Customer Reviews

First Alert 2054F 1 Hour Steel Fire Safe with Combination Lock, 0.80 Cubic Foot, Gray

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Upon receiving the safe, I first noticed that it was badged "First Alert" rather than "Honeywell" as shown on this listing. Otherwise, the dimensions, specifications, and interface are identical. On to the review...

Mine was flawless and undamaged, contrary to some of the other reviews I read here and elsewhere. Build quality is a little flimsy with virtually no resistance on the dial, but in this price range that's to be expected. It came with three booklets (in three languages), and a set of keys. Upon removing it from the box i naturally tried unlocking the safe.

It wouldn't budge.

After re-reading the manual etc., I contacted First Alert customer service. After ~5 minutes I was speaking to an agent. She quickly, casually informed me that the manual was printed incorrectly. Rather than follow the LEFT-LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT combination sequence as printed in the manual, one must dial in RIGHT-RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT. Problem solved.

It is essentially what I had expected - a small, relatively inexpensive, fireproof safe. I'm not too concerned about it being able to withstand a blitzkrieg or Bonnie and Clyde as I bought it to protect some important documents and a solid-state hard drive in the event of a fire. It gets four stars due to B+ build quality and the carelessly misprinted manual.

Okay, I didn't buy this safe to be used as a safe. I planned to dismantle it anyway and use it as a airtight pressure container for casting plastic injection molds. Seemed like a sturdy box, I thought it would probably handle 90 PSI or so. So I bought it, took it home and prepared to take it apart.

One of the first things that happened was when I opened the door it swung around and the rotary combination lock DENTED the side of the safe. That's right, the lock put a half in deep DENT in the side of this supposed fort Knox. I realized the safe felt light and so I inspected it. It turns out the thing is made from two sheets of 20 gauge sheet-metal with a layer of foam insulation in between. You could cut a hole through the side of this thing with a jigsaw! Probably even the right kind of pocket knife! Next I decided to drill a hole in the side. This is where I planned to install an air fitting to be able to pressurize it. I expected a little trouble drilling through it but it was like butter - or maybe Jello.

I started to really wonder if I had made the right choice for my project. Just for fun, I decided to see how the lock worked and wondered if I could learn to crack the safe like in the movies. Mind you, I HAVE NEVER CRACKED A SAFE IN MY LIFE. I am a complete amateur. However, I am mechanically minded and I can usually figure out how a thing works.

You know how, in movies, you always see a safe cracker with a doctor's stethoscope held up to the safe while he rotates the dial? You know why? Because the tumbler mechanism is this ridiculously simple set of four wheels with a notch cut out. When the wheels rotate around there is a little arm that sticks out and pushed on the next wheel in sequence. You can hear this thing when it touches, it makes a 'ping' noise. Now, I expect most safes are made better than this and they probably have some kind of sound dampening insulation or something. Not this one. The ping is almost like the bell at a hotel desk. It doesn't just ping, it PINGS! You would not need a stethoscope on this one, no SIR!

Next I tried the key lock. After peering at it's design for a moment I realized the old bobby pin trick, also from movies, would probably do it. Here I have to remind you, I HAVE NEVER PICKED A LOCK IN MY LIFE, and yet, in about half an hour, I had done it. Not using a bobby pin but a piece of aluminum flashing I cut thin and then bent into various shapes until it worked. Who needs pros?

I practiced for a little while picking both locks. By now this was kind of fun and I got good enough at it I could open the safe in under two minutes. My best time turned out to be 1 minute, twenty seconds. I actually didn't have to bother with picking the locks though. I realized there is a much easier way. If I were to clamp a pipe wrench to the dial and rotate it sharply to the left, I would simply sheer off the retaining pin, the knob would spin free and the four wheels would simply fall apart inside. I could probably break the safe in twenty seconds with that trick!

Point is, this safe is not going to work as a pressure chamber for mold making. It's definitely not going to work as a safe either. Don't buy this piece of crap. Your valuables are probably safer under a floor board.

P.S. Not only did I figure out four distinct ways to crack this safe, I don't buy the 1-hour at 2054° claim either. There is no seal on the door! Papers would burn up inside this safe long before an hour when by. 20 gauge mild steel sheet metal isn't going to stand up either. I doubt this thing could stand being set in a campfire much less a house fire! Keep looking, move along, nothing to see here folks.

nice safe. just wanted a good one without stupid electronic digital lock(awful ones that break down on sentry safes i had), just the combo lock with key. works just fine. serves the purpose for storing important papers, coins, etc. nothing very valuable....not that heavy so it could be picked up and taken away unless its bolted down to the floor with attached parts. good price too! well satisfied with it.

Safe arrived in 2 day in perfect condition, no damage. It came with additional documentation because the instructions provided in the manual on how to work the combination lock are wrong. I guess they could not replace all the manuals because the combination to the safe is stamped on the last page of the manual. The safe appears to be built very well,the locking mechanism works great and the product is an exceptional value EXCEPT for one thing. IT DOES NOT BOLT TO THE FLOOR as advertised. The "2 solid steel bolts and mounting hardware for bolting to the floor" do not come with this safe, nor do I see holes in the bottom of the safe for mounting to the floor. I called the manufacturer and they told me this safe does not bold to the floor. What you can do is use the 4 break off bolts and attach safe to table or counter from underneath. The screw heads break off so you cannot remove the safe "easily" according to the manual. The bolts seem undersized but that is really irrelevant because the mount will only be as strong as the surface you attach it to. There is little doubt that if I was on vacation and my house was burglarized this safe would be GONE. Very disappointed

The safe seems to be of good, solid construction, except that the door can move (rattle) slightly when closed/locked. The locking mechanisms work smoothly.

Two issues that I have:

~ The description of the safe currently says that it has "1 removable/adjustable shelf". The shelf is removable; it is NOT adjustable.

~ The description says that mounting hardware is included. The "mounting hardware" is nothing more than four break-away screws. You screw the screws through whatever you're mounting the safe to, and into threaded holes in the bottom of the legs (a paper drilling template is provided). The screw heads intentionally break off when you tighten the screws. This means that you can't secure it through a wall; it would be difficult to secure it through a floor (and just about impossible to move, if ever needed). It appears to be designed to secure it to a table or something...

I researched on Amazon all the fire safes and the reviews were the same.........that they came in damaged. This safe didn't have a review, it was a little more expensive, so I hoped they would package it better for shipping. They didn't. It came in with two big dents on the side. The shipping center only had packing on the bottom and the front. The sides were left unprotected and the right side was dented. The safe looked sturdy overall, but I'm sending it back. I'll go to a store instead where I can see the safes myself.

Not worth the money. Instructions for opening the safe are incorrect. The safe is sitting in the bottom of my trash can now.

Nice product, need a larger one for legal documents. Combination of dial and keylock is good and weight is secure. Written directions are reversed however, L means R! Overall a good product

I like that it's all steel, fireproof, and needs no batteries. But it's not waterproof, so I put my papers in large watertight baggies. It seems like it would be difficult to secure to the floor or some other permanent structure, so that's why I gave it 4 stars and not 5 stars. Instead of using the bolts (looks a bit thin), I just used gorilla glue to join it to some really heavy concrete blocks. Otherwise a strong guy (or one with a cart) can make off with the safe. You can't hear the tumblers while turning the knob. I plan to put some dessicant dry packs inside the safe so the humidity will not ruin my documents and other items. So far, I'd recommend this since it's not too pricey and is fire-rated for at least 1 hour.

I love the safe. Easy instructions. I had trouble opening it at first but this was my first time working with combinations. I took a break and tried again later and finally got it. I really didn't want to go threw opening it all the time so I taped the combination part to where it can't move and I just use the key to open and close it. The key is unique too.