First Alert 2017F Fire and Water Chest, 0.19 Cubic Foot, Gray
by First Alert
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List Price: Our Price: $34.00 You Save: $14.00 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $32.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of First Alert 2017F Fire and Water Chest, 0.19 Cubic Foot, Gray
Customer Review: Would Not Recommend
Summary: 1 Stars
At first glance, this appeared to be a wonderful solution for protecting important papers and cash in the event of fire. As others have noted, however, mildew is a major, major problem with this unit. It seems that the waterproof seal does such a good job of making the box airtight that even the slightest amount of moisture whatsoever inside the unit will multiply quickly into damp, smelly mildew. And I'm talking about even the moisture from a human hand.
We tried everything in the world to prevent mildew from forming. Before placing items in the box, we insured their moisture-free condition by drying them in a warm oven and then wearing latex gloves to place them in the box. Didn't work. We dumped baking soda in the box. Again, no good. We scattered a bag of silica gel in the box. Again, mildew formed quickly.
Finally, we got rid of the box and voilà: no more mildew! This firebox seems like a great idea and appears sturdy and well built, but mildew issues make it impractical for storing anything except moldy cheese.
Edit (added 1/7/2011): Rather than wasting money on this piece of trash, do an Amazon search for SentrySafe. The make products similar to those of First Alert for about the same amount of money but apparently don't have the mildew and mold issues that this unit has. Reviewer ratings strongly suggest as much.
Customer Review: Useless and desctructive, your documents will be covered in mold.
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this fire safe box in 2008 to protect my most important documents such as the title to our cars, our passports, social security cards, birth certificates, and my certificate of naturalization. Luckily I had to go renew my I9 form today and caught the mold starting to develop all over these documents. Our American passports were just covered in brown mold (although my Canadian one barely had any, which is interesting). The title for my car, my social security card, and some cash we store for emergencies was also covered. My certificate of birth and naturalization were starting to get some mold on the edges. If I hadn't caught the mold today I fear it would have been much worse in a few weeks or months when it would have likely devoured the flimsier paper items like the car titles and birth/naturalization certificates.
Nothing in the documentation said this would happen or ways to prevent it, and I even kept a couple silica desiccant bags in there to be safe. I was foolish enough to trust everything that establishes my citizenship and identity in this destructive box and I'm writing this review as a warning to others so that they avoid this product like the moldy brown plague that will inevitably be contained within it.
Customer Review: Zero Stars...MOLDY and Very Damp items!! }:-(
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased this item on Amazon last year for $34. I thought that the "Water" portion of the product description would save my important items from moisture. INCORRECT. I opened it recently to dig out some certificates and this disgusting brown mold was on every piece of paper. Nearly brought me to tears since most of the items are not replaceable. After cleaning everything and giving the chest a good lysol wipe down and thoroughly drying it I wanted to give it another test. Perhaps I should keep everything in ziploc baggies inside the chest. I put some crisp dry cash in a slide ziploc baggie (and no it wasn't a freezer safe bag...maybe that should be the next test) and shut the chest, locked it up so there would be a good seal. That should protect it. WRONG. After a couple of days I went to check on my cash. Damp, very damp. }:-( Great so I have a safe that actually does the opposite of protecting my important things, it ruins them even through ziploc baggies. Waterproof/safe? NO WAY. DO NOT BUY this safe, unless you like mold.Customer Review: Mold issue
Summary: 1 Stars
Just got off the phone with First Alert and asked them WHY my birth certificate and passport are now wrecked by mold.
They told me that this is a known issue, and the reason you get condensation in the box is because it's so air tight that the moisture that's naturally contained in your paper documents has no place to go, so it turns to mold.
Not sure if I buy this or not, but they said that in their new instruction manuals it states in big letters that you should air this thing out once a month. Mine isn't one of the newer ones, actually it's one of the "Honeywell" models and I don't remember reading anything about having to air my box out. Kind of crappy.
They did get my address and are going to be sending out those silica bags to me free of charge. I guess they come in a pack of 6 and you can just call them up whenever you need some more and they'll send them out no questions asked.
So I guess the customer service side is pretty good for a product that's sub par at best.
Customer Review: Wouldn't buy again
Summary: 1 Stars
As many other reviews have stated, this box has a problem with dampness. Within a few days of being in the box all my documents had gotten damp, and unsealed envelopes had gotten moist and sealed themselves. I tried adding additional desiccant packs, but that didn't help. I called Honeywell and they said they were aware of the problem and they recommended opening the box up and airing it out at least once a month, which just wasn't convenient for me. I had the box stored in a closet, which Honeywell said is known to increase the problem, but as it's a rather large box there aren't a lot of places it fits conveniently in my small apartment. I returned the box to Amazon. The inside storage space was sufficient, though the box itself is rather large. The lock mechanism seemed fine, but I don't think the box is built for high security - more for fire resistance.