Safe Locks

“Digital Electronic Safe Locks” versus key locks and conventional combination locks.

Safes have been around for over 200 years with very little in the way of improvements until the last 50-75 years. The latest innovation in safe lock technology is only about 10 years old. That is the electronic digital combination lock. These locks feature vast improvements in ease of use, ease of changing the combination, convenience, access control and security.

Before the combination lock was invented, safes were designed as strong boxes that used keys to lock and unlock them. Key locks required a separate key for each person designated to lock or unlock it. Simply having access to the key and the safe at the same time granted that person access to the contents of the safe. If an unauthorized person gained access for the purpose of larceny, or simply if the key turned up missing, the lock had to be changed or re-keyed (to prevent the lost or stolen key from being used) and new keys issued to the authorized holders. This was often a very expensive and time-consuming proposition.

The main problem with key locks is the keys are often lost, misplaced or stolen. Combination locks eliminated this problem somewhat . The key was literally in a person’s head. If the combination was compromised it was a simple matter of changing the combination with the use of a special key called a “change key” security was then re-established in very short order.

The conventional combination lock required turning the dial a certain number of turns to the left to the first number then right to the 2nd number etc. etc. It was confusing, time consuming, tedious and very often required several tries to open the safe, even while following the written directions. Changing the combination was easier than replacing a number of keys but it did require some technical expertise or training and sometimes a special tool. There were no keys to misplace or be stolen so it was still better and very secure with it’s theoretical one million possible combinations.

Changing the combination usually required the services of a professional locksmith or safe technician to do the job right. Mechanical combination locks also require periodical maintenance to keep them operating smoothly and also to prevent the dreaded ‘failure related lock-out’. Lost combinations were common due to the fact that you usually had to remember or carry with you, a fairly complicated set of numbers and dialing instructions.

Along comes the digital lock and now all that is changed. Now you can open the lock as easily as using a push button telephone. Changing the combination is also that easy. The one million theoretical combinations (actually 400-500,000 usable combinations) of the conventional combo lock is a thing of the past, with a true “One Million” usable, settable combinations to choose from.

Easily remembered numbers can be set and changed at a moments notice, so the occurrence of lost combination lockouts is drastically reduced.

Even the greatest amount of physical force or safecracker’s manipulations will not defeat a digital lock, without knowing the correct combination, or being fully trained in proper, authorized opening methods. Digital locks have a “Penalty Lockout Mode” which activates after 4 wrong tries, and shuts down the keypad for 3 minutes after which time you get 1 more try or again the penalty is applied.

Some digital safe locks also have an enhanced set of optional features which control use by limiting access to certain times of the day and by certain specified users. They may also require dual combinations ( 2 People) time delay and time locking as well as audit trail features which record the time and user who has accessed the safe and are useful to businesses who have many employees as well as several levels of management that require access and control. For example - the ability to restrict a daytime employee’s access to the safe at night, is a very important feature to merchants and fast food restaurant operators, etc.

Most safe manufacturer’s offer Digital Electronic Locks as an option on most of the safes they build, It is generally cheaper to order it as an option on a new safe than it is to install it later on, but it is possible and we can fit a digital lock to just about any safe.