just had the kids lock me out by shutting the door whilst I was putting out a nappy.

no keys or phone. luckily a rapid sprint to a friend’s who luckily was in meant I could get in with a spare. both boys on sofa looking innocent…

so I need a way of hiding / securing a spare key in the garden. it will be out of sight. masterlock gets bad reviews and apparently can be opened with a bit of plastic….

what else is worth a look?

Not one with rotary dials, very easy to ‘pick’. I regularly open my neighbour’s and don’t even bother looking up the code, takes a min or so to scan 100 numbers and I know it’s a date starting with 1.

We use the Supra Keysafe, supposedly harder to pick..

an old tobacco tin buried under and inch or two of soil in the flower bed round the side of the house.

just had the kids lock me out by shutting the door whilst I was putting out a nappy

Why was the nappy on fire?!

* calls social services *

an old tobacco tin buried under and inch or two of soil in the flower bed round the side of the house.

Not quite as useful though, eg if guests turn up early I can just text them the code etc, no need to go digging in the ground looking for anything.

takes a min or so to scan 100 numbers

It only has 2 barrels?

Yeah they’re crap I’m not going to say how but without even a clue of the code the ones with 4 barrels take no time at all.

I’d check with my insurer before fitting one to make sure they don’t have something in the small print regarding them.

Can you not just fit a lock which doesn’t auto lock when the door closes?

We have a neighbour with the key and a super secret, hidden and in a locked box key for just such occasions.

This was instigated, after I flew home from Myanmar to Edinburgh, caught train x2 and walked home to discover that I hadn’t taken a key with me, it was 9:10 in the morning and all the oab household were at school or work (30 miles away), I had been up 20something hours straight, after a 3 week working trip, it was raining, 1*c and I had to walk up to school, pull one of my kids out of lessons and walk home again…when I should have been tucked up warm!

Get your neighbours a key safe too but swap keys over 🤔

Indeed. Our key safe is not on our property.

Yeah they’re crap I’m not going to say how but without even a clue of the code the ones with 4 barrels take no time at all.

Everyone I know seems to use a recent date, so start with 19 and you’ll get there.

You can pick them completely blind by feel as well, hence I bought a Supra as the 2017 onwards model is supposedly unpickable (famous last words as their original was pickable).

I have this one which looks very similar to the Supra so I will look up the flaw in the Supra to see if mine has it :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005R1AC46/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

One thing that is funny is that numbers of your ‘combination’ can be entered in any order, which I think is the same as the Supra going by the comments.

Finally, a STW thread where I can claim some expertise.

We install keysafes for older people at work and only use the SUPRA C500. It is Secure by Design Police Approved and accepted by Insurers. I’ve seen the effort and hardware required for our engineers to force them open. If you had bad intentions you could just lob the power tools through the windows or drill out a door lock much quicker than the effort need to force the keysafe open

The code pad has number and letters. Just don’t use any variation of 19** as too predictable.

There are videos online showing people opening the C500 by feeling the resistance on the buttons but this has been designed out and is not an issue on the new ones.

There are other smart solutions around including bluetooth / wifi / NFC phone linked, increasingly these are secure and I suspect there are now also other Approved by Design products but the Supra is well made, reliable and tough as nails.

I have one outside my house.

One thing that is funny is that numbers of your ‘combination’ can be entered in any order, which I think is the same as the Supra going by the comments.

Pretty much all keysafes / mechanical combination door locks are order agnostic.

*awaits lockpicking lawyer video featuring revised C500*

The old one was approved as well but could be opened very easily, just goes to show exactly what that accolade stands for.

Can you not just fit a lock which doesn’t auto lock when the door closes?

Best answer yet. Night latches are stupid things.

The old one was approved as well but could be opened very easily, just goes to show exactly what that accolade stands for.

To be fair you see hundreds of rotary lock key safes on houses and they’re all easily pickable, so it’s obviously not a common line of attack for burglary.

To be fair you see hundreds of rotary lock key safes on houses and they’re all easily pickable, so it’s obviously not a common line of attack for burglary.

I’d imagine your common burglar would see a key safe and think it was an OAP’s house. That usually means two things, they’ll be more likely be in and also they will have less stuff nickable & valuble which are quick and easy to move on…

How about have an obvious key safe with an explosive shotgun shell trap thing in it and a less obvious one with the key? :p

Common burglars don’t give a shit about OAPs.

I’d imagine your common burglar would see a key safe and think it was an OAP’s house. That usually means two things, they’ll be more likely be in and also they will have less stuff nickable & valuble which are quick and easy to move on…

Maybe I should add a fake one next to the front door as a deterrent!

We went for the Squire one from screwfix. Supposedly secure despite being a combination though 6 njmbers

I’d imagine your common burglar would see a key safe and think it was an OAP’s house

Or airbnb these days

I always thought these were the infallible solution?

Common burglars don’t give a shit about OAPs

Well they do if all they think they’ll come away with is a lingering smell of cabbage and a souvenir plate from a holiday in Clacton in 1972

Those plates are collectible items now.