Outdoor Secure Storage

So, we responded to a fire call a few days ago - massive fire, we lost the house and almost had a forest fire start up...but anyway...

The homeowner was very lucky, the ONLY room we saved was the room with his important papers, photos and all that. Which got me to thinking about some sort of discreet outdoor underground storage solution for important papers and CD-ROM's to keep things in the event of a fire.

I've considered a spackle bucket with Gamma Seal lid, but that's kind of small, and was wondering what other ideas the collective mind here might have. It's going to have to be very weatherproof (obviously) and easy to hide & secure.

I also thought about digging a hole and dropping some cement into the bottom and sticking some metal loops in the wet cement to provide for a place to lock items down.

I looked at a Pelican Case, they seem quite strong and secure too.

Look at fire resistant lockable storage box/fire safe. You can find these at Home Depot, Lowe's and most likely Sears. They run around $20-50 depending upon the size and features you might want. They are generally watertight and will provide approx. 3 hours of heat protection. Pete

Here are some examples:

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=50401-254-1100

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=49770-254-1170

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=50056-254-S0310

About those Sentry brand "fire" chests & safes:

I was recently given 2 of the smaller, briefcase-style ones (the first listed in Pete's links), and a larger "safe" style (the 3rd link).

The instructions clearly state that they're not waterproof, and also that they are not designed to protect computer media , such as diskettes & CDs. It also voids the warranty if you store a firearm or ammo in one, too.

After reading what it won't protect, and what you aren't supposed to store in it, both my wife & I wondered what good the things were! They were a gift; otherwise, I wouldn't have them in the house.

I suppose one could travel with the smaller ones, handcuffing or otherwise chaining them to a pipe in a hotel room, but it would just attract attention to do so.

Martin, as for storage (dare I say "cache"?), try searching the internet for caching techniques, since that's essentially what you're doing. Larger diameter PVC pipe (schedule 40) with a screw-off closure would work well. The 5-gal buckets you suggest could also work, as would various ammo cans (I've a couple of 20mm cans that are great shooting or truckbed tool boxes.) You could even nest smaller cans (or jars, for that matter--think "Dead Sea Scrolls") in larger containers to provide more waterproof storage. Don't forget dessicant, & maybe nitrogen purging...

Oh, wait, I'm going a bit off the deep end, aren't I? <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, if anyone's interested in the Sentry products, check them out thoroughly first, & be sure they'll actually do what you think they will.

David

Rent a safety deposit box. The archaeological record is rich in treasures secreted away by owners who never retrieved them.

I'd like to second that the Sentry stuff is useful ONLY for paper, not photo negatives, computer media of any kind - basically anything that can't handle 300 degrees for two hours. Also, if they fall over (a common thing in a fire) they can loose their effectiveness as a fire-resistant container. That's why I want an outdoor, off-premise container, and with all due respect to Chris K, I don't trust banks and safety deposit boxes.

Does anyone have any statistics or info about floor safes? Since they are in the ground, surrounded by concrete, what temperature advantage do they give compared to above-floor storage and security?

I second the SD box. We finally got one this year and the price is worth the peace of mind. Afterall, the bank has more theft and fire protection than I could ever hope to afford.

If, however, you still want to do the outdoor storage route then I would suggest surplus ammo cans. I have two geocaches stored in them. One is hidden in a stone wall and the other is exposed in a open pit (in the middle of no where!). Both have been out for about three years now with no sign of leakage.

Chris

Stuff like legal papers and other unique items should go in your safe deposit box. Stuff like CD-ROMS should go there too, but make multiple copies so you can put them in geographically dispersed locations (e.g ask a friend in some distant city to keep a disc or two for you in his or her own SD box, and you can do the same for him/her). Use GnuPG (www.gnupg.org) to encrypt the contents if you are concerned about its privacy. I'd skip the underground buried treasure approach unless you're planning to store something much different than papers or CD's (e.g. survival cache), and if that's the case, I'd avoid putting anything in it that would cause you a lot of trouble if someone else found it.

The best currently available brand of CD for long term storage is Mam-A (Mitsui) Archive Gold which is about $1.60 a disc (Google search). Other types of CD-R cost a lot less but the dyes are less stable. Use 74 minute (650 MB) discs in preference to 80 minute ones, which cram the tracks closer together, decreasing reliability, and record at 8x speed or slower. However, no matter what kind of discs you use, your best safeguard is multiple redundant copies.

See http://www.taobackup.com for more than you wanted to know about backup strategy.

Check out this story from CNN about longevity of CD's and DVD's.

CDs, DVDs not so immortal

The main issues are to store them vertically and keep them in a cool, dry place.

--Chris

Paulr,
The Tao was a great read. I'll get on the path to enlightenment directly. Thanks again.