Hi All, I have been living without locking my door happily for going on 10 years or so. My keychain consists of a car key and fob (and would forgo that if it was practical). I like that, I really like just opening the door and coming in. However my SO is used to living behind locks and her keychain resembles that of a prison guard.
Now not wanting to carry any extra keys, I am looking into putting a keyless lock on the door. I am overexposed to options, the door handle and/or deadbolt, mechanical vs electronic. Anyone has any advice, insight and/or experience of what to get?
I see no reason to get a smart lock as that is basically carrying a key, but in electronic form, so really looking for something like a 3-4 digit code. I see numerous options and that is the problem, what options should I be looking at.
I have keyless locks on two doors and am pleased with them. Both were purchased at Lowe’s; I paid $70 for the the first one but sprang for a more expensive $130 for the second.
The cheaper one did not include any kind of door knob or handle, and I had to add a pull bar to be able to pull the door open or shut it soundly.
The more expensive one was definitely worth the extra money.
Both require a battery, but can be operated with a key, which I’ve never learned to use. I figure if one lock goes bad, I’ll just use the other door.
Eventually I’ll replace the locks on the rest of my doors.
At our cottage my daughter sleeps in the bunkie outside. rather than having her have to look for a key in the middle of the night when she needs to come in to use the facilities, we installed a keypad lock on the back door and the door to the bunkie. Works a treat.
(Never occurred to me there might be a battery inside. I’d better check that when I get there this summer!)
Just installed one on our front door about a month ago - it is just the deadbolt (from Kwikset, I think <$100 online) with several buttons for entering a code. Not a smart lock. My wife wanted it, and I was skeptical at first, but it works well and there is never a worry that the front door is unlocked, as it automatically locks after 30 seconds. The kids were always fumbling with the key, or not having one, or too lazy to look for it. Now there are a couple of codes they can use to gain entry, and again, no worry that they will forget to lock the door. it is battery powered, but a LED light on the back pulses slowly to indicate battery life. One less key on the key chain.
Some models have a powered motor which moves the deadbolt. These use up batteries a lot faster and can be a real pain. I recommend a model that relies on the user to release the bolt after entering the code. They all require batteries but batteries last a lot longer on the manual ones. Schlage makes a good one.
Also remember that using the same code all the time will wear the keys unevenly so it is obvious what numbers are part of the code.
I have this lock as well. I got it when my absent-minded latchkey teen couldn’t reliably remember to lock the door when she left the house for school in the morning. You can set it so that the lock relocks after 30 secs, or have it not automatically relock if you want to keep the door unlocked. It’s the kind that has the powered motor which moves the bolt by itself. It takes 4 AAA batteries and I have to change them out *maybe *once a year. You can increase battery life by simply relocking it manually after you get inside the house rather than waiting for the lock to do it itself. I have the version that lets you key it to any other Kwikset lock. It was easy to install. I have since gotten them for all the doors.
Dirt simple to install and use, dead nuts reliable. Battery life is several years and there’s ample warning as the 9V battery gets low.
There’s nothing automatic about it. You lock or unlock the deadbolt from the inside with the handle or the outside with the keypad. A conventional physical key can unlock it if the electronics malfunction or the battery dies without you noticing all the warning signals. Which means it can be keyed to match any other conventional Schlage locks you may have on other doors.
I much prefer locking deadbolts and non-locking doorknobs on all exterior doors. It’s impossible to lock yourself out that way.
But if one does get locked out, then what? Can a locksmith help with one that doesn’t have a key or must one do something destructive, like breaking a window?
I have no idea about that model. I’ll page our resident locksmith. The one I bought has a key which I wanted for backup to the electronics. The fact I already had other keyed doors made that an easy choice.
My concern has always been the situation where you go outside in your PJs to pick up the newspaper and unbeknownst to you somebody else has set the doorknob to lock when the door closes behind you. I solve that much more likely scenario by having non-locking doorknobs. The door locks if and only if the operator takes a positive action to make it lock.
For that particular model, you touch a 9-volt battery to those two bumps under the handle, which will power it long enough for you to enter your code.
As an aside, I’d never put a lever handled lock on an exterior door without a separate deadbolt, especially one that opens from the inside just by turning the lever.
The other problem with a keyed entry latch (locking doorknob) is false security. Most of the residential grade ones can be released with slim jim, butter knife, or even just a credit card. They don’t add security to a deadbolt but do add an extra step to get in your door. I never install them unless a customer insists.
That’s true whether or not it’s a push-button-entry lock. Hopefully most people know this about locking doorknobs by now, but reminders are always worthwhile for people who don’t know it yet.
I’m confused about this advice. Umpteen decades ago when all exterior doorknob sets simply had the D-shaped bolt tongue that was absolutely true. Any thin item that could reach in past the bolt could be pulled outwards to easily retract the bolt, opening the door.
But any exterior doorknob sold in the US since about 1970 includes a two-part bolt tongue. In addition to the larger D facing curved side inwards there’s a second smaller D-shaped mini-bolt facing curved side outwards back-to-back with the main bolt.
Once the small D is depressed against the strike plate when the door is closed, it interlocks with the main bolt preventing the big D from retracting and hence prevents opening the door. Assuming the strike plate is properly placed to hold the small D depressed, this arrangement utterly defeats the jimmy.
To be sure, none of this defeats a size 14 boot or a crowbar.
Bottom line: IMO anybody who thinks they can defeat even a 30 year old locking front door knob with a credit card is repeating a wive’s tale they’ve never actually tried to do.
Our condo complex went electronic keyless a few years ago. Came with two keys to allow entry if the batteries died. This lock also serves as a deadbolt so there is no “D” lock. With the door and jamb being steel, nobody’s breaking in here without spending a lot of effort.
The new lock came in handy when a friend would come to town on business and need a place to stay. Set a combination just for her and she was able to come & go as she pleased, no more staying up late to let her in.
We bought ours about 5 years ago and have loved it. I think it was around $100 and will hold 3 or 4 codes. The multiple codes come in handy. The Mrs has a code that she can remember, the wee one has a code they can remember and I have a code that uses the numbers they don’t use. If we have a house sitter or repairman that needs temporary access, we use a fourth code for them and then change it when they no longer need access. I figure by using as many of the codes as possible and trying to use different numbers, we will wear the key pad out a little more evenly. I have spent time staring at the key pad and have yet to notice any noticeable wearing on one number over the other so far.