Anyone have their safe in the basement?

[Big Duke Six]

Eastern Safe delivered mine and their recommendation was to keep it on the shipping pallet, which was made from 4x4s. And a Goldenrod inside.

Same here... and I use a dehumidifier year round....

 

[PaulD]

ES delivered mine, also. Instead of the pallet, I used pressure-treated 4x4s.

As for those mats, they also make for comfortable reloading while you're standing at the press.

PT wood against steel is not a good choice. The general recommendation on fasteners in PT is to use stainless though galvanized is ok. By that logic, I wouldn't put painted steel on PT.

There is newer pressure treat wood that is actually impregnated with glass. That would be fine.

 

[Executive]

Pick up 8 or 10 old hockey pucks. They are plenty strong enough and can be positioned under the safe to keep it off the floor. The price is right too.

Chris

 

[PaulD]

Pick up 8 or 10 old hockey pucks. They are plenty strong enough and can be positioned under the safe to keep it off the floor. The price is right too.

Chris

Good idea. Some Trex or similar decking would be another good material for that purpose.

 

[garandman]

wow those things go upstairs i will have to pick one up.

We've got a stair-climbing appliance dolly. Works great, though it cost $2K.

 

[M1911]

no easier that tipping it forward and sticking a foot truck under it. Its the 650 ponds that it has going for it that protects it the most.

Two guys with dolly installed my 800+ lb safe. Two guys with a dolly could cart it back out again. My safes are bolted to the concrete floor.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

I'm actually having one installed as I type. There were a lot of options, but they recommended just a big bag of silica every 6 months. Otherwise, we were getting into electrical, drilling holes, etc.

 

[cekim]

Mine is on the original pallet as well. I'm not worried about it one bit. My safe weighs almost 1000 lbs. empty, so your typical junky isn't going to move it anywhere.

I don't live in a house that would inspire an, "Italian Job" type operation. They'd need to show up with a moving truck, a pallet jack, several sheets of plywood to pull it up the grass hill beside my house, and some common sense. I wonder how long they'd struggle with taking my doors off and removing the woodwork as well. I'm sure my neighbors wouldn't take very kindly to a production like that.......

Just so long as the thieves had the foresight to wear ATF jackets, the neighbors would likely just stand aside and nod knowingly as they did the work...

 

[SeanT]

Pick up 8 or 10 old hockey pucks. They are plenty strong enough and can be positioned under the safe to keep it off the floor. The price is right too.

Chris

Thanks for the great idea. I already have these in the basement. Another thing I was thinking of doing was to cut some 1-2 inch slices of PVC piping and use those. I like the pucks better though.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

Does anyone have any experience with using the "big bag of silica"? The guy who sold me the safe said he puts his gun right on the bad.....but I would need a lot of bags. LOL

 

[PaulD]

Does anyone have any experience with using the "big bag of silica"? The guy who sold me the safe said he puts his gun right on the bad.....but I would need a lot of bags. LOL

I can't speak to putting a gun right on a bag of silica. I don't think I'd do it but whatever.

However, realize that silica gel will absorb moisture out of the air but it has a limited capacity to do so and that capacity is dependent on temperature. If you put a bag of silica in a small enough sealed space, it will absorb all the moisture and hold it. If the space isn't sealed, it will absorb moisture out of the air until it has no more capacity. Since a safe isn't well sealed, silica doesn't strike me as a great solution for the problem.

You can reactivate silica by baking it in an oven at a low temperature (like 200F) but does anyone really want to do that on a regular basis?

Christmas Tree shops sells silica gel in these 5" tall tubs.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Keeping the safe in the driest part of the basement helps. That would be near your furnace, if you have one. Jack.

 

[Scrivener]

You can reactivate silica by baking it in an oven at a low temperature (like 200F) but does anyone really want to do that on a regular basis?

I use the silica in the perforated stainless steel cannister, which I bought from Eastern Safe when I got the safe itself. It has worked well for me; but I also run a dehumidifier and two circulating fans in the basement.

I would NOT put a gun on a bag of silica.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

Okay, so he gave me two things. A large bag of sillica for the top shelf (hand guns)....and a cannister of sillica for the bottom (long guns). There are no perforations for the lid, so I left the top off the cannister. Our basement is generally very dry, but I don't want to risk it. GOD, this thing was a b*tch to get into the house. It took them like 3 hours and we barely squeezed it between the two concrete walls!