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I've only had my Secure Logic Wall Vault for a week now but it appears to be reliable and well constructed. After reading a few other reviews of the sometimes unreliability of the fingerprint scanner on the biometric version, I opted for the simplicity of the keypad version.
Installation in an unobstructed wall cavity should take no more than an hour if you are handy with tools. All you really need is a level to make sure your cut lines are level and plumb, a drywall saw, a drill and a socket set.
I located my vault on the interior side of an external wall and it proved to be quite a challenge. What should have taken no more than an hour to install turned into an all day job. After I cut the opening in the drywall, I encountered 4 obstacles that had to be dealt with in order to make way for the vault. There was a 2" x 4" cross brace between the studs, a 8' long 1" x 6" diagonal brace running on the outside of the studs, and an electrical wire to an outside porch light wall. Plus, my house was built in the early 1970's when the building code did not require exterior plywood siding. So the chicken wire and stucco was bowed inwards leaving only a 3 1/2" deep cavity. The wall vault requires a full 4" of depth in order to mount flush against the wall. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me to clear everything out of the way. Once all obstacles were cleared the actual installation of the vault just took a couple of minutes.
Programming the keypad is a snap. Opening the vault couldn't be easier. Just punch in your code and the door drops down immediately. My biggest complaint about the vault is the volume of the beeps when punching in the code. Each time you punch in a number it beeps and there is no way to turn down the volume or disable the sound. If the main reason you are buying this vault is to store a gun for home protection you really don't want an intruder hearing you making a bunch of beeping sounds. Or, maybe you do. Maybe that would be enough to scare him off! I would assume the biometric fingerprint version of the wall vault would only beep once when it scans your fingerprint, so if you want to minimize the beeping, that might be a better choice assuming it can reliably read your fingerprint.
Another area where the vault could be improved is with the interior light which only stays on for 10 seconds after the door is opened. 60 seconds would give you more time to see what you are doing when loading cash, jewelry, etc. 10 seconds is just not long enough.
Hiding the vault requires hanging a picture over it. That doesn't sound very tough to do but you can't just hang any picture over it. You have to find a frameless picture/painting with finished edges that has at least a 1" cavity in the back so it can sit on the lip of the vault. If you are not picky about the kind of painting you want to hang over it then it shouldn't be too tough to locate something that will work. But if you are trying to match the decor of the room, good luck! I've spent a week bringing home several styles to see how they look. Whatever you decide on, I would recommend using some Velcro or other means to attach the painting to the vault or wall to keep it from accidently falling off.
All in all, I would recommend the wall vault. I would also recommend installing it on an interior wall to minimize the chance of encountering obstacles inside the wall.
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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