Key cabinets with key drop deposit slots

Key cabinets with key drop slots for deposit of keys

What a key drop actually solves

Without a drop slot, somebody with the code has to open the cabinet every time a key comes back. Either you stand there yourself, or you hand the code to somebody who should not have it.

With a drop slot those become two separate things: returning is open to everybody, taking out requires authorisation. That asymmetry is what makes these cabinets work in a business with customers coming and going.

An easy one to miss: on cabinets with an electronic code lock you save battery. Every return that does not require the lock to open is one less drain.

Every cabinet on this page has a drop slot - that is what the category is. What differs is how heavily the cabinet is built, how many keys it holds and where the slot sits.

For the car workshop

This is the most common use, and the requirements are fairly specific. A workshop cabinet has to hold a lot of keys, survive a workshop environment, and sit where the customer can reach the slot without getting into the premises.

Bear in mind that car keys take up more room than ordinary keys. A modern car key with a remote, plus a workshop tag, is considerably thicker than a door key, so expect fewer keys than the hook count suggests.

If you also have to satisfy an insurance requirement on storage, that becomes a choice between two functions. The next section explains why.

Why there are no rated cabinets with a key drop

It is a common question, and the answer is simple once you have heard it: the hole for the drop tube voids the burglary rating.

A cabinet is certified as a whole. Cut a hole in the steel so a key can be posted in from outside and the test no longer applies, however heavily the cabinet is built otherwise. There are no key cabinets with a drop slot rated to SSF 3492 - not from us and not from anybody else.

What exists instead is theft-delaying construction. Several of the cabinets here are built from two to four millimetre steel with a reinforced door, and the heaviest have anti-fishing protection and a drop tube designed so that keys cannot be fished back out. That is real protection - it simply is not a certificate.

The heaviest of them are built to SSF 3492 and would have passed the test had the hole not been there. They are marked High burglary protection (equivalent to SSF 3492) under the Theft Protection filter, so you can pick them out in one click. If you want that level but do not need the certificate on paper, that is where to look.

If you do need the certificate, because an insurance policy requires it, the cabinet cannot have a drop slot. Then it is security-rated key cabinets you want, and the key has to be handed over another way. Call us and we will go through what your policy actually requires - sometimes it covers only certain keys, and then two cabinets solve it.

How many keys have to fit?

Count the keys you handle at your busiest, not an average. A workshop cabinet that is full on a Friday in December is too small, even if it copes in March.

The Number of Key Slots filter takes you to the right size. Allow margin - a key cabinet is rarely replaced, and the price difference between one size and the next is small compared with buying twice.

Where should the slot sit?

Placement matters more here than on an ordinary key cabinet, because somebody outside has to reach the slot. The usual arrangement is through a wall by the entrance, so the hatch is accessible from outside while the cabinet sits inside.

The Outer Height (mm) and Outer Width (mm) filters help when the spot is fixed. Think about the height above the floor too: the slot should be reachable with one hand, ideally without bending down.

Key lock or code lock?

An electronic code lock dominates this category, and it suits the use: the code can be changed when staff leave, and several people can have access without anyone copying a key.

Several models also have an emergency key override, for when the batteries run flat or the code is forgotten. The Lock Type filter shows what each cabinet has.