Common Problems With Safes

Battery failure on digital safes.

blogger-image-1955594707By far the most common reason for a call out regarding a safe for B&D Safe Opening is battery failure on a digital device. Therefore, the safe is left completely inaccessible until we arrive to fix it. That can be inconvenient enough for a private resident but imagine how difficult it could be for a business, potentially unable to trade until we enter the premises. B&D Safe Opening advise that you keep a regular check on the battery within your safe in order to avoid even having to call a locksmith out.

Ensure that you have sufficient records of your safe code.

Milner Safe - B&D Safe OpeningIt is important to have a back up record of your safe’s entry code. Particularly if the safe is situated in a work environment. If you have a system in place where by only the manager has access to the safe code, what happens when the manager goes on holiday/ is ill/ leaves all together? If there is no other person with a record of the safe code you will have to call out a safe engineer to gain entry to the safe. Far cheaper to simply have a securely recorded back up.

Safe keys

B&D Safe Opening can help you with any safe key enquiriesIt may sound like obvious advice but DO NOT lock your spare override key inside your safe. That way should you lose your first key, you will have access to a spare key. But what if you have lost your spare override key as well? Get in touch with B&D Safe Opening and we will be able to assist you by gaining access to your safe and then cutting a new key for your safe.
If you have managed to snap the key in the lock of your safe we are able to help you with this issue as well, in a non destructive manner.

Combination lock stuck on Safe.

Stratford Safe opened by B&D Safe Opening, LondonThere are many different reasons why a combination safe won’t open and Liberty Safes have produced an extremely useful trouble shooting guide. It covers many common issues from the lock not turning, to the handle not opening the door and even help regarding the locking bolts not retracting to close door. Of course, the guide has been written for advice on Liberty safes but many of the points will assist with other makes of safes too. Should you require any further guidance or help with your combination safe then please do not hesitate to call us.

Safe FAQ Pages

Various different makes of safe have there own FAQ pages to assist you with frequently occurring basic issues. These guides can be useful but will not be an exhaustive reference. There are also enquiry forms that can besubmitted directly to the safe manufacturer. If after referring to the online help, you still need assistance then please feel free to call B&D Safe Opening on  07856 408 407 . A list of popular safe makes and their FAQ/enquiry pages are listed below for your convenience.

With thanks to  LungSanLau ( GNU Free Documentation License) for the use of the photograph of a Milner Safe.

 

Chubb Sovereign Safe Opening

B&D Safe Opening, London opened this Chubb Sovereign safe

B&D Safe Opening attended a call out to this Chubb Sovereign safe in Oxford Street. The safe was in a West London clothes store and on arriving we found that the electronic lock had failed. We had to gain entry to this Chubb safe as quickly as possible for our client. This was because the client was unable to fully trade, until safe had been opened. B&D Safe Opening gained entry and then fitted a new electronic safe lock. We also input new, multiple codes for both the managers and other users of the safe. The Chubb Sovereign safe has been restored to it’s previous perfect working order.

As we have previously mentioned, electronic locks failing on a safe occurs fairly frequently. However, with regular maintenance on your safe by a qualified safe engineer, you can prevent this from happening.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

For further assistance with common safe problems, read our blog post and if you still need help then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on the above number.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

Chubb Europa Safe Opening

Chubb Europa Safe opened by B&D Safe Opening, LondonThis Chubb Europa safe was opened by B&D Safe Opening, whilst on a job in surrey. The client had forgotten the mechanical combination code for this Chubb safe, so we gained entry to the combination dial lock and set a new code for the customer to use. We showed the client how to dial in a code on the safe so that they could re set the combination lock to a code of their choice.

It is worth noting your combination code down somewhere but do ensure that you have put the note somewhere well out of reach of the safe – and obviously not inside it!

For further assistance with common safe problems, read our blog post and if you still need help then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on the above number.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

 

Chubb TDR Safe Opening

Chubb TDR Safe Opening by B&D Safe Opening, LondonB&D Safe Opening attended a call out to a Chubb TDR safe in the city of London. The client had keys and locks that were both unlocking the safe but it was still not opening the door.The security devices inside the safe door itself, which we call re-lockers or anti explosive device (AED) had gone into the locking position stopping the safe from opening.

The safe had not been serviced for as long as our client could remember. We had to gain entry to this Chubb safe and service all of the internal locks and re-lockers. The problem could well have been avoided if the safe had been regularly serviced by a safe engineer.

Following our repair work and servicing, we left the job leaving the client’s Chubb TDR safe in perfect working order and properly secure for their business.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

For further assistance with common safe problems, read our blog post and if you still need help then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on the above number.

 

West End of London, Chatwood Milner Safe Opening

Chatwood Milner Safe opening by B&D Safe Opening, London

 

B&D Safe Opening attended a call out involving this Chatwood Milner safe, in the west end of London. The safe required a new key lock to be fitted, as the original keys were very worn and temperamental in operating the safe. B&D Safe opening always advise to have a safe engineer to inspect and/or service any safe on a regular basis. Particularly if it feels like it’s not operating as it should be. The reason being, that the problem normally gets worse and can lead to locking up and not opening with keys.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

For further assistance with common safe problems, read our blog post and if you still need help then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on the above number.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

Chatwood Milner Safe Opening

Chatwood Milner Safe opened by B&D Safe Opening, London

B&D Safe Opening have worked with this Chatwood Milner safe. The safe was an integral part of the North London Pawn Broker’s business. We had to open the safe and therefore gained entry to it for our clients. On arrival at the job we found that the reason that the safe wouldn’t open, was because the key had jammed in the lock.

A jammed lock on any make of safe is not uncommon.  To resolve the situation B&D Safe Opening fitted a new key lock with detachable bits and a new key stem onto the Chatwood Milner safe.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

 

Burton Safe Opening

Burton Safe Opening by B&D Safe Opening in LondonThis is a Burton safe in an exclusive hotel in Knightsbridge West London. The safe had a failed electronic LaGard safe lock fitted to it. B&D Safe Opening had to gain entry to the safe as soon as possible because passports for clients staying at the hotel were inside it. We managed to open the safe, then fitted a new LaGard electronic digital lock and new key pad. This then meant that the safe was back to full working order and properly secured.
Burton safes were founded over 25 years ago in the village of Kirkburton near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The company has grown massively since it’s simple beginnings in 1990 where the owner made safes from home. Burton Safes are now a large privately owned business that supply their safes across the whole of the UK and Ireland and also internationally. They are a very popular brand of safe manufacturer.
The failure of an electronic lock is a common occurrence, no matter what the make. Although regular maintenance on your particular model of safe and locking device is advisable, it doesn’t always prevent the lock from failing. |In the event of a lock out due to the lock no longer operating we would advise that you call a safe engineer as soon possible.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

For further assistance with common safe problems, read our blog post and if you still need help then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on the above number.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

ARFE Safe Opening

Arfe safe opened by B&D Safe Opening, LondonThis ARFE safe grade 5 high end safe, had a failed time lock on a jewellers in south East London. B&D Safe Opening gained entry and our clients were able to trade that day with a perfect working safe.

ARFE manufacture wall and floor safes and also safety deposit boxes. The failed time lock fault that occurred on this particular model is common problem for any make of safe. It is well worth having any safe that you own regularly serviced and dealing with any minor problems of operation immediately. This can often prevent the situation of a lock out happening.

B&D Safe Opening open safes in North, South, East and West London and all surrounding South West England counties.

Contact B&D Safe Opening’s Safe Engineer on 07856 408 407

For further assistance with common safe problems, read our blog post and if you still need help then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on the above number.

How to choose a Safe

An example of a home safe - B&D Safe Opening, London offering advice on choosing a safe.The following guide has been compiled in order to assist any individual or business in their search for a suitable safe. By no means is this an exhaustive list, however all the information listed below will certainly help in purchasing the correct secure storage solution. It is always advisable to check your insurance policy details in addition to researching the product you intend to buy, to ensure that adequate coverage is in place should the worst happen.

What do you want to protect?

This will help you to determine how big you need the safe to be. If personal jewellery will be the main contents kept in the safe then obviously a room height model would be an unnecessary expense!

Cash rating and Insurance details.

Put simply, the cash rating of a safe is an indication of how secure that particular safe is. So for example a safe with a cash rating of £1,000 can be deemed less secure than a safe with a cash rating of £10,000. The cash rating is also a guide to how many valuables should be stored inside. The overall value of non cash items will total 10 times the cash rating. The cash rating also indicates how much the contents of the safe are insured for over night – so the higher the cash rating the greater the insurance cover.

Do you require the safe to be fireproof?

Fire safes protect important valuables and documents from fire damage. By maintaining the inside temperature at a cool enough level to preserve your content for a set time specified for each individual unit, a fire safe can prove invaluable for precious items. Items that are often kept in a fire safe include :

  • Passports
  • Copy of your Will
  • Birth Certificates
  • Photographs
  • Memory sticks
  • CDs

Will the safe be bolted to a wall or floor, or not bolted in place at all?

When considering a safe to be bolted to the floor you need to survey where you are planning to install it. Is the floor concrete or wooden? Will the safe be out of sight? A concrete floor is the ideal base, however wooden floors can also be secure if the safe is drilled to the joists of the floor. It is worth mentioning that if there is underfloor heating in your home/place of work then the safe will NOT be drilled to the floor. An adhesive alternative must be used, or opt for a wall bolted unit instead. As for the floor bolted safe, a firm fixing is required in order to secure your chosen safe to the wall. B&D Safe Opening are happy to assess which option is best for your property, so please do not hesitate to call us. If opting for a portable safe, an important consideration before investing in a certain model is – Can everyone in the home/place of work pick it up in an emergency?

Do you want a key or combination lock on the safe?

If choosing the safe for home, it may be an idea to choose a combination or digital lock option. Keys can get mislaid over time and a safe combination can always be kept a note of – in an alternative safe place away from your home safe of course!

Extra precautionary tips

It might sound obvious but on the day you buy and install your safe, ensure you dispose of all the packaging discreetly. You don’t want to advertise to potential burglars that your home/business premises contains items valuable enough to warrant a safe!

 

With thanks for the photo of the home safe Tom Varco under the Creative Commons license.

 

Samuel Withers Safe Opening

Samuel Withers Safe opened by B&D Safe Opening

B&D Safe opening attended a job for the Sussex Police force. We were required to open this Samuel withers safe for them.

The Withers family are well known for safe manufacture. They lived and worked in the Midlands – West Bromwich to be precise. Samuel was one of nine Withers children born to George and Mary Withers and of the nine, three became safe makers. Samuel, Thomas and the lesser successful Jesse withers. Jim Evans, the Great Great Grandson of Samuel Wither’s eldest sister Rebecca hasn’t written an interesting piece about the Withers safe making history which you can read about here.