I've figured out what I *think* I will use for locks.
But (no clues now!) I'd like to hear what you regard as good security in terms of physical locks on a standard steel shipping container.
The lock is less important than preventing access to it for cutting tools so something like
Most attacks are brute force rather than subtle
How routinely do you need access? If it's being plonked there for some period of time and then opened and emptied completely later, just weld the darn thing up and show up with cutting tools when you do need to get back in...
I agree, and I'd do exactly that if it was my own container - but it's rented and at a storage facility site.
Agreed. I've got a box locked over the main padlock, which is in turn held by two other padlocks. Access involves cutting two good quality Abus Diskus Plus locks to remove the box, then cutting a third different "turtle" lock design, which is itself shrouded by a collar to prevent cutting into it from the side.
It was easier to retrofit a loose box over two fixed (bolted) staples than it was to attach a permanent lock cover - mostly because I could fabricate and weld anything I liked in the workshop, but the container was already out in the sticks and there was no easy way to get a welder to it.
Easiest way into it now is to bring a petrol disk cutter and go in through the side of the container, which is about as good as it gets on that budget. If that's a problem, use a digger to put an earth berm over the container, which also keeps it warmer and less obvious. I believe the National Trust are now making this a requirement for people putting containers on site - scrape a shallow trench out, park the container in it, then use the soil to cover one side and top as a ha ha that's hidden from the houseful of grockles.
Same as the previous poster I'm afraid - rented, not my container, so reliant on whatever locks I can add on without alteration to the container.
What do the people you're renting it from provide?
The one I had and the one a friend had (different companies) had boxes welded onto them and hefty padlocks inside in such a manner that grinding out would be tedious. Not that all that's actually necessary round here :-)
If it's on a storage site the likelihood of somebody turning up with a lorry and whisking the whole thing away is minimal, but in other circumstances this might be a real possibility.
You could put a "beware of the dog" sign on the outside :-)
Owain
something that can't be drilled out or jemmied open.
Think thief. You have a portable power drill and a crowbar in the boot. Can you get in, in less than 10 minutes, without attracting attention? If not, drive on.
Don't they have their own security?
Their site is pretty good. It's a removals and storage company with high fences around a yard well exposed to view from the road, and floodlighting. Yard is only open when staff are present.
However it's a standard container with no security modifications.
Again, I would do something similar, were it my own container.
Nothing. It's a standard container. That means there are two vertical rods on each door, with rotate to move home cam/hook bolts top and bottom.
My last one did - good arrangement - very hefty padlock in difficult- to-attack location.
So ask the owner. "I'd like to improve the security of your container, in a reusable way, at no cost to you."
I do indeed. My domestic and vehicle security arrangements are based around what would hold me up for a good while, even with the right tools and knowledge of what I'm up against.
I'm hoping for a few replies of the sort "don't do x because of well- known-attack-method-on-containers", or "do y as everyone around me got robbed, but they couldn't get into mine"
CCTV with 24 hour monitoring offtsite?
AIUI the floor of those containers is wood, not steel, so if someone can jack it up they might be able to get in through the underside.
Also be aware they can be bggrs for condensation, depending on what you are storing inside you might want dehydrating packs.
Owain
vacuum-seal the contents, then top up the rest of the container with cow crap. That'll learn the bastards when they break in. :-)
Install Halon Gas system activated when they step in.
They won't step out with your goods ...
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The fix for that is generally an earth bank to stop anyone parking the truck near enough for the crane to reach.
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