The Medeco

they make all sorts of stuff. I bought a grade 2 lever set from ebay for about 40 bucks NIB. a VERY good deal. it has the square key patriot blank so I can't get copies made, but neither can anybody else!!

make sure it comes with a 2 3/8 backset if you use it residentially.

What happens when you need more keys? If you don't have the card, you can always have it rekeyed. Then you will get a card with the new keys which you can use to have future copies made.

Not all residential doors are 2 3/8 backset. (Measure first, buy once)

i have not lost a key in the last 30 years, knock on wood.

mine came with both latches! the 2 3/4 has the UL stamp and is beefier looking.

2 3/8 backset? both latches? the card? Please explain. I'm clueless and need to get wised up in order to purchase intelligently.

BTW I was in a large city locksmith shop yesterday ready to buy 2 Medecos with installation. When I asked if they guarantee their work in writing on the receipt the salesman got into a huff and walked away saying 'we've been in business over 75 years'.

it might be simpler if you don't worry too much about the locks on your door. so long as you have Schlage or better you're probably ok. thieves brute force it anyway and medeco won't do much about that.

thats the big thing.. people want-unpickable, tight key security, and so forth, then put them on a cracker jack door/house..

I was called to a lady, her 5 year old helped her out and he locked the door for her as they went outside.. I looked at the door, and there was 'about' 3/8" SPACE between the door and jamb.. I just got a wide bar, and gently pried a bit, took a knife and walked the latch back the 1/16" necessary and opened it.. Who's fault is that? the carpenters-they dont care..how fast and cheap can we make em? and how much can we screw the customer for???

she wanted a dead bolt installed and i showed it would do no good, DUE TO there being nothing strong enough for the bolt to hang on to.. door opened out, with sheet rock behind the jamb where the DB latch would hit,... --Shiva--

have the card,

the new keys

wood.

first, buy

and is

clueless and

to buy 2

their work in

walked away

I would have walked right out of his shop.

Would a rim bolt -- maybe vertical deadbolt -- have done any better in that situation?

opening IN, it would have, but not out.. plus a 'cheap' door-it didn't feel like there was much of anything inside the door itself..

--Shiva--

I've seen vertical deadbolt strikes which would handle reverse-swinging doors... but there is always the question of whether you can find something substantial under the trim to anchor them to.

Well, yeah; medeco on cardboard doesn't equal serious security. On the other hand, there's a lot to be said for at least appearing to be more secure than your next-door neighbor, to encourage the thief to go bother someone else.

reverse-swinging

can find

security. On the

appearing to be more

thief to go bother

kinda like fake alarm stickers :-)

But the stickers are completely real!

*Ahem* about my question, anyone? :)

That's exactly what I did. Fortunately there are plenty others to choose from.

Medeco does have several high-security product lines, especialy now that they're part of the same corporate structure as ASSA and Abloy. Any of them should be more than sufficient for an apartment door unless you have very unusual needs.

They have a website at

which gives an overview of what's available, including a discussion of what features you may want, downloadable catalog, and a tool to find authorized dealers.

Thanks Joe. For residential--I live in an apartment bldg--all I saw offered was Medeco3.

Mine's an all-metal door 1 3/4 thick. Could you explain about "2 3/8 backset" "both latches" "the card"?

there is 2 'standard' backsets.. basically.. measured from the EDGE of the door, to the CENTER of the lock mounting hole, you should have EITHER 2 3/8" OR 2 3/4"

'the card'... is a 'level of medeco, that requires you to have a 'card' so that you go to your local locksmith, to get extra/duplicate keys made they KNOW that you ACTUALLY OWN the lock in question.

--Shiva--

"Backset" refers to the distance between the edge of the door and the centerline of the bored hole into which the lock gets installed...

"Both Latches", some lock manufacturers supply two latches with the lock units they sell... While others like Schlage supply an adjustable backset latch...

"The Card" when you are referring to a Medeco product is the imprint card... This card MUST be presented to obtain additional copies of any existing key... Those people who have Medeco locks and have lost their imprint cards need to have the locks re-keyed so a new key combination and it's associated card can be issued...

Evan, ~~formerly a maintenance man, now a college student...

And others supply one and make you get the other at extra cost. (Though if the installation's being done by a locksmith he may do the swap more cheaply since he can probably find a use for the discarded latch.)