My Gun Vault G2000D failed today

wheelgun

wheelgun

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This morning I punched in the combination to my Gun Vault GV-2000D. There was
a whirring noise, but that's it - the door didn't open. I tried it several more times, then
resorted to using the mechanical key.

Later I called Gun Vault and was told that it's most likely a broken cable that
a motor tugs on to unlock the mechanism. My unit was made in 2005, and was no
longer under warranty. The guy told me new units have been redesigned in this
regard. So I had two choices - buy a new one or try to fix mine.

Since I had nothing to lose I opened it up. It's actually very nicely made and
easy to service. The entire guts is contained in a small metal box that's held
by three screws. Inside that box is a PC board, the motor, and the locking
mechanism. I saw right away that the cable was indeed broken. They used
braided steel wire, like the kind used to hang pictures on a wall. Every time
the motor turns on, it wraps the wire around its shaft, which tugs on a lever
that unlocks the box.

Why they chose steel wire of this kind is beyond me. That stuff is not
intended to be bent back and forth many times. And it's way too heavy for this
application. It's surprising since they did such a nice job on the rest of
the box.

Anyway, in my case there was a stub of that wire still attached to the motor
shaft (crimped on). I took some 30 pound nylon fishing line, tied it to the
stub, and wrapped a few turns around the shaft. Tied the other end to the
unlocking lever, and I was done. It works flawlessly. I think nylon will last
a long time in this application. There's very little force involved. Mostly
it's just the line wrapping around the shaft a couple of turns each time. The
wire couldn't take that. I'm surprised the wire lasted as long as it did. I
access the box at least 10-15 times a week and it lasted about 2 years.

So now you know what to do when your Gun Vault goes "whirrrrrr".
 
Yes, it's the same type as in your link.

You're right that there's risk with it (at least my older version, can't speak for the new one). But I usually only lock it when I'm not home. And I do keep the key handy. Nevertheless it does concern me and eventually I may replace it. It's certainly the best method for "fast access" I've seen. Takes less than two seconds - if it works [wink]
 
that's bad news. I have one of those. I have to rethink how I go about things now. I'll have to pop mine open and see what the cable is made from.
 
Thanks for the write up. Rep Point coming your way. Did you take pictures? Would love to see them.

Good thing you weren't going into the safe under a SHTF situation.
 
FWIW - Regardless of when your GunVault was manufactured, if you BOUGHT it less than a year ago (say at the last show in Springfield, and you don't remember the dealers name) they will replace it for free.

and yes, simplex locks are better
 
Nice to know the Gun Vault people will step forward, acknowledge a defective design, and offer to sell you a replacement at full price. Cross them off my approved vendor list :)
 
Was it a wire or a braided cable? If it's just a wire that's rather dissappointing. A braided cable like one used on a bicycle can last a long time even with heavy use.

Maybe I should open mine up and check it.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Nice to know the Gun Vault people will step forward, acknowledge a defective design, and offer to sell you a replacement at full price. Cross them off my approved vendor list :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's not good. I was thinking about one of their long gun vaults too.
 
Considering it broke at the crimp, its probably a small design flaw that only shows up with heavy use. And only when the wire is over crimped or at a bad angle.
 
Yikes. I've been singing high praises of the GunVault. Mine has worked flawlessly for the 3 months I've had it, and I've made sure to open it once a day as a test of long-term durability.

This does not inspire confidence. Does anyone have a link to a pistol safe with a simplex locking mechanism?
 
O/U said:
Yikes. I've been singing high praises of the GunVault. Mine has worked flawlessly for the 3 months I've had it, and I've made sure to open it once a day as a test of long-term durability.

This does not inspire confidence. Does anyone have a link to a pistol safe with a simplex locking mechanism?
Click to expand...

http://www.safetysafeguards.com/site/402168/page/57958
http://www.nationwidesafes.com/1180.html
http://www.rapidalarm.com/fort-knox-pistol-box.html
http://www.americasafes.com/VersaMountPistolBox.html
 
for the right price, I will be your gunvault, people. I will stay up at night, in your living room loaded to the nines, ready to defend you from any home invasion. No need to grab a gun, my license and me being awake will put multiple guns in my direct control.

All you have to do is run up behind me, movie style, and grab the most common gun of all, the fully automatic glock, out of my SOB holster and start blazing in fury with me![smile]
 
bostonasphalt2 said:
for the right price, I will be your gunvault, people. I will stay up at night, in your living room loaded to the nines, ready to defend you from any home invasion. No need to grab a gun, my license and me being awake will put multiple guns in my direct control.

All you have to do is run up behind me, movie style, and grab the most common gun of all, the fully automatic glock, out of my SOB holster and start blazing in fury with me![smile]
Click to expand...

Hey, I paid some guy to be mine, but when i went to use him he claimed there was a faulty knob and that I needed to jiggle it a bit before it could open....[rolleyes]
 
To answer all the questions:

- Gun Vault warranty is only 1 year. Mine was at least two years old. The factory will fix it, for a total cost of around $100 including shipping. Clearly not worth it.

- The new model supposedly uses a different design (or at least an improved version of this one). It also has some other new features that I don't recall.

- The cable was a twisted multi-strand type, as used to hang pictures. It did NOT break at the crimp. It broke in the area that repeatedly winds around the motor shaft. The shaft is about 1/16" diameter, as is the cable.

- To those who say "that's why you don't keep a home defense gun in a safe" my question is what other option is there? In Mass. you can't legally keep it the house unlocked unless you're close by. And it needs to be locked when you're asleep since that doesn't qualify as being "under your control". Putting a trigger lock on it is clearly impractical. So what do you do? If there are better choices than a keyless quick access safe, other than just ignoring the law, I'd like to hear them.

ETA: I think the simplex safes sound like possibly a good alternative.
 
Last edited:
I suggest you call Gunvault back and ask to speak to a manager. Tell the manager how dissapointed you are given the point of what the Gunvault is for. Ask him to at least send you the replacement parts for free and refer him to this thread.
 
I hear you, but replacement parts won't help. It's a weak point of the design.

The cable is crimped onto the motor shaft. Even if they gave me a new cable I don't know if I'd succeed at attaching it.

The cable is the wrong type for this application. I wouldn't use a new cable like that even if they supplied it free.
 
wheelgun said:
I hear you, but replacement parts won't help. It's a weak point of the design.

The cable is crimped onto the motor shaft. Even if they gave me a new cable I don't know if I'd succeed at attaching it.

The cable is the wrong type for this application. I wouldn't use a new cable like that even if they supplied it free.
Click to expand...

Ah, I was thinking the replacement parts would have the new design but maybe not.
 
JRyan said:
that's bad news. I have one of those. I have to rethink how I go about things now. I'll have to pop mine open and see what the cable is made from.
Click to expand...

Steel cable. I'll try your trick. It is otherwise mostly well made. The cable is dumb though.
 
I was going to buy 2 of these in a week or so.
This thread is just in time for me to rethink that and shop for simplex type quick safes.
 

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