Safes

[Kickernick]

I looked into homesites quite a bit. The fire protection is key. I bought a Sentry brand safe at Home Depot. It has a traditional key and combination lock. It was less expensive than on Amazon.com.

 

[eytonxav]

I bought a Liberty safe. Not cheap, your basically paying to extend the time before temperatures climb. We have important papers in there and a handful of 1911's. I don't think a bank let's you put those in safe deposit boxes.

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I also have a Liberty, and its a great choice. Sometimes you can get a good buy at a gun show if their local dealer sets up a table.

 

[Jack_Pine]

We have a Champion full size safe. Serves as gun save and the documents, jewelry and such.

I have an electronic lock for quick access. It is after all a gun safe. If I ever get another I will probably do one that has both electronic and combination entry.

 

[ERD50]

So this has me thinking. I know an 'old school' place to store valuables is the freezer, so I would think thieves know this. But what about documents that we want to keep fire-resistant, rather than protected from theft?

Freezers are big and insulated, and they have a bunch of ice in them which should provide a lot of protection in a fire (phase change absorbs a LOT of heat). So put important docs in a water-proof container, and put that in another container with ice in it, in the freezer.

And then there's this:

What Is a Safe Temperature to Store a Hard Drive? | Chron.com

Minimum Temperature
A consumer freezer can't get cold enough to damage a hard drive. The minimal non-operational hard drive temperature is around minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Seems like a good place to store a backup hard drive?


-ERD50

 

[RunningBum]

I'd be more inclined to store the most vital data on a thumb drive (memory stick) and put that in a freezer, since it has no moving parts. I'd be leery off keeping a hard drive frozen, and maybe having it bumped around and the case getting cracked when shuffling frozen food. I'd also think there'd be some risk when you took it out to do another backup, with the temp rise while you backed it up at room temp followed by a drop when you put it back in. And what happens when you put unfrozen meat next to it in the freezer? It takes awhile for it to freeze, so would it partially thaw and then refreeze the drive? What about condensation, and moisture damage if ice forms around it?

Maybe a good strategy would be to keep a thumb drive with the most critical data in the freezer (in a sealed ziploc freezer bag), another in a fire proof safe, and a regular external drive more accessible to do full backups more often.

 

[ERD50]

I'd be more inclined to store the most vital data on a thumb drive (memory stick) and put that in a freezer, since it has no moving parts. I'd be leery off keeping a hard drive frozen, and maybe having it bumped around and the case getting cracked when shuffling frozen food. I'd also think there'd be some risk when you took it out to do another backup, with the temp rise while you backed it up at room temp followed by a drop when you put it back in. And what happens when you put unfrozen meat next to it in the freezer? It takes awhile for it to freeze, so would it partially thaw and then refreeze the drive? What about condensation, and moisture damage if ice forms around it?

Maybe a good strategy would be to keep a thumb drive with the most critical data in the freezer (in a sealed ziploc freezer bag), another in a fire proof safe, and a regular external drive more accessible to do full backups more often.

Good points. I was kind of thinking since I keep backup drives on site (plan to put one in safe deposit box... sometime..) the freezer would be some added protection.

For condensation, you should be OK if you take it out of the freezer and keep it in the sealed container until it reaches room temperature. Still a risk though. Probably not worth it, but the thumb drive/SD card should be pretty safe (and small).

-ERD50

 

[jim584672]

How about a microSD card in your wallet? Encrypted of course.

 

[Koogie]

For just documents I know some people use these fire proof pouches.

http://www.amazon.com/FIRE-PROOF-POUCH-Resistant-fire-retarding/dp/B00FNDWAN4

 

[Avocadorunner]

Having a locked safe may precipitate a dangerous encounter.

If the safe is "discoverable" by intruders, they may put a gun to your head and ask you to open it. My dad had a 1940's era safe that was very finicky to open. He usually had to try several times when he was not under any time restriction, and worried that he'd not be able to get it open soon enough if threatened. So he simply left it unlocked.

If I had a locked safe, it would be in a very undiscoverable place, or else I'd leave the key in it.

It's smart to have two safes. The only concern is remembering to direct the robbers to the safe with the Monopoly money and costume jewelry inside.

 

[Sunset]

There is an old trick of putting a hard drive that has failed into the freezer for a few hours and then hooking it up for one last desperate shot at copying the data off it.

So as long as it was multiple freezer ziplock bagged (with a few of those moisture absorbing packets from shoes/pill containers after recharging them) I'd feel it was pretty safe.

Of course thieves might steal it for the info on it.

 

[Sunset]

One issue to protect against if you use a safe is moisture, as mold will grow on your papers.
I had a 2.4 cu safe , and some mold started growing on my papers, and all I had in there was papers and jewelry.
There are various moisture removing devices/methods available.

 

[eytonxav]

This video has everything you need to know about safes, albeit from a gun owners perspective, but it should be applicable for anyone wanting a home safe:

 

[athena53]

Hide the valuables and only put a bit in the safe. That way the crooks will be decoyed by the safe.

I like that idea! I'd go one step further; have a safe with fairly replaceable papers (passports, birth certificates, etc.) somewhere obvious. Have a second safe with all the jewelry elsewhere. Let them take/force me to open the one with the papers.

 

[ERD50]

I like that idea! I'd go one step further; have a safe with fairly replaceable papers (passports, birth certificates, etc.) somewhere obvious. Have a second safe with all the jewelry elsewhere. Let them take/force me to open the one with the papers.

Better yet, the papers could all be fakes - bank & brokerage accounts with bogus numbers, tax forms with the wrong SS#, etc. They'll think they hit the jackpot! Maybe some cubic zirc in there as well - all locked up like it was really, really valuable.

Just let family know where the real stuff is.

-ERD50