the right 2 times to the left and then back again.  If you err past the marked spot slightly you must start the whole process again.

This brings us to the "Electronic" digital lock.  These locks are swift to use ...just like dialling a 6 digit number on the mobile telephone.  Nothing to carry around and multiple users may be given the coded combination.   We now sell ten of these types of lock mechanisms to every one of the key or mechanical combination locks mentioned earlier.  

Remember if it is easy to use you and your family WILL use it even though the initial cost is greater.  

Another common request is "I only want a small safe".  Unfortunately the price of a small safe is not much different to the price of one double the size in the home safe category. The reason is that both large and small safes use the same locking mechanisms which cost the manufacturers the same irrespective of the size of the safe body itself.   For this reason at least one safe maker we know of only makes a medium sized safe in its most popular range and has no plans to make a smaller one because the price would appear to be prohibitive.

Pricing ( 18/02/02):

Click image to enlarge

Weight 84 KG
DESIGNED TO GIVE 1/2 HOUR FIRE PROTECTION