First Alert 2096DF Waterproof Fire Safe Review

First Alert 2096DF Features

Looking for a good waterproof fire safe? The First Alert 2096DF might be exactly what you’re looking for. The First Alert 2096DF safe can protect all your valuables from fire, water, and theft. This model can withstands temperatures up to 1700° F for up to an hour. It also provides a waterproof seal to ensure moisture doesn’t get in.

The safe has high quality hinges to keep thieves at bay, but it also provides wheels and a handle for convenient transportation if necessary. This particular home safe is fully waterproof, preventing any moisture from getting to any of your important items — even if the chest encounters floods or a sudden burst of water from a broken pipe or failing roof.

If your primary concerns are protection for your important valuables against theft and robbery, the 2096DF doest disappoint. Not only does the safe come with an easy-to-use digital lock, it also forces you to place a key into the lock in order to open the safe as an added second security factor.

2096DF Details

The First Alert 2096DF safe is composed of steel with a plastic covering, and it weighs in at a solid, but not unmovable 145 pounds. The dimensions of the safe are 24.13 by 17.63 by 23.38 inches, with 2.1 cubic feet of usable interior space.

Here’s a link to the PDF manual for this model.

Purchasing

The 2096DF ships with “four AA batteries, two adjustable/removable shelves, one removable file rack, two emergency override keys, one removable handle, and one operation and installation guide.”

Although the safe comes with a five-year general warranty, it has a lifetime after-fire warranty that can help cover the loss of your important items after a fire, so be sure to read all the details and send in the registration information when you get it!

If you order through Amazon, this safe can also be shipped to a variety of countries beyond the United States. When you receive and unbox your safe, be sure to keep the desiccant bag it comes with, since it will absorb the moisture that enters the safe once you close it. This can help protect your important items from moisture, or water, damage.

First Alert 2096DF Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Easily store documents, along with CDs, USB drives, external hard drives, and other items where you store your important files.
• Digital lock is easy to set up, allowing for a range from a three-digit code up to an eight-digit code.
• Weighing in at 145 pounds, it provides protection against burglars since it requires at least two people to maneuver.
• Lots of room inside to place variously shaped valuables, and there is no hassle with opening the safe.
• Simple, precise setup instructions.
• Batteries included

Cons:

• It requires 4 AA batteries for the digital lock, but the product comes with these batteries. Eventually, of course, they’ll need to be replaced.
• The instructions to program the digital lock code are incorrect. According to one product user, “The proper sequence is as follows:
  1. Safe open, bolts extended, door handle in down position.
  2. Open plastic cover.
  3. Press reset button in door.
  4. Enter new passcode on keypad follow by #.
  5. Enter new passcode again followed by #.
  6. Green light = passcode changed successfully.”
• Each time you open the safe, you must lift the plastic cover (which seems to be “cheaply made” as referred to by one customer).
• Even with the convenient use of wheels and the handle, the safe cannot be wheeled across carpet; therefore, it must be dragged across carpeted floors. The safe may also leave behind unwanted track marks on hardwood flooring.
• Important documents, jewelry, money, and other fragile items need to be placed in an “airtight dishwasher safe container” when placing these items into the safe, as it is possible, over time, some moisture may accumulate inside, as in any safe of this type.
• You must air out your safe every 30 days to let the moisture out of the safe, leaving it open for at least 20 minutes.

Verdict

The First Alert 2096 is a great value if you’re looking for some added protection for your important items and documents. Your stuff will be protected against water, fire, and theft. Importantly, it is spacious enough to keep all of your valuables inside.

Although you do need to be a little cautious in what kind of items you place in the safe, as temperature sensitive and explosive items are not advised to place in here, since the internal temperatures of the safe cannot support items like pearls when the safe comes in contact with high temperatures, I still recommend the First Alert 2096DF. It’s simple to use, with easy-to-follow directions, and will help ensure that your items are safe and sound

Go check it out on Amazon for more information and to purchase.