Mosler safe?

22Rimfire

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Came across this Mosler safe for sale. Super super cheap. Business is moving and will not be needing it at their new place. Couldn’t find a tag indicating actual model number. Lock works well and does not seem to be any play in it.

Worth picking up for $50? Thinking it would be perfect for ammo storage. Suspecting it weights over 1000 lbs, maybe more. I just bought a liberty colonial but I don’t think this thing needs to go anywhere but on a slab in my garage. Anyone have experience with these safes? The business is using a forklift to load it on my trailer next week.
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IF you can move it and IF you have room for that beast then yeah, I think it would be a good storage safe.
 
How can you possibly go wrong? :confused:
 
It's worth $40 at the scrap yard so yeah I'd buy it if I had a place to put it.
 
Well I’ve paid for it and planning on picking up next week. Going to build some better shelves in it and store my ammo in it.

After doing a little research these things are not just RSCs (residential security containers) like my liberty but actual safes built for banks/business etc. the door has to be close to a half inch think plate steel.

I know for sure it’s going to be a PITA to move. It easily has to weight 1000 lbs +. I’m hoping once I get it out of that corner and inspect it closer I can get an actual model number. Say this thing ends up being 2000-3000 lbs. any issues with putting on my garage slab in the corner? House is about 13 years old so not sure how thick that concrete is. I can’t image it would cause any issues


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No idea about the concrete but I did have one thought when I saw the photo. I believe I’d do something to make sure bad guys can’t simply roll it outta the garage on the casters.
 
I am no expert on the storage of ammo but here is what I found. There is some other good info there too @22Rimfire

https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-fire-ratings/3/

Scroll down to this section:


Myth: Ammunition is protected in my fireproof gun safe.


Do not subject the storage cabinets to close confinement. Storage cabinets should be constructed of insulating materials and with a weak wall seams or joints to provide an easy means of self-venting.

Gun safes by design shouldn’t have “weak wall seams or joints”. This makes them unattractive for the purpose of safely storing quantities of powder.

The same warning to keep ammunition out of a gun safe applies to other flammables. Gun cleaning and lubrication supplies, aerosol cans, flammable oils, solvents, and other items are best kept outside of a gun safe which holds items you want to protect.
 
No idea about the concrete but I did have one thought when I saw the photo. I believe I’d do something to make sure bad guys can’t simply roll it outta the garage on the casters.

I agree 100%. Going to box it in and somehow bolt it to the floor. Going to have to get creative with that


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I agree 100%. Going to box it in and somehow bolt it to the floor. Going to have to get creative with that
If one side were against the wall, you could shoot an angle iron to the floor, against the opposing side casters (one length, front to back). They’d have to lift the safe over the iron to roll it out.
 
Now that is a real safe. Would look nice with a fresh two coats of paint. Easy to change the combination.
 
Say this thing ends up being 2000-3000 lbs. any issues with putting on my garage slab in the corner? House is about 13 years old so not sure how thick that concrete is. I can’t image it would cause any issues

Mines close to 3500 and on the garage slab for a few years now with no issues. I was forewarned that it might Crack the slab but it's been a non issue so far. Mines a little bigger and beefier, 1" plate all the way around.
 
It definitely weighs more than 1000 lb.
if you can get it off your trailer and to where you need it, then great find.
Agree that using it for ammo is a waste. Looks like a pistol safe to me.
 
It definitely weighs more than 1000 lb.
if you can get it off your trailer and to where you need it, then great find.
Agree that using it for ammo is a waste. Looks like a pistol safe to me.

From what I’ve been reading the doors alone are several hundred pounds apiece. The seller says he will have access to a forklift to help load it. Let’s hope so. My other plan was to get a pallet jack and lift it up with that. Once I get it to the door I can winch it up on my utility trailer. Trailer is rated for 5k lbs so it should handle it. I’m going to build some 2x10 ramps on the gate this week.

My ideas change daily but that is the new plan. Going to line it with shelves and use those pistol hangers. Should be able to store 40-50 pistols or more I would think [emoji16]


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Code for concrete slabs is primarily 3000 psi. That’s generally a 4” slab reinforced with either fibers in the mix or wire mesh.

Was planning on putting it in the corner of my garage. Definitely can’t put it in the house on a crawl space floor. Brian K mentioned no issues with his 3500 lbs safe. Should I be concerned about this one?


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Not on a slab no. Its probably sitting on a slab in your photo above. Your biggest issue is going to be unloading it safely from a trailer.
 
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From what I’ve been reading the doors alone are several hundred pounds apiece. The seller says he will have access to a forklift to help load it. Let’s hope so. My other plan was to get a pallet jack and lift it up with that. Once I get it to the door I can winch it up on my utility trailer. Trailer is rated for 5k lbs so it should handle it. I’m going to build some 2x10 ramps on the gate this week.

My ideas change daily but that is the new plan. Going to line it with shelves and use those pistol hangers. Should be able to store 40-50 pistols or more I would think [emoji16]


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Be really careful. Moving a safe this large can quickly turn fatal. I got my safe for free and ultimately paid someone to move it for me since they were already set up for safe moving, had the equipment, and knew all the tricks. They made it look easy.
 
Your trailer is rated for 5k, but that usually means evenly distributed. Give it a critical look before assuming that it’ll hold.
 
You can compare the model number from the inside door plate to this chart to get the weight of the safe.
 

Attachments

  • weights.pdf
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DO NOT roll that thing off the back of your trailer unless the trailer is still on the ball of the tow vehicle and latched!

My son did that with a work bench and the trailer hitch went up and removed some teeth from a young fella trying to slow it down.

A heavy duty cargo strap is a good method to control the speed coming off by friction on the ratchet.

Just $0.02 from someone who's been there!
 
Well I’ve got a local towing company coming next Sat to meet me there with a roll back. Seems like money well spent (hopefully) than trying to use my trailer. Probably much safer I suspect also. I’ll keep you all in the loop on how it goes!


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How heavy does the chart say this model is?
 
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How heavy does the chart say this model is?

Haven’t been back by the business to take a look for a model number. Didn’t see one on the initial visit. Business is closed until tomorrow. I posted on a safe related forum and they said between 2000-3000 lbs from just their initial impressions. Older than 40-50 years as well. No ones going to load this puppy into a standard truck bed!


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I saw a similar one of these roll off of a truck lift gate and almost fall on a dude. Scared him so bad that he walked around the block after he figured out he was ok. During his walk, I assume he was contemplating the meaning of life...or just trying to figure out how he was going to clean the poo out of his pants!

There were six or seven that moved it out of the old store and onto the lift gate. They almost had it up to the deck level when it shifted and rolled back off. Not sure why the guy was standing under it. No situational awareness I assume! Didn’t see how they got it back upright and moved after that. Heck of a noise hitting the ground it made though.
 
If you are worried that the contact pressure of the wheels might damage your slab (since it’s 4 point-loads rather than evenly distributed), have the rollback unload it onto some 2x10s or something, and have a few extra boards to make a path to roll it to its destination.
Can have it sit on metal plates if you are worried about wood on the concrete floor.
Or roll it without the wood and then use a floor jack to lift it just enough to slide something under each wheel wherever you park it.
 
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I saw a similar one of these roll off of a truck lift gate and almost fall on a dude. Scared him so bad that he walked around the block after he figured out he was ok. During his walk, I assume he was contemplating the meaning of life...or just trying to figure out how he was going to clean the poo out of his pants!

There were six or seven that moved it out of the old store and onto the lift gate. They almost had it up to the deck level when it shifted and rolled back off. Not sure why the guy was standing under it. No situational awareness I assume! Didn’t see how they got it back upright and moved after that. Heck of a noise hitting the ground it made though.


Common sense isn’t as common as one would think.

At the end of the day I don’t want anyone getting hurt moving this thing. If we can’t move it safely than I’m out the little bit I paid for it. No big deal.

Incase anyone runs across one of these themselves this is not fire rated. I spoke with a local safe company this morning and they said all it is is concrete and plate steel. Per him the biggest deterrent with this safe is the sheer size and weight of it. Per him he suspects it’s 2500-3000 pounds. A little heavier than the 1000-1500 I was thinking! He said it shouldn’t an issues on a garage floor weight wise. Should be a fun Saturday.




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Common sense isn’t as common as one would think.

At the end of the day I don’t want anyone getting hurt moving this thing. If we can’t move it safely than I’m out the little bit I paid for it. No big deal.

Incase anyone runs across one of these themselves this is not fire rated. I spoke with a local safe company this morning and they said all it is is concrete and plate steel. Per him the biggest deterrent with this safe is the sheer size and weight of it. Per him he suspects it’s 2500-3000 pounds. A little heavier than the 1000-1500 I was thinking! He said it shouldn’t an issues on a garage floor weight wise. Should be a fun Saturday.




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True on the common sense comment! Good luck with the move!!! Be safe...;):D
 
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Be sure to chock the wheels to keep it from shifting position during loading and unloading.
 
All “safe”in my garage as of this morning. Thing was heavy as hell but the roll back was the ticket. Thanks BBD280 for the recommendation! Money well spent to day the least. Jeppo also appreciate the angle iron idea. Going to do something along those lines.

My plan is to get it serviced in the next week and the combo changed by a local lock smith. Once that’s done and he can confirm gears/lock are in good shape I will start the process of redoing it. Inside dimensions are 20” deep 30.5” wide and 39” tall.

Thoughts on how to lay it out? I’m going to gut the inside and was thinking of having pistols on one side and long guns on the right. I’ve changed my mind several times from ammo storage, to just pistols to a mix of both.

On the inner doors I definitely plan on having a pistol/document holders to maximize space.

Saw this video and plan to paint it like he did the AMSEC


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