DO NOT PURCHASE A WINCHESTER GUN SAFE

snowdogs

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I know, I know..... I made a mistake. Two years ago, I bought a Winchester safe. The LaGard electronic lock has failed after stuttering. Luckily, out of caution, I left the door open the last time I finally got it open. Tried every possible remedy. NO RESPONSE at all from Winchester (actually Granite Security Products). LaGard can sell me an upgraded pad/lock for $150, and I can have locksmith install, but I don't trust the crap at all. Hate to serve as an example, but there it is.
 
Is this a common issue?
How long has it been since youve tried to contact the manufacturer?
 
I know, I know..... I made a mistake. Two years ago, I bought a Winchester safe. The LaGard electronic lock has failed after stuttering. Luckily, out of caution, I left the door open the last time I finally got it open. Tried every possible remedy. NO RESPONSE at all from Winchester (actually Granite Security Products). LaGard can sell me an upgraded pad/lock for $150, and I can have locksmith install, but I don't trust the crap at all. Hate to serve as an example, but there it is.
I know with my Cannon safe from Tractor Supply had the same issue a few years ago. Got an S&G combination lock on Amazon and replaced the electronic one ( I was told they are designed to fail after about 5 years). Anyway put it on myself -pretty easy and have had no more worries since.
 
Electronic lock on a gun safe is just a bad idea to me. No matter the brand safe.
 
Can you replace it with an S&G/quality electronic lock?
I got an electronic lock as well. After testing the mechanical lock, my eyes made it a pain for me to get the exact scribe marks. After 4 tries it still didn't open I chose the less reliable electronic.
 
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I have recently experienced a mechanical lock failure. Went to a friends wedding at his brothers house and saw his safe in the garage with the combination written on tape on the door. When I questioned him about it he said he couldn't get it to open and he would give $20 to anyone who could. After an hour or more and 6-8 people failing to get in it one guy finally got it to open by dialing the combo and banging on the lock after the last number. Never heard of a mechanical lock failure till then but I saw this one in person.
 
Electronic locks with no mechanical back up and the stories of extremely slow service have kept me from buying one of those TSC Cannon safes on Black Friday for several years.
Never looked into a mechanical replacement, this could warrant some research.

So far as mechanical failing, yes anything can, dust, grime and/or corrosion are most likely cause in a lock mechanism, probably why banging worked in the above example. Electronic still have moving pieces, though maybe fewer, susceptible to those same issues, plus all the electronic failure modes.
 
I have a 'Winchester' safe made by Treadlock and have had no issues with it in 11 years.
 
Mine failed barely a year after purchase on my Winchester. Had the lock replaced under warranty and did not trust it. Bought a S&G dial lock off ebay for $20 and installed it myself. Very easy.

Definitely buy the key to reset the combination. Do not shut the door until you are confident you got the setup of the new lock correct and unlock it several times.
 
Keep your thumb on the dial as you spin the combination,
helps you keep your turns, you will learn to open it very quickly.
 
Yes, the lock is well known for failure, which I did not know when I bought it...... and Granite Security Products (licensee of Winchester's brand name) is well known for poor customer service, which I did not know when I bought the safe.
 
My wife has problems with the mechanical locks on my safes. She wants a safe moved upstairs so she can access it easier,but I don't trust the electronic keypads either.
I just bought this lock to install on a smaller safe. Hopefully it is the best of both worlds. Stay tuned. I will be the first victim.

SnipImage.JPG
 
I know with my Cannon safe from Tractor Supply had the same issue a few years ago. Got an S&G combination lock on Amazon and replaced the electronic one ( I was told they are designed to fail after about 5 years). Anyway put it on myself -pretty easy and have had no more worries since.
I bought one of the Cannon TSC models recently. I'm interested in a replacement/upgrade for it too. Any links for replacement or tutorials?

CHRIS
 
My wife has problems with the mechanical locks on my safes. She wants a safe moved upstairs so she can access it easier,but I don't trust the electronic keypads either.
I just bought this lock to install on a smaller safe. Hopefully it is the best of both worlds. Stay tuned. I will be the first victim.

View attachment 70988

That is a very interesting concept. Keep us posted on that one!
 
My wife has problems with the mechanical locks on my safes. She wants a safe moved upstairs so she can access it easier,but I don't trust the electronic keypads either.
I just bought this lock to install on a smaller safe. Hopefully it is the best of both worlds. Stay tuned. I will be the first victim.

View attachment 70988
Where did you get yours from?
 
My Winchester safe pad failed a few years ago also. I bought a different brand off of Amazon, watched a yt video, and fixed it myself very easily. And it cost me a lot less than 150 bucks.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
Where did you get yours from?

I ordered it from Fee-Bay. The outfit was from Calif, but free shipping with buy it now.The prices are all over the place, keep checking.
I will try to write a DIY when I get into it. First, I want to move the safe out to the shop where I have a torch and welder. I don't know what I may run into.
 
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I'm looking to buy a safe soon and don't want to spend over 1k, any brand recommendations?
 
Another reason not to buy a Winchester safe, and warning for anyone looking to replace their lock.
I have an old Win safe I don't use much that I got from TSC because it was cheap. I replaced the digital today with a S&G combo dial lock, but it was a struggle.

Most of the digital keypads either twist and come off or can be pushed up and come off. My particular keypad didn't have this option. It was screwed in through the faceplate, so I think the only way to get it off short of prying it off (which is what I did) is to completely destroy the face of the keypad so you can get at the screws.

uopI8fo.jpg


After managing to get it off, it was mostly smooth sailing, but the holes on the front didn't align with the combo spindle bracket thing (and they were stripped anyway), so I had to drill and tap to new holes for it.
 
Another reason not to buy a Winchester safe, and warning for anyone looking to replace their lock.
I have an old Win safe I don't use much that I got from TSC because it was cheap. I replaced the digital today with a S&G combo dial lock, but it was a struggle.

Most of the digital keypads either twist and come off or can be pushed up and come off. My particular keypad didn't have this option. It was screwed in through the faceplate, so I think the only way to get it off short of prying it off (which is what I did) is to completely destroy the face of the keypad so you can get at the screws.

uopI8fo.jpg


After managing to get it off, it was mostly smooth sailing, but the holes on the front didn't align with the combo spindle bracket thing (and they were stripped anyway), so I had to drill and tap to new holes for it.

For mine the keypad face is adhesive you have to peel back this part to get to the screws. Once peeled back and removed the keypad stuck right back down. I also had to drill new holes for the lock to align. Not a big deal as the old holes are covered.
 
Friends don't let friends by junk safes...buy drake
They're good safes, but not everyone has $2000 dollars laying around.

The average person is not going to buy a Drake to put their Hi Point carbine and PSA AR-15 in.
 
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