Electronic Lock Batteries

Electronic or digital locks are often standard on a variety of safes and fire file cabinets. Many of our clients choose these locks for security and access control - limiting who can see or view business documents, records and data. There are several pros and cons to electronic locks and we will discuss each of them below.

Pro's
Convenience - electronic locks offer great convenience versus standard dial combination locks. For a business that requires entry into a safe or fire file several times during the day we recommend an electronic lock.
Quick-Change Combination - for the business that has a high turnover rate of employees (gas stations, retail stores) the combination can be easily changed to prevent theft.

Con's
Battery Powered - although this isn't really a con, it's just a fact...the majority of electronic locks are battery powered this leads to occasional maintenance. It's actually quite easy to replace a battery in a lock and generally involves removing the cover plate and installing a new 9 volt battery or several AA alkaline batteries.
Locksmiths Don't Like Working on them - to be as matter of fact as possible, the failure rate of electronic locks is much higher than standard dial combination locks.

When you take the time to look at the differences and compare the electronic lock to the combo lock it usually comes down to personal preference. If you have questions, we are always happy to help. Call Toll Free 1-866-867-0306 at any time!

Brands of Electronic Locks

S&G - Sargent and Greenleaf offers safe locks, electronic locks and biometric locking mechanisms

La Gard - The LaGard lock brand is a division of Kaba Mas and includes ComboGard, AuditGard, Smart Series locks and a variety of Group 2 or 2M (Group II) mechanical locks.

Kaba Mas - a world leading manufacturer and supplier of high-security electronic locking solutions, Kaba Mas makes the X-09 Lock, Auditcon, Gitcon, Unicon and Vindicator series for audit and access control.

Bolt Down Safes and Kits

More often than not our customers are interested in bolting down their safes. Whether this be a safe for home, business or automobile, the bolt down kit is a valuable piece of the security puzzle.

Most safes that have bolt down kits give the customer the ability to bolt to the floor or wall. There are special circumstances whereby a locksmith will need to assist (often the case with large commercial safes).

Our FireKing FB Series safes come standard with bolt down kits. Most depositories or drop safes also have bolt down kits that come standard. Our entire line of Hamilton safes can be customized to meet security needs and resistance to burglary or theft.

Our expert staff can help you with the planning and buying of a new safe. We specialize in UL Rated products that offer up to 3 hour fire ratings as well as burglary or TL Safes (tool attack resistant).

Hurricane Window Protection

Glass Requirements for Miami Dade County Hurricane Zone

Hurricane planning and protection are vital steps to improving safety and well being in areas prone to high winds and hurricanes. Specialty windows, frames and glass have been developed to meet the most stringent code requirements for hurricane force winds and flying debris.

Our Hamilton Safe windows are used in a variety of applications from banks, drive up or drive thru areas as well as homes, government and embassy buildings and more. These specialty and custom built windows reduce noise, improve safety and provide security against burglary, theft and intruders.

There are a variety of manufacturers and brands that supply specialty products, glass and windows for homes and businesses.

For more information and a detailed search of the Miami-Dade County Building Codes and Products please visit:
http://www.miamidade.gov/buildingcode/pc-search_app.asp

Storing Hard Drives

Hard Drive Storage in a Safe Environment

It has long been known that heat is an enemy of electronics - from TV's, stereo receivers to computers each of these devices needs to breath and keep cool. This ensures reliability.

Like other computer electronics, hard drives also create heat during normal operation. Because of this fact, it is important that the hard drive gets air flow to cool or disperse the heat. Traditional fire safes do not have air flow. This fact alone means that large hard drives or external drives with huge storage capacity will not function properly in a sealed (heat building) environment.

If you plan to store hard drives in a fireproof safe, please make sure that they are non-operational or source a fireproof hard drive with proper cooling / venting.

What Happens When Your Hard Drive is Almost Full?

Time to Buy a New Hard Drive or Dump Your Data

There comes a time in every computer users lifetime that the primary internal hard drive on your laptop, PC or Mac is filled to the brim. Typically this happens very quickly with the high resolution photos (read lots of megapixels) and video clips from birthday parties, nights out with friends and the family. One of the first signs of a full hard drive is slower performance. Read and write speeds or access to documents and programs begin to slow. There are several solutions to remedy the problem and this doesn't mean trash your computer and buy a brand new one (unless of course you are craving something fresh!)

If you have a computer tower, it's always best to add more RAM. In general there are one or more available slots for additional DDR RAM. Simply stop by the local computer store or big box store, grab a couple sticks and install them per the directions. You'll quickly realize that this is the best way to keep your old machine in tip top condition.

Another method to keep the best performance out of your hard drive is backup data to an external hard drive. This can be done with a USB, Network attached drive or even a media server / file server. Create a new folder on the backup device and move your data over. Once a copy is made you now have the information in two places (always a great thing in case your full hard drive crashes). Now that your data is backed up properly you have the option of installing an additional hard drive (in your PC or Mac tower) or replacing the old one.

Other tips for improving performance include emptying the recycle bin on a regular basis, cleaning up the Windows registry, running a disk cleanup, defrag the computer (defragmentation) and empty your cache. For complete details on how to improve PC performance, click here.

Keep up with these simple tips and you'll be rocking a fast computer in no time.

Mosler GSA Safe History | Parts

Many of or clients have old Mosler safes that are in need of reconditioning or refurbishing. These GSA safes have not been manufactured by the Ohio company since approx. 2001. Mosler Safe Company was one of the largest manufacturers of security equipment, safes and bank vaults.

Both Class 6 and Class 5 containers were manufactured throughout the years. Today many security companies offer refurbished and re certified GSA safes that were built by Mosler. It is possible to find parts for replacement through some locksmiths in the United States.

These used file and safes can be brought up to Federal Spec. # FF-L-2740 with the addition of an X-09 lock made by Kaba Mas. Our selection of used GSA files and safes come standard with the X-09 lock and include dock to dock shipping in the price.

For more information call Toll Free 1-866-867-0306

Fireproof File Cabinet

Fireproof Requirments for File Storage

Fire filing cabinets are available in a variety of sizes and configurations to meet a variety of storage requirements for businesses of all type.

Standard & Optional Features Include
UL Fire Rating and Listing - this means the file cabinet (vertical or lateral) has passed the UL testing requirement for 350 degrees for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Lockable Storage - key locks, digital keypads or combination locks are available on any brand name fireproof storage cabinet including FireKing, Schwab Corp and SentrySafe

Water Resistant - in addition to having a UL fire rating to protect paper documents, folders or other business records, select vertical filing cabinets include rubber seals to protect from water sprinklers and fire hoses. Waterproof file cabinets is not the appropriate terminology and "water resistant" vs. "waterproof" is a constant educational point for filing cabinets.

Safe in a File - FireKing is only manufacturer of a fireproof safe hidden inside a filing cabinet. The top drawer can be unlocked to reveal a hidden safe for storage of valuables or documents.


Computer Media vs. Paper
Traditional fireproof filing cabinets will not protect computer media from a fire. These cabinets are meant for paper documents only. The UL 350 fire rated will protect paper, the UL 125 rating will protect computer media, hard drives and backup tapes. There are special inserts available to put inside your file cabinet to add UL 125 protection for data backup storage.

Lateral vs. Vertical Filing

There are several reasons to choose a vertical over a lateral cabinet and vice versa. Space considerations, weight, location and budget all play a factor in determining which fire file is the best buy.

Most manufacturer brands offer 2 drawer, 3 drawer and 4 drawer models to accommodate nearly every storage requirement. Additionally there are different depths and widths.

Important Considerations for Lateral File Cabinets
Width - from 30" wide up to 44" wide means that you can maximize storage capacity for file folders, binders or side tab medical records.

Depth - vertical filing cabinets start as small as 20" deep and go up to a full 31" deep. When considering the overall value, a 31" deep cabinet offers far more filing space for the dollar.

Stackable File Cabinets - to keep safety in perspective we do not recommend that fire file cabinets are stacked on top of one another.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day, it's best to consult with an expert who can better understand your current storage needs and help find a product that will allow you to continue to store additional files and business records into the future.

Call Toll Free 1-866-867-0306 at any time to speak directly to an experienced professional at KL Security Enterprises, Inc.