I'm considering a safe - AMSEC UL1812x. About 300lbs.

I've heard that one can remove the door easily to facilitate transport; I'm guessing the door weighs about 100lbs. So, I'd move 200lbs and then 100lbs, separately. Something manageable w/ a dolly.

I've read that re-installing a safe door onto the hinges is tricky but I'm guessing that's really for the larger safes where the door may weigh several hundred pounds.

If I buy this safe, would the door be easily removable and re-installable by a novice like me, by myself? Or do I really need to hire someone to transport from store to home, even for this safe?

Oh, any thoughts on the standard mechanical lock vs the ESL10x lock? I would guess the latter is easier to use. But durability, reliability, other considerations? Net - which one is recommended assuming the life of the safe (40 years?)?

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I've heard that one can remove the door easily to facilitate transport; I'm guessing the door weighs about 100lbs. So, I'd move 200lbs and then 100lbs, separately.

That sounds neither feasible nor necessary. You aren't going to hold 100 lbs. of door in place while driving out/in tightly fitted hinge pins without a helper or a special fixture. With an appliance dolly (so it can be strapped on), and on flat ground or even up over a door sill or porch (down or especially up a flight of stairs is another matter), 300 lbs. isn't that hard to roll around. Unless the truck has a power liftgate, the hard part is actually getting it on and off the truck. Perhaps the seller can help.

Two people and an appliance dolly should be able to move 300# pretty easily. Might be nice to have a 3rd person get it in/out of a truck and if you have more than about 3 steps on a porch. Taking the door off is going to need 3 people and by that time you could just have the whole thing in the house. Appliance dolly is the secret to getting it moved.

I got my 450# safe home from the factory in a pickup and into my 1 story house with 1 helper. When I moved into a 2nd store duplex, I did have to help 2 movers get it upstairs. I could hear the wood cracking underneath the safe when we came up the staircase in my at the time 80 year old house, good times!

Hire a professional.

-or-

Rent the safe dolly.

Choose the electronic lock.

Open the door then lift it straight up. There’s no pins to drive out; just gravity holds the door in place when open. If you decide to move it with the door on, put the door towards the back of the dolly.

You asked about transportation. What would you be bringing it home with? A pickup, trailer, SUV, or? If you’re concerned about moving 300lbs with a dolly, I’d be concerned with how you plan to get it out of the vehicle or off the trailer.

Lastly, bolt it down. Unless you live nextdoor to the police station, two guys will walk off with that safe before the police can respond.

300lbs is more of a cabinet than a safe (not knocking it, mine's about the same).

Good news is it should be pretty easy to move with the help of a buddy, a basic dolly, or both. Especially if the door lifts out so you can split up the weight. Bad news is, weight alone isn't going to secure it in your house. Make sure you bolt it down, and be sure those bolts are hitting studs and floor joists or anchors so they can't just rip it out.

Thanks. Yea, if I had buddies in the area, this would be easy. But that's the problem, it's just me and my wife.

If my wife and I can get it out of the truck (or rental trailer), maybe using 2x4's as a ramp, I think I can use a dolly to get it in place. Keep in mind that we're both old and weak. Removing the door, if substantial, may be helpful. But concerned about getting the door re-installed hence looking for some experienced inputs. When I replaced the hinges on the fridge door, I used a car jack to help lift the door; maybe I can do something similar here?

So, the electronic lock is the way to go on this?

Don't remove the door. Will come off easy, will not go back on as easy, and may damage paint, fingers, or toes in the process.

Electronic locks are faster and easier to use, and you can program your own combination. If any of those are requirements go with electronic. Long term, electronics will have a higher failure rate. Cost to drill open a safe and replace an electronic lock is currently in the $700 range plus or minus.

Here's what I have learned about moving safes: Pay a professional to move it.

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Originally posted by a1abdj:
Don't remove the door. Will come off easy, will not go back on as easy, and may damage paint, fingers, or toes in the process.

Electronic locks are faster and easier to use, and you can program your own combination. If any of those are requirements go with electronic. Long term, electronics will have a higher failure rate. Cost to drill open a safe and replace an electronic lock is currently in the $700 range plus or minus.

Thanks for the advice and info. $700? Yowza, that's almost the price of the safe. I don't have fast, easy requirements. I would like to use my own combination - the combo lock will come with a pre-fixed, unchangeable combination? Not desirable but I could probably live w/ it.

I'm concerned about the ESL10xl failure rate now and the cost of recovery (let alone time - how quickly could I get someone to do the work? parts availability?). I'm trending toward aversion unless the failure rate for these locks are very rare.

For that small of a safe, a dolly is all you need. I hired a professional for my 1000lb safe.

300# is pretty light load for a dolly... Where are you located in CA? How far from Modesto?

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Originally posted by thumperfbc:
300# is pretty light load for a dolly... Where are you located in CA? How far from Modesto?

Thanks thumper! Email sent.

I have exactly one experience of putting a safe together. Get at least another person to help; don't do it by yourself.

I bought an assemble yourself safe. I think the door was 150 pounds by itself. I had two lifters that were helpful to lift the door in place while the longest door hinge pin was positioned in place. I don't know how we would have done it as I'm not half the man I used to be.

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Originally posted by konata88:...Keep in mind that we're both old and weak. ...

No question. Call the man.

My two safes are 400-500# and we moved them down the side yard into the basement with ease. Just me and a friend and a beefy hand truck.

You asked in the other thread how easy it would be to steal your safe.

I could roll that out of your house in five minutes or less. Keep in mind that as a burglar, zero care will be taken with respect to damage to the safe, contents, your walls, doors, trim, windows, etc. I’d have to think twice if it had to go up the stairs, but not at all about pushing it down the stairs. I might even ride it like a sled on the way down.

With a rope, I could drag that sucker straight across your wood floors. I’d probably use the sheets off your bed.

You also asked about how to bolt it down.

Just pay the people you buy it from to deliver it and bolt it down. Might be $300 or so.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
You asked in the other thread how easy it would be to steal your safe.

I could roll that out of your house in five minutes or less. Keep in mind that as a burglar, zero care will be taken with respect to damage to the safe, contents, your walls, doors, trim, windows, etc. I’d have to think twice if it had to go up the stairs, but not at all about pushing it down the stairs. I might even ride it like a sled on the way down.

With a rope, I could drag that sucker straight across your wood floors. I’d probably use the sheets off your bed.

You also asked about how to bolt it down.

Just pay the people you buy it from to deliver it and bolt it down. Might be $300 or so.

The saloon heist scene from Westworld S1E1 came to mind.

I bought my safe from a company that only sold safes. Two guys delivered it with an electric hand truck that climbed stairs (I didn't know that there was such a thing). They offered to bolt it down - I figured two guys got it in, two guys could take it out. It's bolted to the floor which is concrete.

Still not 100% theft proof but way too much work for the average meth head.

Pay the man........ you stated it would be just you and your wife and that you both were old and weak.... Probably cheaper in the long run to pay the man than possibly paying the medical bills as well as physical recovery time from strained mussels or broke bones.... Bolt it down to the floor.... REMEMBER...... A lock only slows down a honest person. .......................... drill sgt.