A gun safe question.

Sorry I could not respond earlier.
I did not want anything too big, I dont have any long guns as of today, but that may change soon. As far as protection I'm only concerned with child safety and a random wacko thief and not a professional.
I also don't want to invest too much on it since it's somewhat a temporary solution until I get steady work and buy a house.
I was searching Lowe's and Home Depot and here are the two that I'm thinking about.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_292952-10283-CE12-BK_4294807812_4294937087_?productId=1242371&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Safes_4294807812_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_quantity_sold%7C1

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100196980/h_d2/ProductDisplay?longitude=-122.499040&jspStoreDir=hdus&storeZip=98409&rough=Value&storeState=WA&recordId=4720&catalogId=10053&catalogId=10053&R=100196980&R=100196980&N=5yc1v&langId=-1&latitude=47.234380&storeId=10051&storeId=10051&storeCity=Tacoma

I understand these are entry level safes but that's about what I want for right now. The Lowe's one is more expensive but it looks like it has more features and it indicates the steel thickness. The Home Depot's one has better price , has no fire rating and I could not find the thickness of the walls. I'm gonna see if the Lowe's can give me a discount, if not I may get the one from HomeDepot.

Speaking of insurance, I may actually have it. The American Family Insurance had made me add a home coverage to get a better rate for an auto insurance, I just need to dig it up and see what exactly is covered.
 
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Gollnick said:
If you bolt the wall, you will probably leave some nasty scars and end up loosing some damage deposit.

At my last rental, I bolted a safe to the floor through the carpet. When I moved out, I just fluffed the carpet a bit and the holes disappeared.
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I'm not concernd about that since my inlaw is a maintanance of these apartments, he will take care of all possible damage. I already used his service once when I had to break a hole in a door to open it when my child locked herself up in my office room:).
 
I use a 48" Job site tool box that I bolted to the floor with huge lags.
Got it for $80 on Craigslist.
 
trugracie said:
I use a 48" Job site tool box that I bolted to the floor with huge lags.
Got it for $80 on Craigslist.
Click to expand...

Good idea. The Jobox tool boxes look very strong, if a bit pricey. You give up fire protection but they look very hard to get into.
 
A small chest or upright freezer equipped with a couple of heavy duty hasps and quality padlocks makes a fairly decent gunsafe. So does a big, unwieldy DIY cabinet made of well bolted and screwed 2x4s and thick plywood with concealed hinges. You can make the wood safe as large as you like to fit into a closet or whatever and take it apart if you move or go to something better.

Don't depend on hiding guns! I've been at too many burglary scenes where the thieves found every hidden gun in the house in minutes. Those under beds, sofas, or other furniture, behind the stuff in the closets, kitchen cabinets and drawers, bureaus and dressers, laundry room and so on. They know just where to look and they sweep everything out onto the floor from closets and cabinets plus overturn the furniture and pull out drawers all the way to find the hidden goodies. It's far better to have the guns locked away in something big and heavy that requires work and noise to break into.

Alarming your apartment or home would also be a good idea....
 
If I lived in "Rainy Washington", I would be certain to buy a Goldenrod de-humidifier for my safe (I use one even in dry Western Nevada).

DancesWithKnives
 
It's done, I got this one http://www.lowes.com/pd_292952-1028..._prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1
I negotiated the price down to $375 and somehow there was no tax.

I do need a de-humidifier, today while putting staff to the safe I discovered that my air rifle that was stored in a case has developed some rust, luckly nothing severe it was cleaned with some steel wool and tuf cloth.

DWK2, I looked at the Goldenrod but it's a cord plug in kind that is not going to work in my situation, I need something chemical based or battery operated.
 
After reading on de-humidifiers it appears that the Goldenrod is by far the most popular among the gun safe users. I was trying to avoid running an extension cord since there is no electric outlet near the safe location, but I guess it has to be done. Good thing the safe has a little hole on the back for the cord so no drilling is needed. Now I'm going to check the local gun shops fot the Goldenrod, I would much rather buy it locally than wait for the shipping if bought online. Humidity in WA is no joke and I lived near the ocean in CA but it was not that bad.
 
Gollnick said:
If you bolt the wall, you will probably leave some nasty scars and end up loosing some damage deposit.

At my last rental, I bolted a safe to the floor through the carpet. When I moved out, I just fluffed the carpet a bit and the holes disappeared.
Click to expand...

With a little spackle and some semi-matching paint in a dark closet, you might be able to hide those pretty well.

The big silica gel containers are just as effective as a Goldenrod and are actually a little cheaper...but you occasionally need to bake them in the oven to drive the moisture out and reactivate them. I have a gun box in an area with no electricity and that's what I use. I think I paid $20 for it and it lasts for months before needing to be recharged. Some of the classier ones don't even need an oven, you can plug them in and they heat themselves.

Something like this:

s7_227686_999_01
 
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The OP did well; that is a good safe for the price.

I'm skeptical about electrical dehumifiers in fire-resistant safes. One of the leading causes of house fires is electricity. The electric dehumidifier seems to me to be like letting the proverbial fox into the hen house. Same as electrical lighting inside safes. Batteries -- especially lithium batteries -- have been known to start fires too. So, I prefer no electricity inside my safe, thank you.
 
I understand the concern about an electrical item inside the safe. However, my first goldenrod is still working after nearly 30 years. The second one is almost a decade old. All of my friends run them and I've never heard of a problem. If the OP wants to research the issue, he could probably post a question somewhere like www.thefiringline.com. My experience and knowledge of their reputation makes me willing to accept the risk.

DancesWithKnives

[BTW: About fifteen years ago, while living in Los Smogeles, my condo was being renovated for earthquake damage. Some workmen unplugged my goldenrod. Several custom knives rusted to the point of pitting and there was pretty much no way to economically restore them. Thankfully the rest had enough Renaissance Wax or T-9 Boeshield on them to survive.]
 
Goldenrod dehumidifiers have been around forever and then some. They seem to last forever and I can't conceive they would ever start a fire. They are extremely low wattage. There are probably more of them used in pianos than even gun safes. You don't ever hear of too many pianos burning down.

To the original poster, call around to the piano stores in your area to find one. Be sure to get the one branded 'Goldenrod' because it is "bulletproof". The 18" one is probably the most common one I have seen used in gun safes. Stick it in the very bottom of the gun safe since the heated air will rise and the colder air will migrate towards the bottom of the safe. The heated air will prevent any moisture from condensing on your firearms by very gently keeping them warm enough to prevent condensation.
 
For keeping the interior of a safe or other such container dry, I use the little dessicant packs that come with livestock medicine and other goods. You can also buy them from various sources. A couple of times a year I gather them up from the safe, put them in a pan in the oven, and leave them there for several hours at 200 degrees. Then back in the safe they go. I've never had a rust problem and no concerns about electrical methods.
 
Agree with the silica gel dessicant solution. No electricity, fire risk or ongoing cost.

I have kept a two pound cotton bag of silica gel in the bottom of my gun safe for at least eight years and never had a problem with condensation or rusty guns. It gets "reactivated" as described by others above each year.

There are many commercial outlets to buy silica gel, or if you know somebody in the mining industry you may score a freebie, as it is widely used to protect all sorts of instruments and consumables on mine sites and is routinely thrown out when no longer needed.
 
I use a goldenrod also, and I have more then a new car's worth if guns in there. I'm forgetful and would forget about the deccicant. Gratuitous safe pic to back up goldenrod effectiveness:
DSC02271.jpg
 
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