Safe drains keypad battery

[Flopsweat]

 

[billdeserthills]

Having had to recently tear down the lock on my safe to clean out the lock guts, lube them and fix the dial bezel, I think I'll replace the electronic lock on my 2nd safe with a three wheel dial one - either La Gard or Sargent & Greenleaf. Cost will be about $150.
La Gaard recommended only teflon based lube -- I happened to have a spray can of it. So smooth now, I cannot tell when I engage the the wheels or hit the spot for linkage. It just works now, every time.
I'm always terrified of the batteries puking out their guts on the lock, rendering it useless. Why I'll never use Duraleaks again. For every ten Duraleaks that have bled out in flashlights or on electronics, I've had one or less Energizer - the brand I'm sticking with for now.

You could skip that and get a Big Red safe lock, I hear they're a better lock than S&G

Big Red™ Safe Dial, Ring & Spindle Set | eBay

Locking Spy-Guard dial with 2 keys.

www.ebay.com

Big Red™ 3-wheel, Group 2M (manipulation proof) Safe Lock | eBay

Big Red™ 3-wheel, Group 2M (manipulation proof) Safe Lock.

www.ebay.com

Even with the shipping, it's still cheaper

 

[MJGCamper]

I bought a safe with the backup key, non-UL listed. After just 3 days of use it started to unlock only once in a while and had to use the backup key for most access. On another attempt I tried rocking the handle back and forth while using the keypad, to see if there may a bind against the solenoid pin that wouldn't let it retract and open the safe. Suddenly It worked and gave me a clue that it was indeed a bind. Removing the back panel revealed the hardware linkage was putting force against the solenoid pin and that's why it would not retract when attempting to open electronically. What I found was the centering of the holes drilled thru the door edge and the retracting lock bolts were not centered and not lined up. One could tell by the way the top and bottom pins were not pointing 90 degrees as they came out the door's edge on top and bottom. This was putting a lifting force on the linkage and binding the small solenoid pin from retracting. I quickly went to work on the top and bottom lock bolts by filing to help with lining up to the holes in the door. It took a little work, you have to be careful to not file too much, but I got them centered to where the pressure against the solenoid was gone and now the electronic lock works again. I hope this might help someone someday.

Relating to the topic... this bind in the linkage against the solenoid may have something to do with your batteries working extra hard and dwindling their charge.

 

[Flopsweat]

I bought a safe with the backup key, non-UL listed. After just 3 days of use it started to unlock only once in a while and had to use the backup key for most access. On another attempt I tried rocking the handle back and forth while using the keypad, to see if there may a bind against the solenoid pin that wouldn't let it retract and open the safe. Suddenly It worked and gave me a clue that it was indeed a bind. Removing the back panel revealed the hardware linkage was putting force against the solenoid pin and that's why it would not retract when attempting to open electronically. What I found was the centering of the holes drilled thru the door edge and the retracting lock bolts were not centered and not lined up. One could tell by the way the top and bottom pins were not pointing 90 degrees as they came out the door's edge on top and bottom. This was putting a lifting force on the linkage and binding the small solenoid pin from retracting. I quickly went to work on the top and bottom lock bolts by filing to help with lining up to the holes in the door. It took a little work, you have to be careful to not file too much, but I got them centered to where the pressure against the solenoid was gone and now the electronic lock works again. I hope this might help someone someday.

Relating to the topic... this bind in the linkage against the solenoid may have something to do with your batteries working extra hard and dwindling their charge.

While you were in there, did you peel off the Made in China sticker?

 

[MJGCamper]

Nope Box says actually made in Vietnam. It's big letters on all sides of the box, Store clerk checked to see if he had one in the box and even tho I kept asking to check where it's made and sending him back there twice he kept saying he didn't know. I do not like when people aren't straight up. Surprisingly it's not too bad though, even found some things that are a bit better than a couple sold at Sportsman's. I moved the combo reset button to hide behind the door panel (kept bumping it) and lubed everything. Well you know the rest...

I've gotten to where I was forgetting where things are kept so its nice to have everything in one place.

All the ones that have the key back up, I want everyone to know that the key slides the solenoid completely out of the way so even it fails in the closed position, the key will still open the safe