Poor Safe design:

[petcelman]

I just purchased a new Homeland Security Level VII Safe. It is beautiful. All 4 guage body (just slightly thinner than 1/4" . I was very happy with it until I looked behind the inner door cover. It has the weakest bolt system that I have ever seen. The lock is not protected from pressure if the handle was hit. The bolts are "pretty" but very vulnerable to attack. The linkage doesn't line up to take the pressure off the lock. Furthermore the steel that they chose to support the bolts is only .110" thick and can be flexed by hand. I am not happy with it at all. When I contacted them to discuss the issues that I had with it they basically said too bad. I even offered to pay the shipping back to the so they wouldn't be out anything, but again too bad. Based on what I have seen and experienced, I highly recommend looking elsewhere for a safe.
Now I have the task of replacing the door with my own design using a much better bolt design and with the proper linkage geometry. It will be fun to build but I would have preferred having it designed and built properly from the supplier.

[1911_Mitch]

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[Satex]

Don't feel too bad, you did not purchase an RSC worst than the typical RSC.
The vendors get away with it because 99.99% of customers purchase a safe based on the color, finish, and internal upholstery (check out other threads in this section to see what I mean). Furthermore, the vendors know that 99.9% of safes will never get broken into just because of statistics. Very few shops will show you the insides of the door just due to what you have seen.

On a positive side, some of the weaker elements you saw aren't as bad as you think. Keep in mind that a potential thief has leverage and time working against him. Sure, those tie rods look flimsy, but when you are trying to get to them through the door its a different story.

So, bottom line - all RSCs are crappy. You want real protection - get a TL15 or TL30.

[petcelman]

Yup

Yea, thanks. The only thing I did right was to order the 4 guage body. Now at least I have something to work with.

[Librarian]

Yea, thanks. The only thing I did right was to order the 4 guage body. Now at least I have something to work with.

This could be interesting - please keep us informed on the project, as you find it convenient.

[petcelman]

Making it right:

Or at least as close to right as is practacal. I suppose I could have completely replaced the door but then I would need to repaint so I made a compromise that will be 90% as strong but substantially less work.
I purchased sufficient 1/4" plate to cover the inside of the existing door plate and centered it so that the door can still close. I removed the existing weak linkage bolts and the linkage that is controlled by the external handle. I welded the plate on to the door and am now in the process of welding the bolt brackets on to the new 1/4" plate. It will be a lot stronger than what the safe came with. More to come..............
I'll post pictures later this week. Thanks for the interest.

[petcelman]

Yet more crap!!!

Well I guess I really didn't expect this. After welding the plate on the inside of the door, the 2 inch thick super strong composite door began to split at the bottom. Why, you ask. Well it seems that their metal work was so impressive that they had to use Bondo to make it look OK. As soon as there was a little additional weight, the cracks started to appear. Now I have to cut off the edge of the door and replace with a strip of metal and weld it into place. So far I havent ruined the paint on the outside of the door. Homeland Security Safes quality are again proving not to be what I'd hoped.
I hope that everyone contemplating the purchase of a safe will do their homework (which I thought I'd done but was lied to). We need to ask them and get in writing exactly what lies beneath the pretty paint and inner door panel.
On the brighter side, now that I've discovered all of this I can repair it correctly and the end product will be much stronger. I am removing the Homeland Security decals, I refuse to do any advertising for these people.

[Olav]

[Ding126]

I'm wondering if these are the same guys I spoke to a few months back. After deciding not to go with them. The VP of the company calls me and makes me another offer and claims they are the best safe around..even the US Govt buys from them.LOL OK .After calling a couple more companies and asking if they ever heard of these guys..the other companies told me the stories about their workmanship.
I think this company has had several business names. ( So cal area? )

Very unprofessional company to say the least.

I would contact the BBB and anyone else that may be able to help. When you make a major purchase you shouldn't be treated like this..ever

It may be difficult to return it after you have modified it. Did you pay by CC? I hope you did.

[petcelman]

Nuf said:

Here's what is behind the inner door cover, nuf said!

[leelaw]

They welded the handle onto the plate which activates/deactivates the bolts? Ouch...

[Mikeb]

I built a safe... I call it an industrial amour. One thing I did was use a 1/8th inch brass shear pin to attatch the handle that drove the bolts. I figured if someone tried to force it it would just fail. To open I could dial the combination and open it with an internal pipe wrench.
good luck
Mike

[petcelman]

New safe design:

The shear pin concept is a good one. The handle shaft that I put in has a female hex socket internally. I built it so that if it snaps it will snap at that point and I can insert a hex wrench and turn it once the combination has been dialed.
The internal bolts that I'm using are hardened so they cannot be sawed off. I'm actually learning quite a bit about what works and what doesn't. I'll post pictures of all the new linkage this weekend. Thanks for the interest.

[gamayrouge]

any updates?