NOVEMBER 9, 2016
The following safe ratings are designed to help you make decisions about what type of safe is right for your needs.
UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories, an independent organization dedicated to educating businesses and the public about safety and performance of products in a wide spectrum of industries. UL has been testing and rating products for more than 100 years, and evaluates nearly 20,000 products annually. The UL rating is an indicator of product quality and certification of safety.
There are three main UL ratings:
TL rated safes are combination lock safes that offer protection against combinations of mechanical, electrical, and cutting tools. Safes with a TL rating will resist abuse for a varying amount of time, depending on which classification tier they fall under, from picking tools to hand tools, mechanical or electrical tools, grinding points, carbide drills, pressure-applying devices, cutting wheels, power saws and impact tools. Some levels of TR-rated safes can also withstand welding and cutting torch abuse at certain levels.
There are five main TL ratings:
A B-rated safe’s walls are less than 1/2″ thick, and its doors are less than 1″ inch thick. A B-rated safe earns its rating with the presence of a locking device. Typically, lock work and re-locks are examined when choosing a B-rated safe. At its core, this is a safe with a substantial foundation, one capable of easily resisting hours of brute force abuse by amateur criminals. These safes will generally be capable of withstanding entry attempts by semi-skilled criminals for an hour or more, depending largely on the types of tools used to attempt entry.
A B-rated safe’s walls are less than 1/2″ thick, and its doors are less than 1″ inch thick. A B-rated safe earns its rating with the presence of a locking device. Typically, lock work and re-locks are examined when choosing a B-rated safe. At its core, this is a safe with a substantial foundation, one capable of easily resisting hours of brute force abuse by amateur criminals. These safes will generally be capable of withstanding entry attempts by semi-skilled criminals for an hour or more, depending largely on the types of tools used to attempt entry.
C Rate safes have steel walls that are at least 1/2” thick and doors that are at least 1” thick, as well as a lock. A Class C security safe provides roughly double the penetration protection and tends to have roughly the same amount of added burglary countermeasures as class B security safes.
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