need ideas to lock cargo container

[usmcpop]

http://www.nuvoage.ca/Lock%20System.htm

[JTMcCracken]

I started helping to move, sell and install safes in 1983 and I'd be very suprised at any safe rated to 8 hours. All safe ratings I'm familiar with are based on one hour for break in (rating depends on what tools are required for professionals to breach the safe in an hour) and fire ratings are usually in the one to two hour range. With my welding rig close by there is not a safe on the planet I can't get into within an hour. I've helped build vaults for new construction on banks, and while they are harder to breach, they can all be cut into given enough time. The best security your bank's vault has is that most people will be caught long before they get in due to location, noise, ect.

I've built quite a few "anti theft" type devices over the years and of course the most secure safe/vault/closet/whatever is the one that the thief doesn't even know exists. Nobody ever tried to break into a safe or even a cardboard box, if they couldn't find it, this is easier to do than it sounds in any house.

But a conex is out there for the world to see. I hate to even mention this method but I'm guessing there aren't a lot of thieves on this forum, and a lot of poeple already do this so I'll add that a lot of times the best "lock" isn't a lock at all but a bolt that runs thru a lug. I've seen and done this where the bolt head was right out in the oppening for all to see but blended in with a bunch of other bolts so no one would really know that this was a locking devise. If you put it in plain sight it must not look like it gets removed/reinstalled regularly, it should just blend in. That can be hard to do especially with painted bolts.
Better than that is the hidden bolt/rod that takes an allen wrench to run in and out. Now the only outward sign is a small hole (thru which the long t handle allen wrench fits), the allen wrench can run a long bolt/setscrew into a lug attached to the door. Or it can be welded/brazed to a larger(stronger) bolt/rod/whatever, that engages a lug welded to the door.

Not a lot of tweaker thieves carry a set of t handle allens, but if that worries you just weld/braze an extra long extension to the tool so nothing over the counter will run the lock.

These can be very hard to figure out even when the small hole is clearly visible. If you hide the hole make sure it's not in a place that can be obstructed by packed snow/ice/dried mud.

The only drawback to one of these systems is that you don't want people to watch you lock/unlock, this isn't a problem in a lot of cases but keep it in mind.
I secure tools in some pretty remote locations where the low lifes can spend all night or even a couple of days breaking in if they desire.


JTMcC.

[mudbug]

I went looking for measures to prevent picking a lock--- I found over 40 instructional videos on "How to Pick a Lock" that really S%$KS You can now go to breaking & entering school on the www.

[JTMcCracken]

If I don't have to get into something very often, or if I'm going to be gone for an extended period of time and I'm concerned I'll just weld the thing shut in a way that's pretty easy for me to remove later, but hard for the everyday humans to cut off.

I live in a rural area on a 32 acre "compound", my Mom lives there as well. One year when my Dad was alive (he was a firearms dealer) we were both gone on vacation at the same time (usually one of us was around the place). I took his entire inventory, plus his personal firearms and mine, placed them carefully in the trunk of a 1966 Cadillac Sedan DeVille I had (you could literally sleep a family of four in that trunk comfortably), backed the Caddy trunk up into the biggest cat claw bush on the property (heavy thorns there), let the air out of the tires and took the distributor cap and rotor off.
Thet's probably the best "safe" i've ever owned including high dollar store bought models


JTMcC.

[usmcpop]

Young one needed some more filler rod at work one day, but the boss with the key wasn't in. He flattened a couple pieces of 410 filler, ground them a bit and made a lock pick. He lucked out and picked the cabinet lock in about 30 seconds.

[9erhater]

well, if it is man made, it can be broke into. the big fad around here is. they are using those cordless dremel tools with the carbide discs. so if you see sparks coming from your storage boxes. shoot three feet behind the sparks.

[Sberry]

I worked next to a shop where a couple guys built a safe, were trying to get into some business and the insurance underwriter came out to look, took a chop saw and gut into it in about 45 minutes, failed.
A good book is The "Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation", describes safes and some of the break in ratings. Some have laminated alloys layered with insulations and complicated locking mechanisms. I will agree I could break in to common safes in short order, some in a few minutes or even an hour with common hand tools. Some are simple. wall mounted have weak backs, rip them out and shear the back off, big floor models flip upside down and tear the bottom off.
I am not sure what the fire ratings are of a "burglar proof" and it has been a while since I read the book but I believe the entry rating was considered 8 hours, many of these have a safe within a safe. I am not sure what tools were considered in this factor. As was said, I am sure time/noise are issues, amount of equipment needed?
It could be looked up, several yrs ago someone broke into a vault in Spain, some very old huge bank. Took weeks and they breach it on Friday night, weld the door shut from the inside. Took weeks as they tunnel from a parking garage and sewer system, had a rail system, dumped the dirt in the sewer. They stole power and there were 17 ox/acyt bottles. They cut thru the back and jack some boxes out of the way, did cooking in the vault. Come Monday after big holiday weekend the bank couldn't open it and only reason they didn't double the 20 mil take was heavy rains back up the sewers. I think they figure 6 or 8 men several weeks.

[Jim-Tx]

I've built a couple of gun safes and used the round type (American brand) locks that have the shank in the rear and the key comes in from the bottom. Those are recessed into the door and cover a hole where an allen wrench must be used to actually disengage the spring loaded locking bolts. IMHO there is no way to defeat them with tools a house burgular would normally carry. If they have a cutting torch or metal cutting circular saw they can cut the box open. My theory is that if they can't open it with a pry bar and simple tools they won't get in. If they show up with a fully equipped rig with saws, torches, etc they can get into just about anything. These safes are located inside a locked garage and inside a locked room accessed from the garage. I also believe in layers.

[jamal]

Container locks

Hi if you still need the container door locks there is quite a few on Google or if you still cant find one come to my site and i will find it for you

www.rorolock.co.uk:)

[metalmeltr]

Oe time on CSI ther was a guy that had a plasma cutter with a built in compressor and he was get ing into anything he could think of.

[Hotfoot]

Oe time on CSI ther was a guy that had a plasma cutter with a built in compressor and he was get ing into anything he could think of.

Ahhh! TV! I bet it was the size of a lunch box, and could cut through 6" of steel like a razor through typing paper, eh??

[obewan]

You could try hooking up an electric fence charger to shock them. (like the cows). You would need to hide the power supply somewhere. My dad did it once to secure our garage and it solved all our problems.

[metalmeltr]

Ahhh! TV! I bet it was the size of a lunch box, and could cut through 6" of steel like a razor through typing paper, eh??

Actually no it was a prduction model that could cut(or so thay said) 1" at 10ipm, but that semes like a litte much for one with a built in compressor. are ther plasma cutters that can cut 6"?