Safes Offer Simple Way to Protect Valuables.

By Reed Fujii, The Record, Stockton, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 17--As a way to protect valuables, safes have been around for centuries.

While today's models incorporate modern materials, improved locks or even electronic that allow the combination to be easily reset by the owner or more sophisticated audit controls, the basic aim is the same: preventing loss from theft or fire.

Consumers shopping for a safe should first consider how they intend to use it, experts say. Then compare the level of protection they need against the costs.

A safe to protect a handful of cash or some jewelry could be much smaller than secure storage for a half-dozen rifles and shotguns, for example. A safe rated to protect valuable documents from fire would be inadequate for computer-data tapes or disks.

"Our lowest-end home safe starts out at around $195 and it could go up from there," said Louis Sartain, manager of Charlie's Day and Nite Safe, Lock and Key Service in downtown Stockton.

There could be additional costs for delivery and installation, too. Safes, by design, are hard to move.

"Typically, I would say the average residential safe would be between $400 and $600," Sartain said.

Cost should be balanced against the potential loss of its contents. Also, in some cases, use of a safe could reduce a consumer's insurance premiums.

Fire protection in safes is rated by how long they will maintain an internal temperature of 350 degrees or less (paper begins to char at 425 degrees) when the exterior temperature is 1,700 degrees.

A 1-hour fire protection rating is typical for a home safe, Sartain said. While more expensive safes for businesses may carry a fire rating of 2 hours or more.

However, to protect computer media, tapes or CD-ROMs, the interior of a so-called data safe can get no hotter than 125 degrees.

"If it's not a data safe, then they're not getting the protection that they need," Sartain said.

Small, heavily-insulated boxes to hold just computer data are available that can be kept in a larger, standard safe for theft protection.

The smallest data safe at Charlie's is about $260.

Sartain noted that large data safes for an office can run to $4,000 or $5,000.

Safes may also carry ratings for burglar protection, the untested B and C ratings seen in typical residential safes, as well as Underwriters Laboratory tested TL-15 and TL-30 labels, usually found on more expensive models for commercial use. (See accompanying story).

Consumers may also choose among different types of locking mechanisms, including the traditional key lock, mechanical dial or tumbler lock or an electronic lock.

"A lot of the home safes nowadays ... are going to the electronic locks," Sartain said.

Electronic locks are easier to operate than mechanical combination locks and some models allow the owner to easily reset the combination, which can improve security.

There are disadvantages, too. If the buyer resets the combination, then there's no going back to the manufacturer if the code is lost or forgotten. Also, as with many electronic devices, batteries go dead.

Some, but not all electronic locks, give off a warning signal when the batteries begin to run low. Some models also allow a locksmith to override the lock should the owner be unable to open the safe.

But in other cases, the locksmith may have no choice but to drill into the safe door to open. And that can be expensive, Sartain warned.

"They want to make sure, if the battery is going dead, that they replace the battery right away," he said.

He also said consumers often find the safe they first bought is too small. Either they find they want to use it for more items than they originally planned or they later acquire more valuables that they want to protect.

Safes are rated by resistance to theft. There are industry design standards for typical home safes and more stringent Underwriter Laboratory ratings usually found in safes for commercial use.

-- B-rate: An unwritten industry standard of 1/4-inch thick body and 1/2-inch door. No tests are given to provide this rating.

-- C-rate: Also an untested standard, but generally accepted to be a 1/2-inch thick steel box with a 1-inch thick door.

-- TL-15: Under UL Standard 687, a TL rating indicates resistance to attack by tools for a given amount of time. Thus the minimum TL-15 rating indicates a safe that failed to yield to 15 minutes of attack with drills, punches, hammers or other common hand tools.

-- TL-30: The same as a TL-15, only failed to yield after 30 minutes of attack.

-- TL-15X6: Previous ratings apply to attack only to a safe's door and face. Models tested to attack on the door and body, or all six sides, earn an X6 designation.

-- TRTL-30: UL also tests safes for resistance to attack by cutting torches, leading to a combined torch- and tool-resistance rating.

-- TXTL-60X6: Really serious safes are tested to withstand explosives, torches and tools on all sides, by a team of experts, for an hour.

To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.recordnet.com

(c) 2002, The Record, Stockton, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

Safes Offer Simple Way to Protect Valuables.

By Reed Fujii, The Record, Stockton, Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 17--As a way to protect valuables, safes have been around for centuries.

While today's models incorporate modern materials, improved locks or even electronic that allow the combination to be easily reset by the owner or more sophisticated audit controls, the basic aim is the same: preventing loss from theft or fire.

Consumers shopping for a safe should first consider how they intend to use it, experts say. Then compare the level of protection they need against the costs.

A safe to protect a handful of cash or some jewelry could be much smaller than secure storage for a half-dozen rifles and shotguns, for example. A safe rated to protect valuable documents from fire would be inadequate for computer-data tapes or disks.

"Our lowest-end home safe starts out at around $195 and it could go up from there," said Louis Sartain, manager of Charlie's Day and Nite Safe, Lock and Key Service in downtown Stockton.

There could be additional costs for delivery and installation, too. Safes, by design, are hard to move.

"Typically, I would say the average residential safe would be between $400 and $600," Sartain said.

Cost should be balanced against the potential loss of its contents. Also, in some cases, use of a safe could reduce a consumer's insurance premiums.

Fire protection in safes is rated by how long they will maintain an internal temperature of 350 degrees or less (paper begins to char at 425 degrees) when the exterior temperature is 1,700 degrees.

A 1-hour fire protection rating is typical for a home safe, Sartain said. While more expensive safes for businesses may carry a fire rating of 2 hours or more.

However, to protect computer media, tapes or CD-ROMs, the interior of a so-called data safe can get no hotter than 125 degrees.

"If it's not a data safe, then they're not getting the protection that they need," Sartain said.

Small, heavily-insulated boxes to hold just computer data are available that can be kept in a larger, standard safe for theft protection.

The smallest data safe at Charlie's is about $260.

Sartain noted that large data safes for an office can run to $4,000 or $5,000.

Safes may also carry ratings for burglar protection, the untested B and C ratings seen in typical residential safes, as well as Underwriters Laboratory tested TL-15 and TL-30 labels, usually found on more expensive models for commercial use. (See accompanying story).

Consumers may also choose among different types of locking mechanisms, including the traditional key lock, mechanical dial or tumbler lock or an electronic lock.

"A lot of the home safes nowadays ... are going to the electronic locks," Sartain said.

Electronic locks are easier to operate than mechanical combination locks and some models allow the owner to easily reset the combination, which can improve security.

There are disadvantages, too. If the buyer resets the combination, then there's no going back to the manufacturer if the code is lost or forgotten. Also, as with many electronic devices, batteries go dead.

Some, but not all electronic locks, give off a warning signal when the batteries begin to run low. Some models also allow a locksmith to override the lock should the owner be unable to open the safe.

But in other cases, the locksmith may have no choice but to drill into the safe door to open. And that can be expensive, Sartain warned.

"They want to make sure, if the battery is going dead, that they replace the battery right away," he said.

He also said consumers often find the safe they first bought is too small. Either they find they want to use it for more items than they originally planned or they later acquire more valuables that they want to protect.

Safes are rated by resistance to theft. There are industry design standards for typical home safes and more stringent Underwriter Laboratory ratings usually found in safes for commercial use.

-- B-rate: An unwritten industry standard of 1/4-inch thick body and 1/2-inch door. No tests are given to provide this rating.

-- C-rate: Also an untested standard, but generally accepted to be a 1/2-inch thick steel box with a 1-inch thick door.

-- TL-15: Under UL Standard 687, a TL rating indicates resistance to attack by tools for a given amount of time. Thus the minimum TL-15 rating indicates a safe that failed to yield to 15 minutes of attack with drills, punches, hammers or other common hand tools.

-- TL-30: The same as a TL-15, only failed to yield after 30 minutes of attack.

-- TL-15X6: Previous ratings apply to attack only to a safe's door and face. Models tested to attack on the door and body, or all six sides, earn an X6 designation.

-- TRTL-30: UL also tests safes for resistance to attack by cutting torches, leading to a combined torch- and tool-resistance rating.

-- TXTL-60X6: Really serious safes are tested to withstand explosives, torches and tools on all sides, by a team of experts, for an hour.

To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.recordnet.com

(c) 2002, The Record, Stockton, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.