LockState LS-52EN Large Digital Wall Safe

After Hurricane Sandy here in NY, it was impossible to get most basic services without having access to a good supply of cash. Banks were closed, networks were down, and the few grocers and gas stations remaining open were only accepting cash. Amazingly, this situation went on not just for a day or two, but for nearly two weeks in my area, and longer in some hard-hit spots. As a result, I decided to start keeping a supply of cash at home, just in case. Add to this a desire to lock up other valuables - jewelery, etc - and a small wall safe seemed like a terrific idea.I chose the LockState safe after seeing a few of the competing products at a local store. Compared to some brands, it seemed larger, heavier and generally more secure. I liked that it includes a key-based opening mechanism, just in case there's a problem with the electronics. It's also a reasonable compromise between size and security. I'm sure I could get it open, given enough time and tools, but it's more than enough to keep honest people honest.I modified the installation a bit, compared to what the directions call for, and I'm happy with the results.For one thing, although the safe fits between studs in a 2x4 wall, I mounted it in a wall framed with 2x6 studs. The extra space let me wrap the safe in LEED fire-resistant mineral wool insulation. I don't know that I've achieved a fully fireproof safe, but I figure I may have bought a bit of protection for the contents of the safe at very little added cost.The other modification I made was a bit more extreme. I drilled a hole through the bottom and top walls of the safe, letting me securely attach a length a steel reinforcing bars that protrude above and below the safe. I carried these bars into the top and bottom plates of my wall, then I went a step further still, filling the wall cavity with lightweight concrete. Now, someone attempting to steal the safe by cutting it out of the wall would now have to either cut almost 10 feet of wall and carry away a few hundred pounds of concrete along with the safe, or else have access to a saw that can slice through a four inch steel-reinforced concrete slab. Not impossible by any means, but if you want my safe, at least I can make it annoying for you. Even with these modifications, the installation was easy - about an hour altogether - and the safe fit snugly between the studs of my wall.The instructions provided are a bit sketchy, but the installation is straightforward enough that I don't think most people would have any trouble.Inside, the unit is a bit cramped in depth, but is very roomy otherwise. The depth is almost exactly that of a US dollar bill - enough for small items, but you're not going to store an extensive jewelry collection. Yes, the latch mechanism obstructs about 20% of the safe, but it's still roomier than it looks. Still, if you want to store something bulky, you'll want to consider something deeper, such as a floor safe.I installed lithium batteries instead of the alkaline ones that come with the safe. I suspect the lithium cells will last quite a long time, compared to conventional batteries. I also used a small bit of desiccant to keep the interior dry as possible. I like that the combination can be up to eight digits long, giving you enough to create a hard to guess code.Overall, for the price, I'm quite happy with the LockState safe and it's definitely worth a look if you need this type of wall safe.

Got this when some prescription medications turned up missing after a family get together. With the state of prescription drug use by teens today, I think a lot of people should probably own one of these. My children are too young for that particular problem, but this safe does address the problem of them accessing medications out of curiosity (or whatever drives small children to do some of the mind-boggling things they do). I don't know how effective it would be against a concerted effort to break into it and I didn't purchase it for that reason so much, but it would protect against someone looking for quick access to whatever. I put this in a wall and then put some hinges on the back of a picture that just covers it, so unless you know where to look, you wouldn't even know that there is a safe in my house. It was easy to install for me but I have done a lot of home remodeling and can manage drywall and even framing work, both of which were necessary in my installation. Depending on where you put the safe, you may only need to cut out a hole in the drywall and screw it in. I wouldn't plan on storing anything larger than medications or maybe some jewelry in this. The depth is obviously limited by the depth of the averagle home wall, which is probably around 4" deep, with the stud and the facing sheet of drywall. So don't plan on putting stacks of money and stocks and things that you see in wall safes in the movies, but several handguns would fit and the items mentioned earlier. For those things, this is perfect. The only down side to me is that the beep that sounds when you press a key to enter the combination is VERY loud. One day I might see if I can dismantle the innards and disable it, but there doesn't appear to be any easy way to do that or turn the volume down. Other than that, I highly recommend.

As always, Amazon was great. Product was ordered on Wednesday and got to me on Friday so I could use my weekend to install it. The product was double boxed with Styrofoam padding so no dings or scratches, not even damage to the outer box while in-transit.After reading some of the reviews I was excited to see how great the safe was. I had medium expectations, but to my surprise it blew away my expectations. Obviously it's not a fire or waterproof safe, so it's not going to have walls that are inches thick, but the walls are much thicker and stronger than I was expecting, very solid. Reading the instructions and setting the combo took less than a minute, so 5 minutes from getting the package I was ready to install.To start obviously I needed to find a spot to install it and figure out where the studs and fire blocks. Found my studs with a stud finder, and the fire block by knocking to find the hollow area. Cut the hole for the safe a bit small, but was able to fit shave it down. The safe comes with some mounting hardware, but I actually used lag bolts from my local hardware store. The safe had about half an inch on both sides after centered, but the smaller hole made it fit perfect. Bolted it into each stud in each of the 4 pre-drilled holes. This safe is not coming out without a fight. It looks nice and is flush. The whole install took maybe 30 minutes to an hour (including prep work).Now the only thing to figure out was how to hide it, so I got a 6 foot mirror from Ikea, mounted it with a piano hinge on the right (same side as the safe hinge), and used a magnet to hold it closed. This part took longer than the install since I had to find the right mirror and decide how to mount it, but the install of the mirror, hinge and magnet took maybe another 20 to 30 minutes, piano hinges have a lot of screws and that's a lot of anchors ;)