[cuban11182]

I just picked up my first safe yesterday and just finished setting it up in our office. The safe can be seen here. I had a gun cabinet for a few months, but decided to pick up a safe so that I wouldn't worry as much. I purchased the safe at The Sport's Authority for $585 and had two guys at the store load it into the back of my truck. Once I got home I had a guy help me load it into the garage, but I ended up moving it into the house with the help of my wife and my dolly. I can tell you that 500lbs is no joke, it's a good thing I am young....(stupid):embarassed:

Overall I don't really have any experience with safe's except for the one's that I've seen at Lowe's, Home Depot, Dicks and some gun stores.I had been researching for a couple of days before deciding on this one. I wasn't sure that I wanted a fire resistant one, but after reading the link that Retsup posts up when people ask about safes, I decided it was a wise choice.

The safe locks with 5 extending bars and 3 static ones. The static ones are on the hinge side:

The extend bars are 1 on top, 1 on bottom, and 3 opposite of the static ones:

The shelving was relatively easy to put on, more hassle than anything else. They work with little tabs that click into rails on the hinge side and against the inner wall. It comes with 4 shelves that look like particle board wrapped in the gray cloth. The slots on the rails line up well so that there seems to be no wobble on them.

Just as I expected my guns are a little short for where the plastic grooves are. I didn't expect them to work since they didn't in the cabinet that I had before this. Unfortunately, I can't fit my 40MM ammo case in the safe which allowed me to use the gun grooves. So I tossed in my Sentry firebox and set the guns on that until I can get some wood and some grey cloth and create a step for it.

I can't bolt it to the floor since this is a rental. I think with the amount of ammo and extra stuff I have in there I should be alright. If they want my guns that bad, they are going to get them. I may look into purchasing some of the holsters I have seen with velcro to see if they can hang on the door. The combo lock is very easy to use as well.

Overall I am happy with the safe. I know there are more expensive ones, but I feel that what I need it for it accomplishes. I would recommend this safe to anyone looking for a decent fire safe. Also, Stack-on will replace the safe if it is ever damaged by theft or fire.

 

[RETSUPT99]

Nice safe, you'll be glad you have that each time you leave the house.
The only problem I can see is lots of extra space...you need more guns and ammo.:image035:

 

[cuban11182]

The only problem I can see is lots of extra space...you need more guns and ammo.:image035:

I'll let you talk with my wife!! :35:

 

[rueljr]

I have the same safe and love it. Like you, I don't have a lot of long guns (4 soon to be 5), so I decided to put them on the narrow side and I built shelfs for the wide side. I couldn't find the correct color felt to cover them but I think it still came out pretty good.

The top shelf is for important household and personal papers and my wife's good jewelry.

The slots are for ammo and handguns. That way I can keep the ammo of different calibers separate and easier to keep track of how much I have.

The next shelf is for my spotting scope, night vision scope, cleaning kit, and misc. items.
The bottom area holds my range bags.

(This is the first time I tried to attach something, so if it doesn't work, I apologize.)

 

[cuban11182]

Looks just like mine, they must be twins!:hand10:

 

[TheShadow]

Nice safe!

I got my first real gun safe a couple months ago and the piece of mind it gives you is worth every dollar.

Have you thought about some lighting for the interior? You can go with the simple battery powered puck lights or wiring it for some under the cabinet type lights like I did. If you decide with the cabinet lights... let me know I have some links and pics to make it an easy DIY project.

 

[Ram Rod]

Rental or not, I would bolt it to the floor at least. Believe me, I rent right now, and where there's carpet, the holes will disappear when it comes time to pull it up and move it. I've done this a couple of times with 3 1/2" lag screws on mine. If you don't bolt it down, it's going to want to tip forward a bit when you open the door wide even at 500lbs.

 

[cuban11182]

If you don't bolt it down, it's going to want to tip forward a bit when you open the door wide even at 500lbs.

I remedied the need to tip over with a piece of plywood. As much as I would like to, I don't think I am. I don't want to have to deal with it when the time comes for me to move. Thank you though.

 

[Majorlk]

Rental or not, I would bolt it to the floor at least. Believe me, I rent right now, and where there's carpet, the holes will disappear when it comes time to pull it up and move it. I've done this a couple of times with 3 1/2" lag screws on mine. If you don't bolt it down, it's going to want to tip forward a bit when you open the door wide even at 500lbs.

I'm with RamRod. A significant portion of the weight is in the door on any safe.

One other thought ...

Take the ammo off the shelves and put it in the bottom; you want the weight down low. Build the shelf for the long guns to sit on and store the ammo under it.

My safe is somewhat bigger than yours - 600-700 lbs empty - and I have 3k of .223 and another 3-4k of pistol ammo sitting in the bottom. And that's not all my ammo, by a long shot.

What you are after is the ability to deny a thief a chance to move the safe in any direction, in any manner.

Congratulations on the purchase, BTW.

 

[nedrgr21]

Does the door come off? Helped a friend move a safe and you should've seen the look on his face when I asked that - turns out he has moved the whole safe repeatedly. They're much easier to handle w/o the door .

You can try fastening some "L" brackets to the wall studs behind the safe so one edge is about flush with the top of the safe to prevent tipping. Also a good idea for things like stoves and bookcases when little ones are about as they will pull drawers and oven doors out to assist their climbing skills.

 

[cuban11182]

The door does come off, but I didn't want to deal with it. I have a dolly I keep in the garage and it worked well. Only problem that I had was the front step. Just placed a 2/4 in front of the step to create a step up. That worked fine.

Can't fasten L brackets either due to it being catty cornered. Besides i would hate to ruin my warranty and fire resistance by screwing anything into the side. The instructions say to mount it to the floor. I can't even put it an electric de-humidifier. Plan on using one of these. I like that they are reuseable.

 

[nedrgr21]

You don't have to screw anything into the safe. This is just to keep it from tipping, if you find that to be a problem. Check this out for creating more room in a safe.

 

[Majorlk]

I can't even put it an electric de-humidifier. Plan on using one of these. I like that they are reuseable.

There's no hole in the safe for an electrical cord? Every quality safe I've ever looked at had one.

And you don't want a regular dehumidifier, you want a DampChaser. It's a heating element that sits in the bottom of the safe. The place you got the safe from should sell them. If not any piano dealer has them because the same this is used against the soundboards of pianos.

 

[TheShadow]

There's no hole in the safe for an electrical cord? Every quality safe I've ever looked at had one.

Evidently not... from the Stack-On website :

Q: Is there an opening for a dehumidifying rod?

A: Not on Stack-On fire resistant safes. We recommend using a dry desiccant or battery operated dehumidifier. On Stack-On’s non-fire safes there is a hole in the back of the safe that can be used for access for an electronic dehumidifying rod cord.

 

[Majorlk]

Evidently not... from the Stack-On website :

Q: Is there an opening for a dehumidifying rod?

A: Not on Stack-On fire resistant safes. We recommend using a dry desiccant or battery operated dehumidifier. On Stack-On’s non-fire safes there is a hole in the back of the safe that can be used for access for an electronic dehumidifying rod cord.

I guess they figure that affects the fire rating, but considering that my Ft. Knox has one, as does just about every other quality safe, it makes no sense to me. Then again, I put Stack-On at the bottom of the quality list.

Personally, I'd drill a hole for an a/c cord in a heartbeat - but that's me.

 

[cuban11182]

I guess they figure that affects the fire rating, but considering that my Ft. Knox has one, as does just about every other quality safe, it makes no sense to me. Then again, I put Stack-On at the bottom of the quality list.

Well thank you for insulting my purchase. If you that adamant about the quality and have that much money maybe you can purchase a quality safe for me.:hand10:

Or maybe could have just said that maybe stack-on figured it affected the fire rating. Thanks again for nothing.:comeandgetsome:

 

[Majorlk]

Well thank you for insulting my purchase. If you that adamant about the quality and have that much money maybe you can purchase a quality safe for me.:hand10:

Or maybe could have just said that maybe stack-on figured it affected the fire rating. Thanks again for nothing.:comeandgetsome:

It was not meant as an insult to you; just a statement of fact. Stack-On safes are bottom of the line as far as safes are concerned. That said, they are miles better than their sheet metal cabinets. I'm happy you have something to lock your guns away in, really I am.

One suggestion to extend the life of the safe - cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to go under the bottom of the safe, rather than letting it sit straight on the concrete floor. That prevents any chemical reaction between the steel bottom and the acid content in the concrete.

 

[cuban11182]

It was not meant as an insult to you; just a statement of fact. Stack-On safes are bottom of the line as far as safes are concerned. That said, they are miles better than their sheet metal cabinets. I'm happy you have something to lock your guns away in, really I am.

Thats fine. It just sounded like you were scoffing at my purchase. I actually have it on carpet, the slab is underneath. I guess that arrises from my father telling me to drill some holes and crawl under the house. I had to remind him I live in Florida and not in NC. We don't have crawl spaces.

 

[Majorlk]

Thats fine. It just sounded like you were scoffing at my purchase.

I'm sorry it came across that way.

I actually have it on carpet, the slab is underneath. I guess that arrises from my father telling me to drill some holes and crawl under the house. I had to remind him I live in Florida and not in NC. We don't have crawl spaces.

It was that way when I lived in Texas, years ago. It was strange moving back east, about 25 years ago, where people had basements. :image035:

 

[cagueits]

You don't have to screw anything into the safe. This is just to keep it from tipping, if you find that to be a problem. Check this out for creating more room in a safe.

Them gadgets look pretty neat.