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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;gboulton, post: 1251854, member: 27043&quot;]While your presumption is correct as far as it goes...if memory serves, the top tier TPG&#039;s use acrylic plastic which h<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate)" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate)" rel="nofollow">ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate)</a> says melts at 320 F...there&#039;s a WHOLE BUNCH more to this than that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Usually when we&#039;re talking about &quot;fire rated&quot; safes, folks are thinking of the UL 2-Hr rated safe.&nbsp; The test for this rating is that the safe is heated to 1850 degrees for 2 hours, during which the inside temperature must remain BELOW 350 F for the duration.</p><p><br /></p><p>Well gee, thanks!&nbsp; That STILL doesn&#039;t tell me whether my coins are safe, now does it?</p><p><br /></p><p>First...I don&#039;t know how FAR below 350...and my target is 320, so I can be pretty close.&nbsp; Nor do I know&nbsp; whether the wife&#039;s 83 pairs of shoes in the closet with my safe burn at 1850 degrees or not. :scratch:</p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;answer&quot; for us as collectors, is, as always, to do a bit of research.</p><p><br /></p><p>Question number one is to demand to see the actual test results on the safe.&nbsp; This, of course, is part and parcel of buying what i called a &#039;real safe&quot; earlier in the thread.&nbsp; Amazon and Home Depot aren&#039;t going to have this information on hand...if you can even find a human being to talk to who knows what you&#039;re asking for!&nbsp; A reputable dealer at a security firm, on the other hand, will have...or be willing to get...that information for you.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>You might find, with that simple question, your concerns are resolved.&nbsp; My own safe&#039;s test results showed the interior never reached 300 degrees during the 2 hour test, for example.&nbsp; Problem solved!&nbsp; :thumb:</p><p><br /></p><p>The next thing to learn is how comparable are the test conditions to what you can expect in your home?&nbsp; While there&#039;s no way to be exact of course, general rule of thumb is that your average house fire will be in the 1100-1200 degree range within 30 minutes or so...meaning, for at least that period of time, conditions will be FAR cooler than the test conditions.</p><p><br /></p><p>And finally...how realistic is 2 hours?&nbsp; What sort of fire protection does your home have?&nbsp; Are you in an apartment with sprinklers?&nbsp; Is there a FD nearby, or are you rural protected by a VFD whose response time may be longer?&nbsp; Where is the safe...is it near framework that might be expected to burn quickly, or in the basement where it may be 40 minutes before the flames even get there, or in the garage, near the gasoline or gas lines?</p><p><br /></p><p>Bottom line...nobody can really tell you for sure that your coins are, or aren&#039;t, safe from any given fire.&nbsp; But knowing how to protect them is a much more complicated process than merely assuming that the holders will melt because the rating says 350 degrees. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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