Looking for an affordable but good safe ...

[electron]

I am in the market for a safe, nothing huge, which will mainly be used to store some DVDs, hard drives, papers and a few other misc. items. BJs has an interesting unit on sale, a SafeSentry CSW3460 for $160. I can't find much about it online, but supposedly is water proof, rated to protect 'media' for 1 hour @ 1700F, and offers some security (comes with hardware to bolt it down). It's about 1.2 cu. ft., which looks like a good size.

Does anyone have any opinions about this model, or have any good alternatives? I haven't had much luck finding any best-bang-for-the-buck-safes type reviews. I don't think I want to spend more than $200-$300.

 

[ipsgroup]

I am in the market for a safe... Does anyone have any opinions about this model, or have any good alternatives? I haven't had much luck finding any best-bang-for-the-buck-safes type reviews. I don't think I want to spend more than $200-$300.

I don't have any information on the SafeSentry CSW3460 but, if you don't need the safe immediately, can suggest an inexpensive alternative. The Government has at least two ways of selling its surplus personal property:

1) The Defense Reutilization & Marketing Service (https://www.drms.dla.mil/) - The DRMS mission is to "provide the DOD's best value services and deliver great performance to our customers for the reuse, transfer, donation, sale or disposal of excess/surplus property." The DRMS used to conduct fixed price (Cash and Carry) sales but I believe all sales now are through sealed bids. DRMS has a searchable database that is updated nightly and contains over 600,000 items. There is a Defense Reutilization & Marketing Office (DRMO) at Ft. Drum, NY and they have a sales office (https://www.drms.dla.mil/drmo/drum.shtml)

2) GSA Surplus Personal Property Sales (http://www.surplussales.gsa.gov/) - GSA handles sales of Federal surplus property from other than DoD agencies. They offer live auction, fixed price, drop-by, negotiated, sealed bid, and spot bid sales. For information about upcoming sales in New York, contact Personal Property Sales, U.S. General Services Administration, Room 20-112, Box 10 (2FBP), 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278, (212) 264-2626.

Here are a couple of examples I have found:

• Government Security Containers (Class 3 Cabinet) - I bought three 5-drawer "safes" made by the Mosler Safe Company at the (now closed) Ft. Belvoir, VA DRMO. At the time, Ft. Belvoir had fixed price sales every Tuesday morning and I bought them for $35 each. These are great for storing your records but stand about 5' high and weigh several hundred pounds so bring your truck if you find one. BTW, the Military requires all turned-in security containers to be set to a "standard combination" but make sure it is and you can open it, otherwise it will cost big bucks to get a safe company drill it open and replace the combination lock.
• 40U 19" Electronics Cabinet - I bought this rack for $45 at a GSA Warehouse fixed price sale in Springfield, VA.

As I said above, if you don't need something immediately, the Government surplus sales programs provide a good way to get used, but still very servicible equipment -- and at a very good price. Check to see if there is a sales office near you and then peruse their on-line catalogs to see if they have the things you need.

 

[mustangcoupe]

Ive been looking for about 2 years now Dan and keep running into similar models. Not much more. And havent found any references. So I will also be watching this thread. As for the DOD safes they are more difficult to unlock, as it is not just your standard left right left... there are number of turns involved. and are to large for my appliication unless I could find a 2 drawer model, but then again it wont protect media. but I will keep looking

 

[electron]

TheBear, those are actually some great suggestions, but in this case, I am looking for a relatively small safe, and need to know for sure it's rated to withstand water and fire as well. This article explains what kind of certifications to look for, but still means I need to find out which are the better brands and models.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4970655_buy-fireproof-safe.html

I think I did find a safe on sentrysafe.com which matches the one I am looking at: http://www.sentrysafe.com/products/product...T.si_p=CartView model # is slightly different (missing 1 letter).

 

[ipsgroup]

Ive been looking for about 2 years now Dan and keep running into similar models. Not much more. And havent found any references. So I will also be watching this thread. As for the DOD safes they are more difficult to unlock, as it is not just your standard left right left... there are number of turns involved. and are to large for my appliication unless I could find a 2 drawer model, but then again it wont protect media. but I will keep looking

Mustangcoupe, you are correct that the DoD safes require multiple turns but once you open them a few times, it gets to be routine: turn left and stop the 4th time you hit "x," turn right and stop the 3rd time you hit "y," turn left and stop the 2nd time you hit "z," then turn right past "0" until the dial stops and then open the drawer. I had 5 of them in my office and opended them every morning for years with no difficulties.

I gave an example of the containers I found that suited my needs but there are other options. I also bought a Class 5 Weapons Safe for the obvious purpose. GSA also has two-drawer and small door containers including some fireproof ones. You just have to figure out the NSN of the type you want and look for them but, as I said, you will have to be patient and wait until something you want becomes available.

There is an explanation of various fire and burgulary ratings at http://www.klsecurity.com/fire_rating_ul.htm and they also identify some of the GSA-approved safes. Buying a new well-rated safe, even at discount prices, is sure to "break the bank" which is why I suggested looking for surplus ones.

 

[mustangcoupe]

you are correct that the DoD safes require multiple turns but once you open them a few times, it gets to be routine: turn left and stop the 4th time you hit "x," turn right and stop the 3rd time you hit "y," turn left and stop the 2nd time you hit "z," then turn right past "0" until the dial stops and then open the drawer. I had 5 of them in my office and opended them every morning for years with no difficulties.

You make it sound easy must be because it was a daily routine