Why is it necessary to have a key storage box/safe?
For starters – these key safes, whether they are digital, portable, wall mounted or even padlock based, are much more secure than a basic key rack.
If you own properties, manage buildings or just have lots of doors and possessions that require unlocking, the number of keys under your control might be substantial. A basic, simple key rack is very unsafe.
If the whole rack is stolen or lost, then you are going to have some issues to deal with. This alone is reason enough to consider getting yourself a secure storage box or a safe box for keys.
Most of the popular ones on the market today tend to be fairly compact but large enough to hold quite a number of keys. There are also a variety of portable style safes that are very handy for anyone on the move.
You can use these boxes to put car, house, basement, attic, barn or any other keys inside. The box will provide secure storage for what we should think as a very precious set of items. Seems simple enough, right?
These lockable key storage cases will serve you well
Keeping all of your keys on one chain or in a drawer is not going to keep your keys safe. If you manage a building, your keys have to be neatly organized.
Instead of always sorting a colossal chunk of keys, tangled into a mess, keep them properly stored in a lockable key storage cabinet or a small key safe box.
Those boxes and cabinets are usually made of metal, many of which are solid steel. Unlike standard hook racks, they won’t rust and deform over time.
For keys alone – these may be better than a regular safe
Some of you might wonder – ‘Well, why not get a regular safe then? It’s bigger, more secure and a whole lot versatile than a key box, right?’
Yes, and no. A safe is great if you have a lot of things you want to protect, amongst which – keys. However, if you don’t have a lot of valuable items that need to be stored in a safe or they are in an entirely different location from your keys – a safe is much more difficult to properly fit and a lot costlier to buy.
So, all in all, if you have only keys that need storing, buy a key safe or lockbox instead of spending cash on large safes.
How to find the best type of key storage lock box?
The key storage cabinet size is a crucial factor
The size will and should impact your decision. As mentioned above, many of these storage boxes are fairly small, storing a few keys at most. The upside is the smallness, which allows placing them in inconspicuous locations and out of plain sight.
These would be difficult for a thief or unsuspecting intruder to notice. However, the downside is the fact that you are only able to put a few keys inside.
Larger cabinets might require a dedicated spot on a wall or in a room. This is not convenient for everyone as it takes much more work to cover and hide them as well as much more space to properly fit them.
Just take into account that small boxes can hold up to 10 keys, medium size maybe up to 50 keys and the larger cabinet boxes might have the storage capacity to hold 200 units and more. A big difference from small to large.
If you decide to place your key lock box outside, make sure that your outdoor key storage box is waterproof and is put out of sight.
Wall-mounted cabinet or a portable key box?
There are only two different types of safe storage options for keys, (besides a regular safe). Some are portable while the others are not suitable for moving.
If you travel a lot or wish to keep some keys on you at all times, then definitely go for a small portable key case.
Wall-mounted units are not that difficult to bolt to a wall as long as you have basic DIY skills. Some models will be harder to fit than others but it all really depends on the quality of the storage safe itself and, of course, the brand.
A big plus is that most wall-mounted cabinets are sturdier and come equipped with better locks. Speaking of which…
What is the best key safe lock type?
The lock type is probably the main feature which helps determine the safest option on the market. Color & aesthetics are not as important as protection, at least for key safes and lock boxes that is.
Regular combination locks are ubiquitous. They are, however, mostly present on the cheapest models and on smaller boxes, where fitting anything else would be either too expensive or inconvenient.
Still the most popular are regular key locks, but in terms of safety, they are not very secure. A joint force of combination and key locks might also be available on some models.
The combination versions are fairly reliable because you need a key and knowledge of the combination to open. For thieves, that means a heap of trouble.
Finally – an electronic keypad lock. An electronically locked safe cabinet and/or lock box might be more expensive, but the technology also offers excellent protection.
Key safe FAQ’s
Here’s another important, yet often overlooked factor. If you have a key rack, it is way simpler to get a small lock box.
However, if you manage a building, office, whatever else or just have tons of individual keys lying around. Well, then a wall-mounted or regular key cabinet is definitely the better route.
As we’ve mentioned before, the best place should be inconspicuous and hidden from plain sight. Choose between outdoor and indoor locations.
It depends on your needs. Generally speaking, most are better indoors and placed in a spot where only authorized personnel and you can reach it. It has to be inaccessible for the general public.
Of course, you can. Key storage boxes do not limit the type of key which can be stored within.
However, we strongly recommend not placing every single key into one box. Besides, the keys have to fit, so make sure you know the size and the measurements of the box and your keys, before buying.
Nope. Nothing is. However, these boxes and wall-mounted cabinets are designed in such a way which should make it seem that the thief would have too much trouble trying to open it.
Yes, most lock boxes and cabinets are secure and fairly tamper-proof, but calling it 100% theft-proof would be inaccurate.
Best Key Storage Padlock
It would be difficult to choose which, out of so many, would be the best type of key storage padlock. They all have their good points and bad points, however I can pick out the ones that seem to be the most popular right now.
First, let me clear something up…these aren’t really padlocks per se; not in the traditional sense anyway. These are mini key safes that LOOK like padlocks.
They come in various sizes with a standard size being small or compact…designed to store just one or two important keys. Many of these are used for outdoor key storage, for example, to get into the garage or a garden shed. For this reason some of the better quality padlocks have vinyl-coating to protect from the outside elements. Some even come with special weather protection covers.
These key safe boxes are portable and so can be carried anywhere.How portable depends on the size. The bigger key storage padlocks can hold bunches of keys whereas the smaller versions may only manage to store one or two keys at the most.
As far as locking mechanisms go, they tend to be three or four digit combination locks. Most combination lock versions tend to have a minimum of three digit pass codes but the larger ones may start at four digit combinations. Neither one is really better than the other…it is all to do with preference.
For additional features some have built-in lights so you can see the combination digits in the dark. There are those with plastic rain covers to protect from rusting and some can even be mounted on the wall.
For now, the trending bestselling key storage padlock is from the Master Lock brand. There are a few top sellers right now from this brand with pretty good reviews across the board.
