The Importance of Reading the Safe’s Security Label
One of the things that many people have trouble with when they go to buy a gun safe is knowing what kind to buy. There are unlimited numbers of brands and models all offering amazing features that can be very appealing. With so many gun safes to choose from how do you go about selecting the right one?
With budget in mind there are some important things to look for beyond the features. The reality is that no safe can keep an intruder out forever. Safes are not designed as ways to keep your belongings out of the hands of thieves directly, many are designed to serve as deterrents. Although often the average crook will pass over these for the easy grabs, there are some more determined burglars who will put in the time to see what you have inside. The object of the game is to keep their fingers from your valuables long enough that they run out of time or get caught.
Even though the other more fancy features are important, above all else your primary focus needs to be on the security rating of the particular gun safe you are looking at. Underwritters Laboratories (UL) offers security ratings that focus on how long a particular safe can withstand tampering. These are the most common ratings placed on home safes and although they are an industry standard it is important to understand that it does not represent how long it will take to get through the top or sides of the gun safe, only the door.
More often than not you will find the Residential Security Container indicator on the safe. This is the basic rating for home safes and shows that the container was able to hold against opening for at least five minutes. Of the UL security ratings there are several that are important to look for, each raising the security protection of the container. The TL-15 Burglary Classification is a rating given to safes that have been able to withstand an experts attempt to crack into the safe for at least 15 minutes. This test is conducted using common tools that would be used by a basic criminal. The more substantial test is the TL-30 Burglary Classification which is an indicator that the safe held up against at least 30 minutes of intrusion.
One of the most important things to understand about the ratings given by UL is that there are some that convey important information, but are also used by some businesses to mislead customers. The B and C rating that UL issues is centered on the construction of gun safes and is only designed to let customers know that their safe is ½ to 1 inch thick. There are also other ratings that are used, however these are typically not placed on residential safes and you may want to explore why the manufacturer is focusing on trying to convince you that their safe is secure if you are seeing some of these ratings.
Information is the most valuable tool you have and the internet can be a great resource to learn more about a product. Remember before buying any safe to get the best information you can and then check to find out what others may have to say about it. This is a huge and important investment; don’t get fooled by creative advertising.