Choosing A Fire Safe Or Fire Data Safe For Your Home Inventory
A Fire Safe & Fire Data Safe will protect your Home Inventory and personal documents, should a fire occur in your home. A Fire Safe & the Fire Data Safe are both different from a normal safe. They have both been specifically built and rated to withstand a certain temperature, for a certain length of time. Both types of Fire Safe will protect their contents during the fire, to within the ratings the safe was designed for.
When you are looking at choosing a Fire Safe or Fire Data Safe, it will pay if you are aware of information about the safes and the different specifications and qualities. This knowledge will make it easier for you to purchase a safe, knowing that it will do what you want it to do.
What Is The Difference Between A Fire Safe & A Fire Data Safe?
Paper is damaged above the temperature of 177C and media [Disks, CD's / DVD's etc] above 52C. If you are intending to store ONLY paper items in your safe, then a Fire Safe is ideal for this purpose. On the other hand, media items such as CD's / DVD's will need to be stored in a Fire Data Safe. Fire Safes having the facility to keep media safe, are generally called Fire Data Safes or Data Safes. Another feature of the Fire Data Safe, is that it's designed to keep the inside of the safe below 85% humidity, keeping damaging moisture out.
Ratings.
Fire & Data Safes are tested and rated in respect of their performance in the event of a fire. These safes will have an temperature / hour rating. This is the temperature it can stand for an amount of time, without the contents going above 177C and being damaged. Fire & Data Safes are not normally theft resistant.
Standard ratings are 30,60,90,120,180 minutes @ an external temperature of 1000C.
Where you wish to add home inventory CD's / DVD's a Fire Data Safe is the choice. A Fire Data Safe will keep the inside of the safe below 52C & 85% humidity.
Features.
All Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes have different features and it is best to aware of most of them. Features to look for are:
- Plastic trays.
- Shelves.
- Internal bolt protection.
- Hinge protection.
The features you have on any particular Fire Safe will be comparable to those of the Fire Data Safe. With a Fire Data Safe other protection features are offered, protection from liquids, magnetic interference, contamination, dust and smoke.
Size & Weight.
All Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes will have the following details listed:
- External Size.
- Internal Size : Volume.
- Weight.
Check the safes internal & external dimensions are suitable for your requirements. You will need to store the home inventory, CD's / DVD's and all necessary receipts and proof of purchase. Be on the safe side and purchase a safe bigger than the one you initially expect to be correct. You will soon be adding extra items to the safe.
Type Of Fixture.
- A decision will need to made on deciding where to locate your safe as it could be fitted in:
- A cupboard.
- The Wall.
- The Floor.
[Note: Professional installation may be required with wall and floor locations].
Standards.
All Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes will be highlighted as being rated by one or more of the following parties:
- UL - United Labs.
- SP - Swedish Government.
- KS - Korean Standard.
- JIS - Japanese Industrial Standard.
Types Of Lock.
All Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes are supplied with the following types of lock:
- Key [Flat, Tubular].
- Combination Dial.
- Digital Lock Electronic Keypad.
The choice of lock is a personal choice, related to the manufacturer and model of safe you are looking at.
Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying Your Fire Safe Or Fire Data Safe.
- Are you intending to keep cash in the safe?
- What $ value or valuables are you also choosing to place in the safe along with the Home Inventory?
- Do you want the safe to be theft resistant?
If you wish the Fire Safe or Fire Data Safe to be theft resistant, then you will require a theft resistant safe. A professional installation may be needed.
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- Who Makes Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes?
Some of the popular manufacturers of these types of safe are:
Defiance : Chubb : Wormald : Sentry.
For the storing of your Home Inventory, a Fire Data Safe with a inside capacity to hold A4 documents is l required. Most Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes are listed with this A4 feature.
Once you are familiar with the features of Fire Safes & Fire Data Safes, it is a matter of your own individual requirements in making your choice of safe. If you have further questions you could contact a Fire Safe & Fire Data Safe supplier. A supplier should be able to answer your questions and further supply more information on manufacturers differences, based on the suppliers knowledge.
