Customer Reviews

Combination Fire Safe

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great safe! It protects its contents from fire for up to 2 hours, it is waterproof, it has a manual combination lock and key lock, and it weighs 137 pounds. I was able to bolt this safe down to a concrete floor (I also used construction adhesive as added protection) in about 30 minutes using the included hardware and my rotohammer drill. The safe's exterior is all steel construction and seems bullet proof. This model has a real combination dial (all metal) and a key lock. If the key lock is locked, the safe won't open even with the correct combination. The combination is a 4 digit number. The user can open the safe with the correct combination (can not be changed), leave the combination in the open position and then lock the safe with the key. The door has 6 hardened steel bars that engage into the safe's body. If the exposed hinge is sawed off, the safe still can't be opened. The interior is all plastic, but I wouldn't expect it to melt in the case of fire. To me, the advantage of an old fashioned combination lock is that in the event of a fire I will still be able to open it. If the lock was digital or otherwise electronic and the electronics melted in a fire, how would anybody be able to open it?

Disadvantages - none. I do find the warranty to be a joke. The contents are insured by the manufacturer to withstand fire, water, etc up to $30,000.00. If you were to store all your valuable jewelry, coin collection and cash in this safe and it failed during a fire, the warranty for jewelry only covers $500.00 per item, not to exceed $1000.00 total. Cash and securities are covered up to $250.00 per security. It will also guarantee CD-ROMs, floppy discs and other computer storage media. If the safe fails during a fire, they will replace only the media (that could come to a total of $20.00 or more in blank CD-ROMs). Finally, the manufacturer claims that the warranty will be void unless the warranty card is filled out and mailed to them. It is my understanding that this is against the law. In the USA the consumer does not have to register their purchase in order to start the warranty period. They only have to retain a dated purchase receipt. The warranty card asks at what address this safe will be used, where it will be installed at that address, what valuables will be stored, how much cash, etc. This warranty card is basically a burglar's guide to your home burglary. If the burglar gets the serial number of the safe, they can call the manufacturer and get the key and "forgotten" combination.

Safe arrived with no shipping issues which seemed to be a common problem when reading reviews from other places offering this same safe. The Safe itself fits all my needs. Fire/Water protection as well as a combination safe. It has sufficient room to store the various personal things I want to keep in the safe. To open the safe requires the key as well as the combination. The safe does warn about humidity and storing of things that may be damaged due to humidity. This is easily resolved by placing those types of items in a Ziploc bag.

I decided to go with the 2-hour Sentry(DA3410) combo lock safe this time. The 2-hour Sentry(0A3821) that this one replaces was an Advanced LCD Electronic lock that failed to open after three years for no apparent reason. Sentry tech support said the bolts failed, not the locking mechanism, and walked me thru breaking the door off. They didn't have to help me since the safe was two years out-of-warranty, but Sentry is a standup company that supports its products. That's why I went back to Sentry for this replacement. Another reason I chose the combo lock over lcd electronic...I have an old 2-hour Sentry(3100) combo lock that I picked up cheap back in 1998. It still works as advertised, protecting the important papers. I'm also expecting this DA3410 to outlast its mission.

GOOD SUPPLIER NICE SAFE. COMBINATION LOCK AND KEY ARE THE ONLY WAY TO GO. I OWNED A SENTRY KEY PANEL LOCK AND IT WAS BROKEN INTO. THE PERSON SAW THE WEAR ON THE KEY PAD AND GUESSED THE CORRECT COMBO..

The UPS guy was not too happy because this package was just under their 150lb limit for delivery. But he did help me put the
thing on my hand truck and I eventually boosted it up two flights of stairs to it's resting place in a closet.
This unit locks either with the key alone or with the manual combo lock. The dial of the locking system was clunky at first, but smoothed out after using a number of times, not a precision instrument. For this price the only downside is in the floor
mounting of this safe. They include the two lag screws for securing to the floor, but the heads of the lag screws are above
the safe's floor so you do not have a smooth surface, if one is needed.

The safe feels very sturdy, heavy, full metal outer housing. The door opens and closes smoothly. The dial felt sticky when first our of the box. However, I think this was due to it's cold temperature and after warming up the dial has no problems turning. I like that the key and combo are required to open, and the 4 digit code seems more secure to me. I haven't tried mounting it, but if I have any problems I'll be back to highlight them.

This safe is a joke. We lost the combination and needed access on a major holiday. Called costomer service but no one answered so we tested the "durability" of the safe. I was very dissapointed, in less than 10 minutes armed with only a hammer, hacksaw, and screwdriver, I had the door completely off the safe. I spent more time bolting it down, than breaking it open. I could only imagine how easy it would be for a real thief. As far as fire protection goes, you better pray the fire department puts it out in less than an hour. When fire swept through our neiborhood the only safes that did not completely burn were ones located in the basements.

I wish we had found this information before we bought this safe. We have owned our Sentry Safe for just over a year. We opened it to retrieve passports to find that all of the paper items (including cash) were covered in mildew. An on-line search quickly identified that mildew and rust are known issues with Sentry Safes. The company has a small print disclaimer that recommends you open your safe every two weeks and leave it open for 20 mins to prevent moisture build-up. We did have the desiccant packet in the safe - the manu tells you to leave it in the safe.

[...]
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND BUYING A SENTRY SAFE.

Used this safe 2 times and a metal rod broke off. Customer service claims that it's not from the safe, even though I found it inside the safe. After six uses tha handle became so unusable that I could barely open or close the door. Customer service is rude and unhelpful, that is if they respond to you at all. No fix in sight, just my 5 month old safe being abandoned. Buy another brand with no consideration for Sentry. A really terrible example of an American company.

I never thought about buying a safe until my son took me to a gun show where I saw some on sale. They were much less expensive than I'd imagined. I did a little research and came across this one.

We've paid $50 to $90/year for a safe deposit box to store mostly important family papers (birth certificates, etc.) Over 30 years I've easily paid a couple of thousand dollars on inconvenient and rather small bank storage. This was a no-brainer. Now we would have easy access to our papers and be able to store more content, all for a one time cost.

I looked for these features.
1) Maximum fire protection.
2) No electronic locks.
3) At least twice the space we had in our safe deposit boxes.

This was the only reasonably priced safe I could find that had 2-hour fire protection.

When I drilled through the bottom to bolt it to the floor I learned the safe walls are filled with a grey putty which I imagine is the fire resistant material. I'm pleased with the safe overall.