Anyone on the OB have a Sturdy? What are your thoughts? Also looking at Amsec BF series. Thanks.

What's going to be in the safe? I don't think Sturdy is fire rated unless you pay more and is more of a 'gun safe' than something to store other valuables in.

I have an older Fortress and recently added an AMSEC BF. Very pleased with the AMSEC, but it hasn't had to do anything except sit there in the garage. I bought the AMSEC from Frank Zykan Safe in St Louis. His delivered price was the best I could find on the internet. http://www.zykansafe.com

He posts on many forums such as thehighroad.com, firingline.com and AR15.com under the name of a1abdj. He seems to be the 'go to' safe guy on those forums.

The safe will primarily hold firearms and some important documents or jewelry. Sturdy has an explanation on their fire liner:

https://www.sturdysafe.com/pages/sturdy-safe-fire-liner-info

I'll check out that safe guy's prices on Amsec, thanks.

reddog90 said:

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Anyone on the OB have a Sturdy? What are your thoughts? Also looking at Amsec BF series. Thanks.

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Reddog - sturdy safe owner here. I have the fire proof version. In a word - outstanding. Go for it, you will not be disappointed. Had mine custom built for my space. Craftsmanship is top notch. They delivered to my driveway and it was very reasonable.

PM me if you have any other questions.

I'll second sturdy safes. I bought a fire resistant one a few years ago and it is a beast. Quality craftsmanship and thick steel for the money.

The only issue I have with it is that it filled up way too fast... I'm about to be in the market for another Sturdy myself.

I hear ya brother.

Great feedback, thanks guys. What interior layouts did you get? And did you get the small internal safe for documents and jewelry?

Guilty... I really need to be more responsible while boating.

boogs & tx-ag - What size safes did yall get? Did yall get an upgraded package? Or any extras?

I see a picture like this and it makes me think a 4827-6 would be ok for me.

https://instagr.am/p/BBkjRxuuOUK

I went with the 36x27x72 with fire liner, 4g steel body, hard plate, mechanical lock, electric accessory hole, and bolt down holes.

In hindsight I wish I had gone bigger but it probably would have only bought me a year or two before it filled up.

Tx-Ag2010 said:

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I went with the 36x27x72 with fire liner, 4g steel body, hard plate, mechanical lock, electric accessory hole, and bolt down holes.

In hindsight I wish I had gone bigger but it probably would have only bought me a year or two before it filled up.

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Awesome. Did you get a dri rod or any other type of dehumidifier? What about interior lights? I'm in Houston and considering concealing this in my garage. I'll be in a different house in a couple years and should have a better space for it then.

reddog90 said:

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Tx-Ag2010 said:

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I went with the 36x27x72 with fire liner, 4g steel body, hard plate, mechanical lock, electric accessory hole, and bolt down holes.

In hindsight I wish I had gone bigger but it probably would have only bought me a year or two before it filled up.

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Awesome. Did you get a dri rod or any other type of dehumidifier? What about interior lights? I'm in Houston and considering concealing this in my garage. I'll be in a different house in a couple years and should have a better space for it then.

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I have an EvaDry 500 in mine to remove the humidity and it seems to work pretty well for me. I kept mine in my dad's shop while I was building my house and I definitely had to recharge the dehumidifier a lot more frequently. Now that I have the safe in a spare bedroom/gun room I probably recharge it every 1-2 months.

I don't have any lights and haven't really needed any but they might be a good idea if your garages lighting is less than stellar.

I'd have to look at my build sheet to give you specifics. It was in 2011. I called and spoke w owner. He asked me if it would be inside or out. I told him inside in a climate controlled room. He said since I went w the fire resistant rating that a dehumidifier wasn't needed. They will do them if customer wants it but the fire insulation blocks a ton of moisture movement. I was skeptical but he was right. If mine was outside I'd definitely do a dehumidifier.

I wish i knew to have them do a lights package. That's my only regret. I also got the manual - not digital / lock.

Do you guys like manual or digital locks?

I prefer the manual lock, but maybe I'm just paranoid. The high end electronic locks are supposed to be pretty good.

Pretty close to ordering a 4227-6 now. Did you guys install a small outlet in the safe? I know mine will come with an electrical hole. I wasn't sure if I could ask Sturdy to just install a small outlet or if I need to snip the end off a cord and run a power strip in there myself.

Is the Eva Dry rechargeable or does it need to be plugged in all the time?

The EVA dry model I have is rechargeable. You just have to plug it in outside the safe overnight every few months.

I understand it now. Eva Dry is a desiccant. Once it's full, you plug it in, it heats itself and dries out, then you unplug and hang it back in the safe. GoldenRods are a heating element that raise the temp and lowers the RH in the safe, and stay plugged in all the time. I am planning on snipping the end of a power strip to run the cord through the included electrical hole in the safe. I'll use this to power a DIY LED light strip with a motion detector and a GoldenRod, and I'll get a small battery powered hygrometer.

Finally got my sturdy. 4227-6 (4 ga body), most popular package (8x12 stainless door upgrade), fire insulator, spin dial, standard interior. DIY motion LED lights, 12" Golden Rod, and a digital hygrometer. Trying to figure out a solution for bolting it to my slab right now.

You will not be disappointed. My sturdy is a similar size, minus the led package that wasn't an option when I bought mine. You won't have any humidity issues w your set up. Welcome to the club and enjoy.

Nice. I'm going to have to look at adding some LED lights to mine. Those look pretty badass!

I made the light setup myself. Got everything off amazon, it was just plug and play parts. Can post links if y'all want.

That's cool! It looks great. Unless there is a cordless/battery pak option it'll be a no go for me. Mine doesn't have a hole for electric cables and it's in a location where i won't be getting it out to drill one anytime soon.

I'll second the DIY lights. I put a reed switch on mine (turns on/off with door opening). I found the motion sensor wouldn't trip unless there was enough ambient light. Could easily be converted to operate off a battery https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/12V-3Ah-Battery.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-9T-97qA2wIVWLjACh0xegXcEAQYAyABEgK1tPD_BwE. Amazon was the source for led strips and reed switch.

35chililights said:

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I'll second the DIY lights. I put a reed switch on mine (turns on/off with door opening). I found the motion sensor wouldn't trip unless there was enough ambient light. Could easily be converted to operate off a battery https://www.bigtimebattery.com/store/12V-3Ah-Battery.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-9T-97qA2wIVWLjACh0xegXcEAQYAyABEgK1tPD_BwE. Amazon was the source for led strips and reed switch.

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Tell me more!

Well the strip I bought, and very likely most other strips, come with an AC adapter who's purpose is to get the strip it's necessary DC current.

For instance, here is mine:


All you need to do is mimic the output. That link above is a rechargeable battery who's output mimics the necessary voltage and amperage. You could buy two batteries and keep one charged to immediately swap out when one drains.

I am about to set up battery powered emergency lights in our safe room with the leftover LED strips. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. If it works well, I'll show you the exact component setup I use.

35chililights said:

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I am about to set up battery powered emergency lights in our safe room with the leftover LED strips. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. If it works well, I'll show you the exact component setup I use.

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That would be awesome thanks!

After googling reed switch, I am confused how it turns the lights on when the door is opened?

I bought this surge protector, cut the plug off, threaded the cord through the electrical hole in the safe, then put this grounding plug on the end to bring power in the safe. Plugged this power adapter into the surge protector, plugged this motion sensor to the power adapter, then plugged the sensor to these LED lights. I spent some time inside the safe with the shelves out using scotch tape to tape the lights in place temporarily to make sure I liked where everything was before removing the backing and sticking the lights in place for good.

I thought about using a magnetic switch instead of the motion sensor, but the particular motion sensor I got seems to work well for now.

Not all reed switches are the same. They have ones that will operate in two manners, and some that will operate in a single manner. I bought some of the reed switches that allow both options. These are the ones I bought: http://a.co/7TwVTZ9


There are two ways to use the ones above. The two ways are called "normally open" and "Normally closed". You'll notice there are three terminals to connect to. The lead wire connects to the first terminal, the trailing wire connects to either the second or the third terminal depending on how you want to use the switch. The terminology becomes confusing because most people will assume the closed/open refers to the door you connect them to. In this case, the closed/open refers to how you want the electrical circuit in the "rest" position. For instance, in the gun safe setup, the rest position (the position the setup will be most often), is when the safe door is closed and locked. In this situation you want the lights off. Said another way, when the safe door is closed, you want the circuit "open" so no electricity flows and the lights do not run. To accomplish this you would use the reed switch in the "Normally open" setup. When you open the door, and change the resting setup, the magnet portion of the switch moves away from the spring portion of the switch and the spring is allowed to return to rest, closing the circuit and allowing the flow of electricity.

The "Normally closed" setup has the circuit allowing the flow of electricity when the magnet portion of the switch in near the spring portion of the switch, and when the magnet potion of the switch moves away from the spring portion of the switch, the circuit would then be open, stopping the flow of electricity.


The switches I bought have the capability of being used both ways. They also make specific "normally closed" and "Normally open" reed switches that are not capable of being used any other way than specified.


I hope this wasn't confusing.

Nope that makes perfect sense, thanks. Did you just attach the switch to the safe body and door with sticky foam tape? I don't want to drill tiny holes inside mine to mount a switch like that.

dr_boogs said:

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That's cool! It looks great. Unless there is a cordless/battery pak option it'll be a no go for me. Mine doesn't have a hole for electric cables and it's in a location where i won't be getting it out to drill one anytime soon.

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I saw AA battery packs for led light strips on Amazon the other day.

That's exactly what I used. I'll snap a pic when I get home tonight.