First Alert 2017F Fire and Water Chest, 0.19 Cubic Foot, Gray
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of First Alert 2017F Fire and Water Chest, 0.19 Cubic Foot, Gray
Customer Review: Terrific
Summary: 5 Stars
Great box. Heavy, but worth it. It will keep all of my important papers safe and ready to do in an emergency.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: Word to the wise: moldy documents!
Summary: 2 Stars
The inside of this box was damp on arrival, though I purchased it new. After letting it air out for a week before using it, I put my important documents in it. When I needed them again, after several months, they were all covered in brown mold! The mold stained several of my important pieces of paper, including my passport and birth certificate.
Also, the locking unit may be made of plastic, which would not hold up in a fire of course. It could be, though, just the facade of the lock that is plastic. I can't say for sure, but keep it in mind.
The mold/dampness issue alone warrants my low rating.
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: 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.