You don’t bolt down so they can’t make off with it, which they won’t do unless they know you’re not comming back anytime soon. You bolt it down because if thieves get a safe on its back, door up, it’s really easy to break into one with long pry bars, even a liberty safe. It’s a hell of a lot harder when they’re bolted upright and you can’t tip them over.
I'm glad you posted that.
For anyone in the market for a safe, first look at large safe distributors, especially if you have any local! Look for scratch and dent, vet discounts, yearly sale, and THEN haggle from there. Don't feel bad about lowballing 'em, they come out hand over fist enough on jeweler sales that they can hook up the occasional know it all firearms collector. And do know it all before walking in. It's the difference between talking to the sales or owner as an equal vs. predator/prey. It's possible to score a $12,000 TL30X6 with dual combo/key locks for $5000 --delivered and installed. Compare an Original TL30X6, the largest model they make, to any RSC or any non-X6 vault. The difference will be obvious. Also, one weighs seven times the other!
And if this is in WA, there's no tax. They'll tax the fuck out of everything in it, but not the safe.
Now an RSC won't be rated to withstand an attack like that, and that guy selling the Graffunder RSC's knows it. An RSC gets it's rating from two guys using SHORT handled hand tools and no power tools. It has to withstand five minutes to get an RSC rating. Notice he didn't put his RSC to the same test. Why not? Because RSC is RSC and UL wouldn't have permitted that long pry bar in an RSC evaluation. If it would've rated a TL15, I'm sure Graffunder would have paid UL to test for that (15min. agains long handled tools plus power tools of choice). Truth is most of these items rate higher than they're tested for, but generally not high enough for the next rating. Sometimes a mfg. may feel a certain rating is good enough and no need to spend the money to get it rated higher for whatever reasons.
The Graffunders behind the sales guy will be rated exactly the same. $500 or $5000, an RSC is an RSC. Graffunder does make one of the best RSC's, Heritage makes a damn fine RSC too. IIRC, those two have fire ratings on par or almost on par with many TL30's. Jewelry safes don't generally advertise fire ratings, maybe because they're about as high as they get. RSC's use drywall inside, TL's use concrete and other stuff.
The RSC they tested was NOT a "premium" model, it looked like a pretty cheap no name and I'm not certain it hadn't been tampered with, ie, the bottom and top pins (which it looks like it had at some point). Even a good RSC will have a substantial door that will dispermit prying like that; most good ones have 3" pins all the way around. Typically, the way to get into an RSC isn't through the door, it's through the sides. They're made with sheet steel, 16 or 11ga. usually, all you have to do is power chisel a cutout, then chisel out the fireproofing, then chisel through the final sheet steel. One tool does it all. If you've got practice with one of those tools, it's like opening a zipper. Or a sardine can. But they never, ever show that.
Better off to secure an RSC (some vaults don't need to be bolted, even recommend against, but we're talking 6000lbs. here). Drill the minimum size hole for services like electricity, security. Ideally put it in a corner and build a wall next to it. Even better is to conceal it somehow so it's not even noticeable; can't find it, can't rob it. Like under stairs or behind a hidden wall. Shit like that isn't hard to DIY. And every single thing I've mentioned is in use by one member or another on this very site. I'd say the guys with RSC's that concealed them AND built up walls (like in basements for example) and/or stuffed in a corner, and that have solid doors, have security probably on par with a TL. Especially if the walls are reinforced with rebar. If you can reinforce the room well enough, you can just get a security door and install it and have a walk in. Easy to do in basements. God, I love one of those.
Shit, I could go on all day long.
I've written dissertations on security, I don't feel like doing it anymore but if anyone wants good specific security advice you can PM me. This gets asked often enough that I'd write a very detailed security sticky if asked to do so. I figure if my security work can protect $5billion in jewels, it can secure our shit.
And shouldn't you be out in spandex right now saving the city? Need a sidekick?
