Padlocks

[ArlyA]

Freezing over the winter is a royal pain in the *$!(^@. So we started to cover them from rain as much as practical. Super Lube 51004 Synthetic Oil with PTFE oil is what the lock manufacturer recommend and we found it was helpful. For sale on Amazoony....

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-5...Oil+with+PTFE&qid=1558197741&s=gateway&sr=8-3

That's the one I was trying to find on the Master site. Have them at work, on outside sheds. One froze once this winter, methyl hydrate got it open quick. We had a brutal Winter for ice; this is actually a good review, at only one freeze-up. I like to use spray graphite on locks, but almost any lube is better than nothing.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Freezing over the winter is a royal pain in the *$!(^@. So we started to cover them from rain as much as practical. Super Lube 51004 Synthetic Oil with PTFE oil is what the lock manufacturer recommend and we found it was helpful. For sale on Amazoony....

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-5...Oil+with+PTFE&qid=1558197741&s=gateway&sr=8-3

That lube had me thinking of the Dupont stuff I have around. One is their Silicone product with Teflon - so far I haven't used it on locks, but it does list as an application for that. They also have a specific lock lube DuPont™ Easy Entry Lock Lubricant with Teflon(R) Fluoropolymer

Big can Dupont product is not easy to find up here; I'll be stuck (pun intended) if Lowes drops that line here.

My uncle down East had a good solution for the padlock on his shop door...... just took a good sized chunk of old heavy inner tube, and nailed to the door as a rain-flap over the lock..... might have to change it every 10 years or so, but otherwise pretty bulletproof. Not something you'll see in Architectural Digest though......

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

I read recently that because graphite is conductive, if you put it in an automotive lock it can get into the electronics. This can make the lock ignore your remote, or even ignore the open/close button on the door. Anybody know if this is valid?

I drive pretty old stuff, so for a real answer on modern vehicles I'd want to hear from a dealer tech, or automotive lock specialist......

On older stuff (w/o door keypads, and even most of those were separate from the cylinders), about all that was near the cylinder were some big-scale electrical contacts, and perhaps a solenoid...... anything is possible, but I've never hit a problem with graphite on older stuff. Something you'd never see in Sonoma, liquid road-salt, is waaayyyyy more conductive than some scattered graphite, so at a guess, I'd say modern "locks" are designed to last just a bit beyond the warranty, with that kind of salt exposure.

Probably a safe bet is the lube Arly posted, or that Dupont one I did...... can't get much less conductive than Teflon......

Speaking of electronics and locks..... What did I see on the Master site last night ? ...... padlocks with Bluetooth !

Seriously ?

Rgds, D.

 

[Jstpssng]

Over the years I've had to get past a lot of gates, usually because the key wasn't transferred with the land. Master locks are affordable and pretty good locks, but it's pretty easy to break them. A straight tire iron and my two pound hammer, and I was in like Flynn. (Or out, in one case where I was behind it when the landowner's forester closed it for the spring.) Something with a round top makes the above harder or impossible.





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[4570Man]

I found that some big name locks only have 5 to 12 combinations so when you order a number alike they just come from a batch, surely the crooks know this and can buy a few locks and know one key will open yours.
Had a locksmith make me a batch of SS locks to use outside and he keyed them all alike, cost more but know they are unique, the locks come in unkeyed and all tumblers and keys are made by the locksmith, about $40 each.

I really doubt they’d go through that much trouble and expense when a cordless grinder does the job in seconds. Personally I think pad locks are pretty useless. They might make you feel better but they aren’t much better than a heavy duty zip tie.

 

[ArlyA]

Padlocks are good enough to stop 95% of the people who come up to your gate. Its about our expense and convenience, not stopping 100%.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Padlocks are good enough to stop 95% of the people who come up to your gate. Its about our expense and convenience, not stopping 100%.

And if someone is determined I'd rather have them destroy the lock than the gate.

 

[k0ua]

I really doubt they’d go through that much trouble and expense when a cordless grinder does the job in seconds. Personally I think pad locks are pretty useless. They might make you feel better but they aren’t much better than a heavy duty zip tie.

Or you can use two wrenches:

 

[bunyip]

We used to use ingersoll locks to secure video equipment at work, solid body completely shrouded the staple so a grinder was useless.
Downside was the price, well over $100 25 years ago.
Doors were steel but lost the gear one night wwhen they took the wall out from outside.
This was a correcttional facility and was used for video court links, remember the police asked if there were any suspects and we said about 2000.

 

[Topzide]

One thing to do on an outside lock is to have some sort of a flap over it to protect from weather. Saw plenty of leather flaps over locks back in the day. Sometimes the old ways still work in today's world! Just my 2 cents.