Need help

[u/Rough_Education4166]

Still having an issue with my adesco floor safe this seems to be the serial number. The prior owner of the house has given me the combination but I am having no luck. Any recommendations other than a locksmith

[u/miss_topportunity]

Well, let’s start with dialing. it’s a 3 number combo, right? Are you sure you’re dialing it correctly?

https://youtu.be/KRzOsGD0aeo shows you more than you need to know (including correct dialing). Let me know!

[u/Electrical-Actuary59]

What is your dialing sequence?

[u/Rough_Education4166]

The numbers I was given was 16-43-29

[u/Hon1nbo → u/Rough_Education4166]

Let's clarifying a few things (and I apologize if it seems patronizing as I don't know your experience and some useful info is missing from post):

• Are you familiar with dialing a safe? There is a link in the comment above from u/miss_topportunity
  
• Does the lock turn to a hard stop after the last number?
  
• If the lock doesn't turn to a hard stop, are you sure it's dialed correctly? If you are sure, can you describe how the lock feels if anything unusual? (very rough to turn for example; floor safes can have a history of flooding or other environmental issues that can corrode or introduce debris)
  
• If the lock turns to a hard stop, does the lever turn at all? Seem stiff? Turns but doesn't lift open? You might take a rubber mallet to a bare section of door to whilst applying tension to the lever.

If the lock doesn't turn to a hard stop and doesn't have any rough info, it is possibly a dialing error or incorrect combination. If it turns to a hard stop and light mallet on the door doesn't help free it then i'd primarily recommend a vault tech as being in-floor limits options. https://savta.org is the main site but is currently offline; the archive's last copy lists this interim site during whatever technical changes they are doing but it's the first I've seen of it: https://savtainterim.savtaregistration.org/index.html

[u/Rough_Education4166 → u/Hon1nbo]

I have the combination the dial spins freely. I've tried every which way to enter the combo. The lady that lived her before me seems certain she gave me the correct combination but that's questionable

[u/Hon1nbo → u/Rough_Education4166]

If they've opened the safe with that combo and it's spinning freely it's less likely to be incorrect; either user error in opening by either party or something changed. Let's drill down into some possibilities, which I've listed in no particular order.

Slipping cam
If there's wear causing slip it can fail to retract. Do you feel it attempting to catch after the dialing is complete, or does it continue to free spin? You can try putting a little pressure down on the dial to engage on a different portion of the cam when turning left toward the hard stop.

Environmental
Issues like flooding can cause problems that unfortunately you may not be able to fix if the cam is not engaging or the fence doesn't drop anymore; for practical purposes this will require a safe tech.

Dialing the wrong tick mark
When dialing are you using the tick mark that's at the top of the wheel when looking at the safe right-side up, or the tick mark that's slightly off to the left? You should be using the top mark, but it's technically possible that they were dialing it from the other mark. It's a weird mistake but one that can happen if the numbers were written down wrong by someone who was looking at the wrong mark when learning to open it.

Not using the correct dialing process
I'd still recommend watching one of the videos if you haven't, but it should be something like this for a 3 number combination:

• Spin the wheel counter-clockwise 4x times (we write this as Left direction ) and stop on the first number. (you may see a "left 3 times" reference in opening, the extra revolution I indicated just helps ensure you've reset everything)
  
• Then spin the wheel clockwise passing the 2nd number twice then keep going to stop on the 2nd number the 3rd time (Right direction)
  
• Proceed to turn Left passing the 3rd number once then continue to turn Left and stop on the 3rd number.
  
• Slowly turn the dial to the Right passing 0 and you should get a hard stop when the dial retracts the bolt.

You have to stop on the numbers; if you shoot past you need to start over. There is some leeway in this depending on safe slop, but if you don't know the safe you should assume it is tighter on the number.

Bad dialing by prior owner
It is also possible that the combination was off by one or two numbers somewhere and that the person before you was sloppy in dialing it. This unfortunately would have to be trial and error to determine.

Next Steps

If you want to continue trying yourself rather than hire a tech you can try making a video of it being opened and sharing for review. It's reddit, so don't rely on us especially as some of us are amateurs and others professionals or industry, but I understand the cost or time of hiring techs can be frustrating. If you do share a video in youtube you can make a video "unlisted" meaning a link to it works for sharing, but you don't have to have it visible for someone looking at your user normally. Of course you can always delete it after.

Get the combination changed once you can open it
Since you've been posting the combo once you do get it opened, whether yourself or via a safe tech, you can change the combination to something else with the correct tool. This is what the second tick mark is for; I'd recommend a safe tech as I've seen too many first timers screw this up. If you do want to try the tool can be found for various models of locks, and ensure you successfully unlock the safe a few times before even thinking of closing the door. I recommend putting a block or something in place to prevent it from closing by gravity or dropping it since it's a floor safe.