#FIREPROOF BIOMETRIC GUN SAFE PLUS#

We spoke to John Drengenberg, consumer safety director at UL, about the organization’s testing procedures.

Independent fireproof rating: Most fireproof safes are tested and rated by UL and by the inspection firm Intertek, which uses the “ETL” mark.

Measurements: 17.3 by 14.6 by 6.5 inches (WDH) Weight: 28 pounds UL fireproof rating: 30 minutes at 1,550 ☏ Just be careful with the keys: Unlike every other brand whose safes we tested, Union Safe explicitly says it can’t replace lost keys.

#FIREPROOF BIOMETRIC GUN SAFE PLUS#

On the plus side, it has a much smaller footprint than the Honeywell and weighs only 28 pounds, so it’s easier to move if necessary. But every fire is different, and this safe is certainly better than no safe at all. That’s half the endurance and a significant reduction in temperature protection compared with our top pick, so choosing this safe means you’re at greater risk of losing the contents if disaster strikes. It’s large enough to hold 8.5-by-11-inch sheets of paper without the edges curling, and it’s rated to withstand a 1,550 ☏ fire for 30 minutes. Larry McKenna, a fire protection engineer at the US Fire Administration, told us you should “get the best you can afford.” The Union Safe Company Waterproof And Fire Rated Document Safe, sold exclusively at Harbor Freight, is the best option if you can’t spend $100 on a safe or if you have limited floor space. Measurements: 20 by 17.2 by 7.3 inches (WDH) Weight: 42 pounds Intertek ETL fireproof rating: one hour at 1,700 ☏ But we think the price and size are worth tolerating because this safe gives your stuff a greater chance of surviving a disaster. The additional protection makes the 1114 noticeably larger and heavier than other safes of similar capacities-it weighs 42 pounds and takes up the same amount of floor space as a mini fridge.

It’s large enough to hold both letter- and legal-size sheets of paper without your having to fold them. Honeywell also says the safe will keep spray and flood water out for 100 hours. It’ll be cooler down near the floor, where you keep your safe. A house fire can peak at about 2,000 ☏, but this kind of heat occurs at the highest points in your home, namely the attic or at least the ceiling. The Honeywell 1114 Lightweight Fire and Waterproof Chest is independently verified by the safety organization Intertek to keep personal items safe during a fire for up to an hour-twice as long as the competition-in conditions as hot as 1,700 ☏. Plus, according to a fire expert we spoke to, their two-hour-plus protection ratings offer diminishing returns since most house fires are out within about an hour. For starters, they cost at least three times as much as our top pick (and often several times more), and they weigh so much (at least 100 pounds) that they’re difficult to move once in place. It’s important to note that although there are safes that offer a greater degree of fire protection, they aren’t designed specifically for documents as our picks are, and they have other disadvantages. That means it has the greatest potential among document safes we’ve seen to keep your stuff-including irreplaceable documents, photos, and essentials like passports and birth certificates-secure. It’s independently rated to last longer in higher-temperature fires than other safes of its size, and it will keep its contents dry longer when submerged in water. We’ve tested more than a dozen safes over the years, even burning five of them in a controlled fire, and we’re sure Honeywell’s 1114 Lightweight Fire and Waterproof Chest is the best document safe you can get for your home or office. But if the time comes, chances are, the safe will be worth far more than you paid. A fireproof safe is the kind of thing you buy hoping its capabilities are never put to the test.

Fireproof biometric gun safe