FAQS AND RESOURCES

If your safe is not working properly, there are a few things you should try before you call anyone for help.

  1. If using an electronic lock, ensure you have a recently manufactured alkaline (not lithium) Duracell or Energizer battery installed. You will know when it was manufactured by the expiration date – a new one will expire about 5 years into the future.
  2. If your dial starts to not open reliably, try changing the last number by increasing it by 1/2 a digit. If that doesn’t work, try the same thing, but increase the number by 1 digit. Continue doing this up to 2 digits from the original combination. If that doesn’t work, try decreasing the last number in 1/2 digit increments up to 2 digits less than the original number. If that works, as long as the number does not continue to drift, you can just use the new code. If the code continues to drift, call support before a more serious issue arises and the safe needs to be drilled open. (Tip: do not spin the dial too fast, as it causes wear on the internals).
  3. If your door does not close all the way, remove all the contents. Check the shelves to make sure they are flush against the back wall of the safe, and not hitting the door. Make sure there are no small items blocking the door, such as a paper clip, bag, paper or a magnet.
  4. If the door is dragging on the bottom, some doors have an adjustment screw under the hinge(s). Try adjusting the hinge to raise the door a bit.

If none of the above tips work, or you have another issue, please call us at: (888) 383-2721.

Safe Weight:

Safes are usually heavy, and sometimes extraordinarily heavy, so the delivery of a safe to your home must be a carefully considered task.

We have categorized our safes into several discrete groups based on weight and the ability of the delivery companies to handle the shipment.

Weight
Delivery Type
Less than 150 lbsUPS
150 lbs to 2,000 lbsFreight Carrier
Over 2,000 lbsMust be arranged

 If you are purchasing a safe that is over 150 lbs and you would like for it to be moved by the freight company into a garage from the street, there are additional charges the freight carrier charges, which will be passed on. For safes under 600 lbs, the additional charge is $75; for safes over 600 lbs, but under 2,000 lbs, the additional charge is $200. 

Freight delivery truck liftgates typically only hold up to 2,000 lbs, so if you are purchasing a safe that weighs over 2,000 lbs, you will need to have a high-dock or forklift available to receive the safe. 

Receiving Your Safe:

When you receive your safe, you should inspect the box to ensure there is NO damage before you sign off on the delivery. If damage is noticed, you MUST note it on the delivery paperwork or we will not be able to file a freight claim. Pictures should be taken of the damage if possible. Delivery carriers must wait for a reasonable time if you wish to open the box and inspect the product. If there is serious damage to the safe, you should refuse the delivery. If you are unsure about what to do, or have any problems during the receiving process, immediately call us at (888) 383-2721.

Inside Delivery:

If you would like your safe taken into your home or bolted down, please call us at (888) 383-2721 to arrange a licensed, bonded and insured technician to perform the service. There will be several questions to answer in order to get an appropriate quote; questions regarding steps, slopes, tile flooring, door widths, etc. Please consider these types of issues when thinking about where you would like to place your safe. If a technician arrives to your location and advises against your desired location, they may refuse to install the safe and/or you may need to reconsider where you want the safe. If they do not install the safe, there may still be a trip charge for the technician to go to your establishment.

The technician may need access to the code to your safe in order to do the installation. For electronic locks, your code can be easily changed. For mechanical combination locks, it is highly recommended that the code be changed by a professional locksmith. If you are not comfortable with our scheduled technician knowing the code to your safe, you should arrange the installation with your own locksmith.

UPS Deliveries:

If your product is under 150 lbs it will be delivered by UPS. A signature will be requested. UPS can be rough with packages, so be sure to inspect the product when the package arrives.

Freight Deliveries:

If your safe weighs between 150 lbs and 2,000 lbs you will receive free curbside delivery anywhere in the continental US. You will receive the tracking information via email, and the freight company will call you to schedule the delivery day (there are no delivery times promised). Freight companies work Monday thru Friday and deliver between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Someone must be available to received and sign for the shipment. If the delivery appointment is missed, there may be a fee to reschedule.

Freight trucks sometimes have issues getting to certain locations due to their size. There may be additional fees or it may not be possible to deliver to limited access areas, such as:

  • Schools
  • Churches
  • Storage Units
  • Residential cul-de-sacs
  • Commercial establishments not open to walk-in public during normal business hours
  • Construction sites
  • Fairs or Carnivals
  • Prisons
  • Military Bases
  • Rural routes, or out of town highway access locations
  • Sites requiring security inspection prior to delivery

Shipping Outside the Continental US:

For shipments going to Canada, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii or any US Territory, please call us at (888) 383-2721 for a custom quote. Shipments to Canada and Mexico will require Customs clearance, and a Customs Broker will be required.

Useful Guides:

There are several things to consider when deciding on the right safe for your needs. This article is going to focus on different types of safe bodies. The type of lock you choose is a topic unto itself – click here for more on locks.

List of things to consider:

  • Size and Installation Location
  • Security Rating
  • Fire Resistance

Size:

Make sure you get a safe that will be large enough to hold everything you want to put inside of it, plus leave a little room for future items. Pile everything in one place, and that will give you an idea of how much space you need. Keep in mind that some safes, especially fire and high security safes, have thick walls, which decreases the interior space available. Most safe companies online give both outer and inner dimensions in their product specs.

When thinking about the size of your safe, you must consider where it will go. If it is going to be put inside a closet, be sure to include the handle in the depth dimension, which often adds 2″ to the depth. You should also take the weight into account when deciding where to place the safe. Very heavy safes, such as TL safes and some fire safes, might be best kept in a garage, or other easy access location. 

Putting a very heavy safe inside or upstairs can add significantly to the cost to install the safe. Also, it may not even be safe to put something so small and heavy in an upstairs location due to structural integrity. Furthermore, moving a very heavy safe over tile and up stairs might invite cracked tiles and / or damaged stairs. Some installers will have you sign a damage waiver before attempting such moves, since it is a risky process.

Security Rating:

Safes come in many varieties and burglary resistance levels. In general, the saying, “You get what you paid for” rings true when purchasing a safe. You must decide how valuable the things you are protecting are, and buy the appropriate safe security rating level. If you are considering purchasing a safe, you should look at it as a long-term investment. Do not be tempted to save a few hundred dollars and end up with a safe that is not very secure. Do your homework and see if there are any reviews or YouTube videos for the safe you like. 

Some safes are so poorly constructed they can be opened with a large screwdriver. Many of the less expensive gun safes can be opened within a few minutes with a crow bar. Once you see the word “burglary” safe in the name (such as “Fire & Burglary Safes”), you know you are looking at higher security safes. The ultimate in protection are TL safes, which have undergone serious testing by Underwriters Laboratories to confirm they are as secure as they claim.

Suggested safe type:

Value of Goods Type of Safe
< $25,000 temporaryB-Rated
< $25,000 overnightFire safe or C-Rated safe
> $25,000 and < $50,000Fire & Burglary Safe
> $50,000 and < $200KU.L. TL-15
> $200K and <$375KU.L. TL-30
> $375K and <$1 MillionU.L. TL-30 x 6
> $1 MillionU.L. TLTR-30 x 6

These are just our suggestions. If you have the funds, you should buy the highest rated safe that is in your budget. That being said, you should check with your insurance company if you have high value goods, as they may have specific requirements and suggestions. 

Fire Resistance:

Fire resistance is a huge concern for many safe buyers. There are two primary ways safes provide fire protection. The most common method, and this is true for most gun safes, is to use gypsum board (drywall) to line the interior of the safe. Gypsum board has a fire rating associated with it, so safe manufacturers will simply line the safe with as many layers of gypsum board as is necessary to achieve the fire rating they want the safe to have. 

However, not all gypsum board is created equal. Cheap Chinese gun safes may use inferior drywall. Furthermore, we have found that it is quite common to see a safe that claims to have a particular fire rating, yet the safe clearly does not have enough gypsum lining the walls to support the claim. 

If fire is a real concern, you should look for a U.L. certified fire rating, or other independent laboratory rating. Many manufacturers “self certify” the fire rating, and you will see a label on the safe that says, “Manufacturer fire rated” or something similar. Some fire resistant safes also have a drop test rating, since the safes may fall through the floor if they are in an upstairs location and there is a fire. 

The second common method to make a safe fire resistant is to build a ‘composite’ safe. Composite safes have walls built like a sandwich, with steel lining the exterior and interior, and concrete or some other filling, in between. TL safes are often composite safes, and although composite TL safes are specifically built to prevent burglary attack, by their design they are naturally fire resistant as well – fire and heat just don’t penetrate 3″ of concrete well.

Final Words:

A safe is usually a long-term and important investment. You will likely have your safe for the foreseeable future – usually longer than you own your car, and sometimes your house! Think about that when you are making your decision, and do not get trapped into the mindset of saving a little money at the expense of getting what you really need to protect your valuables. A safe is really insurance – and like insurance, you hope you never need to use it, but if you do it can be a lifesaver!

Safe locks come with a variety of features – this page is a breakdown of the different locks and options, and is intended as a guide to help you choose the best lock for your safe.

There are three large categories of safe lock: 

  1. Key lock
  2. Combination Dial
  3. Electronic Digital
  4. Dual Combination Dial & Electronic Digital
  5. Biometric

Key Locks:

Key locks are typically found on small safes, such as drop boxes. There are several common types of key locks, ranging from cam locks (low security), to Medeco cam locks (high security) to dual key bank locks (high security). 

Depending on the design, some safes may use key locks, and some safes have two locks; one standard mechanical or digital, plus one key lock as extra security.

Our recommendation is to use key locks to protect fairly low value assets.

Combination Dial:

The tried and true combination dial is known for its reliability. It is also immune to EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) attacks and requires no batteries. The downside to combination dial locks is that the combination is slow to open compared to key or digital locks, and the combination is not easy to change. 

Our recommendation is to use combination dial locks if you are particularly concerned about EMP attacks.

Electronic Digital:

Electronic locks are by far the most popular locks on most safes now-a-days. The reliability for some brands is quite high. Furthermore, electronic locks offer capabilities and speed to open that mechanical locks do not. The combination on electronic locks is quick and simple to change. More advanced electronic locks can support multiple users, time delays or time lockout periods, audit trails, silent alarm triggering, as well as other features, depending on the lock type. 

Our recommendation is to use electronic digital locks when you want quick access, the ability to change your own code easily, or any other advanced feature, such as multiple users or audit trail.

Biometric Locks:

Biometric locks open by reading your finger print (some also have a keypad). These locks are the absolute quickest when it comes to opening the safe. However, there are some issues with biometric locks that you should be aware of. 

  1. We would not consider them #1 regarding reliability
  2. They are expensive
  3. Changes to your fingers (sweat, dirt or fingerprint wear) can cause issues

Our recommendation is to use biometric locks on non-critical applications.

We hope this quick breakdown of the most common lock types offered helps you choose what will work best for you. Of course, there are even finer details than were spelled out here, so if you still have questions, please call us for a free consultation: (888) 838-2721. You can also email any questions you may have to: info@pacificsafemfg.com.

Instruction Manuals For:

Common Questions:

Residential Customers:

If you lost the combination to your safe, and you are the original purchaser with a copy of the invoice, we will provide you with the combination we have on file. We cannot guarantee the code we have on file will work, as it may have been changed**.

Business Customers:

If you lost the combination to your safe, you should reach out to your Loss Prevention, Facilities or Purchasing department and provide them with the serial number from the safe. They will contact Pacific Safe Mfg and we will provide them with the code(s) we have on file.

** Some types of locks allow a reset procedure. There may be an additional cost from the lock manufacturer to perform a complete reset.

Changing the combination on a mechanical dial safe is a delicate, technical process. It is therefore recommended that a professional locksmith be employed to change the combination on your mechanical dial lock. 

If you find you often need to change the combination on your mechanical lock, it may be worthwhile to consider changing the lock to an electronic lock, which would not cost much more than having the combination changed on your mechanical lock, and will allow the benefit of being able to easily change the combination on the safe in the future.

Contact us if you are not sure whether your safe can be changed to an electronic lock. Most safes that are of quality allow for swapping of different brands and types of locks / keypads.

Changing the combination on a mechanical dial safe is a delicate, technical process. It is therefore recommended that a professional locksmith be employed to change the combination on your mechanical dial lock. 

If you find you often need to change the combination on your mechanical lock, it may be worthwhile to consider changing the lock to an electronic lock, which would not cost much more than having the combination changed on your mechanical lock, and will allow the benefit of being able to easily change the combination on the safe in the future.

Contact us if you are not sure whether your safe can be changed to an electronic lock. Most safes that are of quality allow for swapping of different brands and types of locks / keypads.

If your safe door does not close all the way, perform these steps:

  1. Remove all the contents.
  2. Check the shelves to make sure they are flush against the back wall of the safe, and not hitting the door. If you see scratches on the back of the door right around the level where the shelf is located, it is an indication the shelf is hitting there.
  3. Make sure there are no small items blocking the door, such as a paper clip, bag, paper or magnet.
  4. If the door is hitting the body at the top or bottom, some safes have adjustable hinges. Check the underside of the hinge to see if there is a method to raise or lower the door.

If none of the above troubleshooting works, call us for further troubleshooting or service.

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