Gun Safe Features and Specifications Explained

        

Below find explanations of the features and specifications found in all MERIK Gun Safes and Gun Vaults:

• Advanced Fire Protection - Fire resistant safes should have a minimum of a 1-hour fire rating. The typical home fire burns in the 1200 degree Fahrenheit temperature range. If the rating is 90 minutes, then the interior of the safe should remain lower than 350 degrees for at least 90 minutes. This is important because paper chars at 350° and burns at 450°.
• Door Plate Steel Thickness - This is the inner steel plate encased in the door. It is clear that a high-quality gun safe or vault with a heavier gauge layer of steel encased in the door will be significantly more difficult to attack with hand tools, saws and drills.
• Door Edge Steel Thickness - This is the steel edge of the safe door that has a continuous weld for increased strength that is directly adjacent to the door jamb. This tends to be one of the first parts of the safe to be attacked. They are usually attacked with single or multiple pry bars. BOTH the door edge and door jamb should be a thicker steel gauge. They work in conjunction with each other. The thicker the steel gauge the greater the protection realized. 
• Steel Reinforced Door Jamb -  All Merik gun safes and vaults have the door jambs reinforced with additional steel bars that are attached to the door jamb with a continuous weld. They work in harmony with each other to prevent prying attacks.
• Exterior Wall Steel Thickness - Many big box stores, mass merchandisers and online discount stores tend to feature safes having exterior wall steel thicknesses from 12 gauge to 20 gauge. We know these steel gauges are inadequate to stand up to a sustained attack. We won't even categorize a 12 gauge to 20 gauge product a "safe"...  we consider this a "cabinet" ...that may keep your handguns out of your children's hands, but will not deter a burglar for more than just a few minutes. Far better options are safes having an exterior wall thickness between 10 gauge and 3 gauge.  

NOTE: The higher the gauge number of the steel, the thinner the steel.

The lower the gauge number, the thicker the steel.

More steel ALWAYS equals more security.

• Interior Liner Steel Thickness - This is the SECONDARY layer of steel inside the safe. The interior steel liner thickness varies from safe model to model. There are multiple purposes for the inner steel liner. The liner prevents movement of insulation board during a fire. The interior liner is an additional deterrent… if a burglar is successful drilling through the outer steel wall he will be faced with another steel layer to deal with.  Additionally, gaining access to the inner steel liner is difficult at best. Because time is of the essence before a homeowner returns or the police arrive when an alarm system is triggered, we feel interior steel liners are vitally important and are furnished as standard equipment in all MERIK gun safes and gun vaults. The interior steel liner creates a "Safe within a Safe."
• Velcro friendly Carpeted back Door Panel - Properly organizing your pistols, knives, and your valued possessions on your door are vital especially when you need quick access. Our velcro-friendly door panel is furnished movable velcro-friendly holsters so you can arrange your weapons so they are convenient and easily accessed by you.
• Pre-cut Anchor Holes and Wedge Bolts - All MERIK gun safes and gun vaults are provided with 6 pre-cut anchor holes and 6 wedge bolts to securely fasten your safe or vault to the floor. Burglars have been known to tip a safe over if not secured to the floor. They do this to gain better leverage in attempting to compromise the safe door with heavy duty pry bars and sledgehammers.  If a burglar comes prepared with the tools and the equipment to take a safe with them and break it open in their own environment where they have hand tools, saws, drills, no distractions, an unlimited amount of time and a place where they can make as much noise as they need to without alerting anyone...then you know it is probably an "inside job". 
• Intumescent Seal - What is it? It is a seal (or strip) that is installed completely around the inner part of the door jamb, that when exposed to heat from a fire the seal's thermoplastic covering melts and the underlying material within the seal expands (like foam) creating a barrier to prevent heat and smoke from entering the safe or vault and damaging or destroying the contents within the safe.
• Heavy-duty Welded Hinges -  Many safe manufacturers advise that hidden hinges are just as good as exposed surface mounted welded hinges. This is incorrect. Hidden internal hinges may cause "hot spots" if insulation is removed to accommodate the installation of the hidden internal hinges. Exterior surface mounted welded hinges eliminate the possibility of creating hot spots inside the safe. Most hidden internal hinges are also susceptible to damage simply by quickly opening the door to its limit which is usually 110 degrees. Not being able to completely open the safe door often blocks access to some of the items stored in your safe on the same side as the hinges. Exterior surface mounted welded hinges provide 180-degree clear access to the items stored in the safe, and allows for easy removal of the door when moving or servicing the safe, if ever necessary.       
• Bolt-Detent System - This is a protective system that helps prevent the bolt works or the outer shell of the gun safe from becoming damaged while the door is open. It protects the finish of the safe from being damaged if the bolts are accidentally extended while the door is open.
• Anti-pry Tabs resist pry attacks to locking bolts - These tabs are welded to the top and bottom of the bolt-bars brackets within the safe door. They provide additional resistance during a prying attack.
• Fully Continuous Welded Steel Body - Many mass merchandisers market safes having bodies and doors that are only "Tack" or "Spot" welded together, making the safe much easier to compromise (break open) with common hand tools. This practice is generally undisclosed to the consumer. Continuous welding creates a significantly stronger safe body and door construction because each plate of steel is welded together with one solid welded bead at each seam to join each plate, effectively making them one solid plate.
• Triple 10 Gauge AR500 Hard Plates placed in front of the lock to resist drilling of the lock or punching the lock. The three layers of hard plates dull the drill bits, thus deterring access to the lock.
• Dual Relockers - also known as Mechanical Relockers - A mechanical relocker is an internally mounted mechanism located inside the door that is provided as a secondary protective system. A Remote relocker works in conjunction with the primary relocker mechanism. It triggers a self-contained bolt within the door making the door virtually impossible to open.
• Interior LED Lights - LED lights are bright white lights that use less power and have been proven to be a more reliable source of light than other available lighting options. MERIK LED lights also come standard with motion sensors so the lights turn on and off automatically when the safe door is opened or closed.
• AC Power Supply Outlets with USB Ports - One of the most convenient features in a MERIK gun safe and vault. Most gun safe manufacturers provide a small hole in the back of their safe to run a power cord to either a light strip or a dehumidifier. You may even need to move the safe to run the wire into the safe. MERIK provides the AC Power Supply Outlets and USB Ports pre-installed within each safe. Just plug the power supply cord in, set your safe in place, bolt it securely to the floor... and you are good to go.
• Dehumidifier - Moisture causes corrosion. Storing firearms, important documents, memorabilia, and paper currency in a damp environment run a high risk of experiencing serious damage to your stored items. All MERIK gun safes and gun vaults are furnished with a dehumidifier as standard equipment.