Gun Vault

[Greg Foster]

Just wanted to give a heads up to other gun vault owners.
I bought it about a year ago and have been very pleased with it. It's secured to the night stand on my wifes side (mine is holstered on the other side)

The other day I went to open it to change the moisture pack and give her S&W a quick wipe down. I put the code in and heard a small "click", but the spring loaded door didn't open. Tried again, same thing. Luckily this wasn't a life or death situation. I keep the key for it near by, but if my wife was alone and had to open it quickly those few extra seconds to get the key could have made a big difference.

The problem was low batteries. It was about a week since I last opened it and the batteries got low enough during the week to not have enough power to unlatch the door. There wasn't a low battery indication.
So now I'm trying to get into the habit of checking it every morning and evening.

Just though I'd give other Gun Vault owners a heads up.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[tokerblue]

I bought an AC adapter and use the batteries only as a back up in case the power goes out. Then I simply change the batteries once a year.

[protek]

Thanks for the heads up. Not too hard to do a quick battery power test.

[tkruf]

tokerblue: Did you originally purchase the one deluxe model that will run off of AC? If not how did you get that to work? I have two gun vaults. One 2000 model and one 1000 model. Both are the standard models and run on battery. The 2000 is really bad about burning out batteries. The 1000 has yet to run out the original set that I've installed. I need to check it to make sure they still work because it is on the night stand on my side of the bed. I'd hate to have to get into it in the middle of the night and it not open.

I've thought about getting the deluxe models as well.

[WHEC724]

I bought an AC adapter and use the batteries only as a back up in case the power goes out. Then I simply change the batteries once a year.

I'm also interested in how you rigged this?

[tokerblue]

Looks like the Deluxe model is the only one with the power connection jack. The standard version doesn't have the jack. Who knew?

Multi-Gun Safes From GunVault

[Guns and more]

I'd recommend Lithium AA's. They last forever, and never leak.

[ArkhmAsylm]

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I've heard enough about the 1000 & 2000 series & battery problems to stick with the one I have - the standard 500. I've had the same set of batteries for over a year now in my bedside unit without a battery change. It gets daily use with one opening to move my firearm to the away safe, & one opening to move the firearm back in when we get home. Weekends can see multiple trips in a day when we leave the house for more than an hour at a time.

I just put another one of these into my car in June of this year, so I'll have to see how it handles a Minnesota winter after working through the hot summer.

[FAS1]

That's exactly why I use a mechanical pushbutton lock. At least it wasn't a life or death scenario when you discovered your low batteries. Next time, who knows?

[turtle27]

Just FYI, I was having the same problem with the batteries in my Multi vault. According to gunvault this was a problem with them between certain manufacturing dates (not sure what the dates are), but they said they will replace any effected safes. The number to call is 1-800-242-1055 ext. 771, just have the serial number.

[Pkupmn98]

I'm about to go purchase one with my next paycheck. I plan to use the same schedule with the batteries in the safe as with the smoke detectors. Change your clocks, change your batteries. My CCW instructor gave me a great idea too. Seems he has little kids, as do I. When he takes his batteries out, he swaps them into toys that have had their batteries die. The toys get a new lease on life, and the kids apperciate the toys as "new", since they have been in a box of "dead battery toys" since they went dead. Anyhow, just my .02

[Kahrma]

I used to be a fan of GunVault products, but can no longer recommend them.

I bought my first one almost 6 years ago, and had great luck with it. I accessed mine almost daily. Batteries lasted at least 6 months, and the "low battery" warning beep sounded long before the batteries would fail to open the safe. The safe finally failed when a metal cable actuating the door lock mechanism eventually frayed and broke.

Customer service was great - I called GunVault, explained the situation, and they sent me a new GunVault GV1000S to replace my 5 year old original. They included a return shipping label to send my old GunVault back.

Unfortunately, the newer GunVault model did not match the performance of the older model it replaced. After about a month, the safe failed to open. I found the batteries to be dead, though it never gave a "low battery" warning beep. I wondered if I had used fresh batteries, and tried again with a brand new set. Same results - the safe again failed to open after about a month, with no low battery warning. I contacted GunVault a second time, and got the same great service - they offered to send another GunVault in exchange for my defective model.

I received a third GV1000S, and made sure that I installed fresh Duracell AA batteries. About a month later, the safe failed to open and failed to provide a "low battery" warning. Frustrated, I tried a set of Lithium AA batteries, but experienced the same "failure to warn" before "failure to open" after barely a month.

Replacing 8 AA batteries every month or so is excessive enough, but not receiving a "low battery" warning before the safe fails to open is simply unacceptable. I've now received 2 GV1000S models with this problem. Though GunVault gave me great customer service, and my first GunVault gave me over 5 years of reliable service, I can no longer recommend the GV1000S. I'm currently researching options for a new quick-access safe.

[austinwolv]

Just wanted to give a heads up to other gun vault owners.
I bought it about a year ago and have been very pleased with it. It's secured to the night stand on my wifes side (mine is holstered on the other side)

The other day I went to open it to change the moisture pack and give her S&W a quick wipe down. I put the code in and heard a small "click", but the spring loaded door didn't open. Tried again, same thing. Luckily this wasn't a life or death situation. I keep the key for it near by, but if my wife was alone and had to open it quickly those few extra seconds to get the key could have made a big difference.

The problem was low batteries. It was about a week since I last opened it and the batteries got low enough during the week to not have enough power to unlatch the door. There wasn't a low battery indication.
So now I'm trying to get into the habit of checking it every morning and evening.

Just though I'd give other Gun Vault owners a heads up.

I've had the same thing happen with mine. Push in slightly on the door and it will open when it unlocks during low battery condition like that.

I'm not fan of having to rely on batteries either. My GV has the AC adapter, but I don't have an outlet near where I keep it. I need to rethink that but am actually interested in switching to another option, but I haven't found an option that looks appealing enough to switch yet.

Recommendations are appreciated!

[armado]

I bought my Gun Vault 1000 about 16 years ago. The batteries last a year or two. My friends that have newer 1000's say that the batteries only last several weeks and they just use the key now. Do the newer ones offer more program options that draw more power and drain the batteries quicker?

[FAS1]

I used to be a fan of GunVault products, but can no longer recommend them.

I bought my first one almost 6 years ago, and had great luck with it. I accessed mine almost daily. Batteries lasted at least 6 months, and the "low battery" warning beep sounded long before the batteries would fail to open the safe. The safe finally failed when a metal cable actuating the door lock mechanism eventually frayed and broke.

Customer service was great - I called GunVault, explained the situation, and they sent me a new GunVault GV1000S to replace my 5 year old original. They included a return shipping label to send my old GunVault back.

Unfortunately, the newer GunVault model did not match the performance of the older model it replaced. After about a month, the safe failed to open. I found the batteries to be dead, though it never gave a "low battery" warning beep. I wondered if I had used fresh batteries, and tried again with a brand new set. Same results - the safe again failed to open after about a month, with no low battery warning. I contacted GunVault a second time, and got the same great service - they offered to send another GunVault in exchange for my defective model.

I received a third GV1000S, and made sure that I installed fresh Duracell AA batteries. About a month later, the safe failed to open and failed to provide a "low battery" warning. Frustrated, I tried a set of Lithium AA batteries, but experienced the same "failure to warn" before "failure to open" after barely a month.

Replacing 8 AA batteries every month or so is excessive enough, but not receiving a "low battery" warning before the safe fails to open is simply unacceptable. I've now received 2 GV1000S models with this problem. Though GunVault gave me great customer service, and my first GunVault gave me over 5 years of reliable service, I can no longer recommend the GV1000S. I'm currently researching options for a new quick-access safe.

If you are wanting to get away from any electronics on your handgun safe you might take a look at this one: FAS1 SAFE, LLC. Free shipping right now which saves about $25-$30 since this one is heavy (7GA, 3/16") steel and weighs 21lbs. empty. You can store a couple extra mags laying in the bottom as well.

Here's a short clip of how it works:FAS1 SAFE - YouTube

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