Winter Reminder: Check the Batteries in Your GunSafe Keypad
more than a year old, or if it is not giving you the right voltage, replace it today!
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This time of year, many of our readers are putting their guns away in a safe for the winter. It’s easy to just tuck the guns away and forget about them. But there’s something you should do before you shut the safe door. If you have a safe with an electronic keypad, you should replace the battery every year as a precautionary measure. Trust us, you don’t want to come back in a few months and find that the keypad memory is kaput, and you’re locked out. That can lead to frustration and an expensive locksmith visit.
Here’s a true story. I have one safe with a Sargent & Greenleaf (S&G) keypad. A couple years back, in early December, I went to get into the safe. I punched in the correct combination, but all I got was a rapid “beep, beep, beep, beep” after I finished the last combination entry. I tried again to ensure I entered the combination correctly (I did). But again, the locking system responded with multiple rapid beeps indicating something was wrong. And the safe would not open. Now I was worried….
I popped out the battery holder (which slides in from the bottom of the keypad housing on the door). I removed the battery and tested it with a volt-meter. The 12-month-old Duracell 9-volt battery only registered 6.1 volts.
Low voltage was the problem. I went down to the store and got a couple new 9V batteries. I tested the new batteries and both measured 9.4 volts output. I slipped one of the new 9V batteries into the keypad housing, punched in the combination and everything worked OK again. Eureka.
Most electronic locks for safes WILL “remember” the combination for a period of time even when the battery is low (and the keypad’s “brain” should retain the combination when you remove the battery for replacement). However, a dead battery, or extended periods of low voltage can give you problems. Don’t rely on wishful thinking…
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Tags: AA battery, Battery, Keypad, Locksmith, Safe, Vault, Winter Battery
I replace my safe batteries every six (6) months, always have spare batteries on hand, and maintain a battery replacement cheat sheet for all the batteries around the house. Not having access to my safes is not an option.
Still cant beat a tumbler safe. A lot less to go wrong.
My higher end safe has both electronic and manual (dial) locks – separate units in the door. I retrofitted my older safe to have a combo electronic and manual, same physical unit.
In my experience with electronics not working, you can typically just swap the battery and you are back in. That said, if a battery swap does not get you back in, that’s when the manual comes in – hasn’t failed me yet. I practice the manual combination on my higher end safe every week – since the combo is in my safe deposit box. I leave an instruction sheet (for the manual operation) on the top of the other safe (no combo, just process steps) and so far that has been enough.
The above may seem like overkill but, for me, it isn’t. I had my wallet and car keys – and back-up car keys – in a safe with an electronic lock…which failed (my current older safe). Being without cash and car keys for two days is not the way to live. I was very fortunate that the tech I was able to reach really knew his stuff and got me back in. A year or two later and he may have been retired and with him all his knowledge. Lesson learned, to this day I will not leave wallet or keys in either of my safes.