Electronic safe locks

[pull the trigger]

How secure are those push button safe locks? Local tractor suppy has a great deal on some but there are two wires that go from the buttons to the lock in the door. Looks like you could hot wire it open in a few seconds. I cant seem to find anything about them on my google either. Anyone know? Thanks!!

[lefty o]

they are secure, however they fail at a much higher rate than mechanical dial locks do. ive had one fail, and there will never be another in my house!

[dragon813gt]

I purposely bought a lower level RSC that had a S&G dial lock. I don't need quick access to anything in the safe. It's not a matter of if an electronic lock will fail. It's a matter of when it will fail. As far as the "safes" at Tractor Supply go, they are low quality at an inflated price.

[pull the trigger]

Thanks fellas

[Elkins45]

As far as the "safes" at Tractor Supply go, they are low quality at an inflated price.

Not always. They put them on sale pretty often, so then you can get a low quality safe at a decent price :)

The stores around here have the cheapo Sentry boxes, Chinese Winchesters and Mexican Canons. The cheapest Canon has a mechanical lock and can be had for around $500 when they put them on sale. I'm not sure if my safe budget was $500 if there's a better deal around for a "known" brand.

[duckey]

I have a Stack with push buttons, never had a problem with it. Owned it for about 7 years.

[lancem]

Installing a mechanical lock is easy and around $90. I got a good deal on a push button safe and changed it myself.

[Baja_Traveler]

My electronic lock on my Cannon safe is terrible! Takes me 15 - 20 tries before the lock decides to unlock. I've been wanting to get it replaced with a mechanical dial lock for years, but haven't gone through the hassle of calling out a locksmith yet. If I could find a replacement someplace I'd try to do it myself, but the safe places I've asked won't sell the lock mechanisms...

[cwheel]

I bought the Liberty 250 that reads the finger prints. ( this costs about twice what a cheap one does ) Just a small box that bolts to the nightstand and opens reading fingerprints, will store up to 15 fingerprints. So far, works perfectly 100% of the time. 9 volt battery back up for power fails and a key backup. Good money for a small gun storage container, $230, but well worth it to keep the loaded guns secure from the grandkids or others not authorized.
Chris

[Tackleberry41]

There was a video somewhere of how easy it was to get in many of those low end electronic locks. Sometimes it was faster to bypass it than to punch in the code.

[trapper9260]

I got a Cannon and I had a hard time once then I change the battery and now no more problems.Did not know that the batteries can go so fast.But did not know how long the store had it also.

[destrux]

The electronic pistol safes that I've seen all have a mechanical key lock backup. I don't mind them at all for keeping my pistols for home defense. I have kids and can't leave them unsecured in the living areas so these boxes are my only choice. I have been using them for years and never had a failure of the keypad or soelnoids. I use good energizer lithium batteries in them that do not self discharge like alkalines do and do not leak, and last many times longer than alkalines.

There's multiple videos on youtube decribing how to defeat the locks on the small hotel style safes and those pistol boxes though. They are child safety devices and are not secure against anyone over the age of 4. They're good enough for curious toddlers and that's it. Once a person reaches the age of using tools and the internet they can easily get into those boxes by defeating the mechanical part of the lock (no need to even play with the electronics). I have seen some that can be opened in seconds with a large screwdriver just by prying the door.

The larger safes with the UL Group II locks though aren't as easy to defeat. The board and solenoid on those is inside a drill protected housing that has tungsten carbide pins embedded in the steel that will snap drill bits right off. The keypad wires are the only external and playing with those offers you no advantage over playing with the keys themselves. A person with the proper knowledge could open one in about 20 minutes, but not your average person. You average person can get into a fire safe much faster using cutting or prying tools. Most top line models are only a few layers of 11 gauge mild steel sandwiched with fire-proof gypsum board (drywall), cheaper models are thinner. A cordless lithium chop saw can get through that pretty quick.

[lancem]

My electronic lock on my Cannon safe is terrible! Takes me 15 - 20 tries before the lock decides to unlock. I've been wanting to get it replaced with a mechanical dial lock for years, but haven't gone through the hassle of calling out a locksmith yet. If I could find a replacement someplace I'd try to do it myself, but the safe places I've asked won't sell the lock mechanisms...
You can buy them on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002EDF466?keywords=s%26g%20dial%20lock&qid=1448314244&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

[Jim2]

My neighbor has had the "lock guy" there twice since he got a push-button (IIRC) Kodiak safe. He reprogrammed the buttons both times to new numbers, still throws fits. I noticed he has a safe for sale in the newspaper. No doubt it keeps his things SAFE.