Small Fireproof Safe – Tips and 2 Reviews
Small Fireproof Safe Tips and 2 Reviews
Small Fireproof Safe Tips and 2 Reviews
Small Fireproof Safe Tips and 2 Reviews
When purchasing a small fireproof safe, it's always a good idea to come under budget, right? Well, sure, if your goal is primarily to save money. If you want to save your other assets, however, from fire and theft, then your best bet is to stick with companies with a proven track record. There are many vendors of safes for the home, competing for your business; here are 2 that you should be aware of:
Honeywell Fire Safe
Stack On Safes
We'll discuss what each has on offer by way of a small, personal safe. These general guidelines are taking into consideration those safes that are 10 cubic feet and under of interior space. They are approximately the size of a mini-refrigerator, or less.
First, here are a few tips on buying a small fireproof safe:
1) Price does matter, so does reputation. Take it from other consumers who have done their homework and given their reviews online for various manufacturers. All safes are notall safe! To find a quality personal safe, expect to pay $200 at minimum.
2) Value is a relative term. Is the purpose of your safe to simply keep your goods out of the hands of children? If that is the case, most any safe will do. If your are planning on keeping your valuables safe from fire and professional, experienced thieves, then you will want to evaluate what that is worth to you.
3) Be sure you buy safes that are tested from an independent lab. Reputable companies don't simply rely on consumer ignorance and good sales copy to win your business they work to make and keep your business with ethical business practices. In the industry of personal safes, this means standards are measured by a third party the independent laboratory. Depending on where your safe is manufactured, this could include the UL, EIS, JIS and a handful of others. It's also important to note that the typical house fire reaches about 1200 degrees F, some companies will try to impress with a statement to the effect, "Our safes are tested to withstand temperatures of 1000 degrees F!" That isn't good enough.
Independent testing is one of the only ways a consumer can be sure they're getting their money's worth. Sadly, not all safe manufacturers take this step, and produce safes which don't protect as they claim.
4) Be sure that your safe comes with a warranty that tells the story. A really reputable company will have a lifetime or limited lifetime warranty. Expect this to be the last time you buy a small fireproof safe. If you see anything less, such as "5 year" or "90 days," save your money safes are built to last.
Honeywell Fire Safe
Honeywell is a company that is owned by Sisco, they manufacture out of China, and their safes are more designed with "budget" in mind. When you buy a safe, what are you trying to accomplish? Is it just to keep out the prying fingers of your children? Do you want to keep your valuables safe from fire and theft?
Cons: Honeywell, though producing independently-rated small fireproof safes to act as deterrents against children and those without any real ability or experience in lock-picking and burglarizing, does not produce a safe that is overly impressive when it comes to anti-theft measures. They offer some safes with a "digital lock," others with a key/dial lock combination, and others with biometrics. In all the reviews and descriptions, it was clear that the locks of the Honeywell fire safe in general are lacking genuine anti-theft classification from any reputable independent laboratory (digital locks should be rated as Class II or Class I by the UL or similar as of the writing of this article, there don't appear to be any in the "personal safes" size from Honeywell).
It is misleading when a vendor suggests that "concealed hinges" and "steel bolts" are enough to provide "high security." Unless a safe has been tested by the UL or similar independent lab for tool attacks (a genuine thief armed with a crowbar, for instance), the descriptions are misleading. Do not be fooled into storing your valuables in one central location (even a small fireproof safe), and think that an untested lock will deter theft. You will be given a false sense of security, as a thief will conveniently know where the goods are stored.
Furthermore, research indicated that there is no Honeywell fire safe rated as a genuine "data safe." That is, a safe that has been rated preferably from the Underwriter's Lab (UL) to maintain an internal temperature of 150 degrees F at an external temperature of 1550 degrees to 2000 degrees F for storage of certain digital media, and for photograph film, video cassettes, CD's, and the like, the internal temperature cannot exceed 125 degrees F. That is to say: the small fireproof safe you buy from Honeywell is only rated for protecting paper or other goods from fire damage, if it is listed with the UL or other independent lab (such as JIS or ETL).
The following video and story is telling, found at this link:
http://tiny.cc/V93Oa
In the ABC News story at that link, one of Honeywell's personal safes (less than $100, with a reported UL fire rating to withstand a 1500 F fire for 30 min) was burned to a crisp, at temperatures approaching 1000 degrees. In other words, their fire rating claims are highly suspect, and this is not the only expose on the matter.
Other concerns include the fact that many descriptions in Honeywell's small fireproof safe department (from different vendors across the board) do not wince at suggesting these safes are OK to use for data protection. Know that the UL listing for data-protecting small fireproof safes should read "Class 125" or 150 for the fireproof rating. The UL is the strictest independent lab as of this date, with some of the strictest ratings around. Lastly, Honeywell gives their safes a 5-year warranty. Compare that with a lifetime warranty of their competition.
Pros: As mentioned earlier, these safes are good for those on a budget, without serious valuables to guard. The fact is that these safes should only be used for storing items out of the reach of children, or used in RV's and personal water craft, etc., when no other options are available. Tight on space and money? Get a Honeywell fire safe. Your paper documents and other more durable goods will be protected by most of their safe models, in the price range of $200-$1500 or so.
Overall: Without genuine security ratings from independent laboratories, and potentially spurious claims and evidence to de-bunk the reported UL fire rating, these safes may be used to keep semi-valuables out of the hands of children, but nothing more. Do not get these safes if you want a genuine valuables or gun safe (they aren't certified as CA DOJ approved), or if you are trying to guard against a real thief or fire. You may need to verify with your home insurance agent if these safes will indeed get you a discounted premium (as they do not meet any guidelines for theft-resistance).
Thumbs down to Honeywell, for selling "fireproof" safes that incinerate under independent tests. The negative press online far outweighs the positive, and this reviewer joins that bandwagon. Save your money for a real safe.
Stack On Safes
Stack on is an industry leader in safe manufacturing, and has been in the business since 1972. Their line of safes include anti-theft, gun safes, the whole gamut including the small fireproof safe. They make various lines of products, which range in their benefits and overall protection. It begins with an assessment of your needs: what are you protecting against? Is there a priority fire vs. burglary, for instance?
Regarding their fire personal or small fireproof safes, they are overall a great product, but offer little protection against burglary as far as an independent lab's ratings go. They do offer a "Total Defense Select" line of safes a new line of products, which aren't yet available for this review. Their other lines of safes do not include a relocker, nor a UL Group II digital lock for their digital models.
Cons: As to fire safety, the ETL rating on these safes are an indication their personal fire safe line of products will keep your documents and non-digital goods safe in the event of a house fire. They do not, at the time of this article, offer a data safe or media safe, which has much stricter testing requirement for keeping digital media safe from harm. Another issue is that Stack On Safes don't appear to offer a very heavy steel product for body armor on their safes. They largely employ gauges of steel, which is fine for every day use, but if you want a vault to protect major assets, there are other safe manufacturers such as Brown Safe Manufacturing that provides solid steel construction.
Since this article is mainly concerned with small fireproof safe products, the line from Stack On Safes is a reliable product. Like most manufacturers, they create a fireproof safe that will guard against the threat of firebut in this size, they don't offer very impressive theft resistance (solid steel, relockers, independently tested locks).
Pros: Their line of personal safes are reliably secure in protecting against fire. They offer bolt-down hardware with their safes, which isn't always the case in some manufacturers, and they offer independently-tested claims. They are CA DOJ approved for keeping guns safe from kids' hands, as well as ETL and UL listings for their fireproof (fire-resistant) claims.
Thumbs up for Stack On Safes, as the positive reviews found online seemed to far outweigh the negative reviews. Job well done, Stack On!
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