Wall Mounted Home Key Safe Box

The spare under the mat is not a plan.

Somebody always needs to get in while you are not there. The cleaner, the sparky, the mate feeding the dog, the kid who finishes school hours before you finish work. So the spare ends up under a pot, on top of the door frame or in the wheel arch, which are the first three places anyone bothers to look.

A key box moves that spare somewhere that needs a code instead of a guess. Screw one to the wall beside the door, or hang the cable-shackle model off a gate, a handle or a rail. Set your own four-digit code and hand out four numbers instead of cutting another key. When the tradie finishes the job you change the code and that is the end of it, with no keys to chase and no locks to rekey.

Be straight about what it is, though. A domestic key box is a deterrent and a convenience. It stops the opportunist who is trying door handles and lifting pot plants, and it solves the spare-key problem properly. It is not a strongroom, it carries no burglary-resistance rating we can point to, and anyone who turns up with a grinder and a few minutes will get into almost any key box on the market, this one included. Mount it where it can be seen, so a thief would have to work in the open, and pick the model to suit the job.

What It Does

• Lets tradies in without a key cut: read four digits down the phone, change them the day the job finishes, and you never handed a key to anyone.
• Gets the kids inside: a code they can remember beats a key they will lose out of a school bag by the second week.
• Keeps shed keys at the shed: the cable-shackle models hang straight off a gate chain, a roller door handle or a pump shed hasp, so the key lives where the lock is instead of on your belt.
• Handles a late arrival: guests at the weekender or the holiday let roll in at eleven at night and let themselves in without you driving out to meet them.
• Holds a spare for the ute: a second vehicle key kept at the house, not in the same pocket as the one you are about to lock in the tray.

Key Features

• Four-dial combination lock: ten thousand possible codes, and no batteries, no app and no phone signal between you and your keys.
• Resettable code: the factory default is 0-0-0-0 and it should be changed to your own number before you put a key in it.
• Key override on two models: both Wall Mount Large - Combination and Key models, grey and black, carry a keyhole above the dials for the day the code goes out of somebody's head.
• Two ways to mount it: the Wall Mount and both Wall Mount Large models screw to a wall through the back plate; the two Cable Shackle models hang from a braided steel cable loop. The supplier does not specify the size of that loop opening.
• Covered dial window: the wall-mounted models carry a sliding cover across the dials, which keeps rain, red dust and grit off the mechanism between uses.
• Sized for a real bunch: the supplier states up to 12 keys for the Wall Mount Large models; the Cable Shackle models have a 55 x 29 mm cavity, which is a house key, a car key and a card.
• Made for an outside wall: water resistant, with the dial mechanism sitting behind the door rather than exposed to the weather.
• Five models, two finishes: all black, or black with a grey face, so it can either disappear into a dark door frame or be obvious on purpose.

Free delivery to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you order, and up to three weeks to regional and remote addresses.

Limits

This is the part most key box listings leave out, so here it is up front.

• It is not burglar proof: it is a deterrent against the opportunist. A determined thief with power tools defeats almost any domestic key box, and we are not going to pretend this one is different.
• No security rating: no standard is marked on the product, no test certificate was sighted, and it is not police approved or insurance approved. Anyone telling you otherwise about a box at this price is guessing.
• Ask your insurer first: some home policies have something to say about keys stored outside the building. Worth a two-minute phone call before you rely on it.
• Water resistant, not sealed: no IP rating is stated by the supplier. It will take rain and dust on an external wall. Do not submerge it, do not aim a pressure washer at it, and expect a hosing of salt air near the coast to eventually find the dials.
• The Cable Shackle models do not bolt on: despite the product title, the two Cable Shackle models hang from a braided steel cable loop and have no wall fixings. If you want it screwed to brick, choose the Wall Mount or one of the two Wall Mount Large models.
• Four digits is four digits: ten thousand codes stops guessing, not watching. Anyone standing behind you while you dial it has your code, so change it after any job and after any handover.
• The override key reads the code: on the two key models, whoever holds the override key can open the lid and read the current combination straight off the back of the lock. Keep that key inside the house, not on the ring you carry around.
• Fixings are not confirmed: the supplier does not state whether mounting screws and wall plugs are supplied. Have plugs and screws on hand, and a masonry bit if you are going into brick or render.
• No material thickness stated: the supplier gives no wall thickness or body weight for any model, so we are not quoting one.

Q & A

Which model do I pick if I cannot drill the wall?
One of the two Cable Shackle models. They hang from a braided steel cable loop that goes over a gate chain, a roller door handle, a hasp or a rail. The supplier does not publish the size of that opening, so measure what you intend to hang it on. Renters and site sheds are exactly what they are for.

Can I change the combination?
Yes. All five models use resettable dials. The factory default is 0-0-0-0. Change it to your own four digits before you put a key in it, and change it again whenever somebody who had the code no longer needs it.

What happens if I forget the code?
On the two Wall Mount Large - Combination and Key models you use the override key to open the lid, and the current combination can then be read off the back of the lock. The Wall Mount and the two Cable Shackle models have no key override, so if you forget the code on those there is no way back in without destroying the box.

How many keys will it actually hold?
The supplier states up to 12 keys for the two Wall Mount Large models, which have a 115 x 92 x 50 mm cavity. The Cable Shackle models are much smaller at 55 x 29 mm, which suits a couple of keys and a card. No internal size is published for the Wall Mount - Combination, Grey Face. A bulky car remote will eat most of the room in the smaller models.

Can I leave it outside?
It is water resistant and designed to live on an external wall, with a sliding cover over the dials on the wall-mounted models. There is no IP rating stated, so treat it as rain and dust resistant rather than sealed. Give the dials a spray of dry lubricant now and then if it sits in a dusty spot.

What is it made of?
The supplier lists aluminium alloy for the Wall Mount - Combination, Grey Face and does not state a material for the other four models. No thickness figure is published for any of them. We would rather tell you that than quote a number nobody can back up.

Which model holds the most?
The two Wall Mount Large - Combination and Key models. The supplier states up to 12 keys and a 115 x 92 x 50 mm cavity, which is comfortably the roomiest of the five, and they are the only pair with a key override. The Wall Mount is the compact rectangular box at 94 x 72 x 37 mm outside, and the two Cable Shackle models are smaller again at 55 x 29 mm inside — a couple of keys and a card.

What about shipping?
Free delivery to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you place the order, and up to three weeks to regional and remote addresses.

Specs