Smart key Vs. Rekeying

[Jeckel]

Is the smart key system better then normal re-keying of a door, such as price wise, security, durability? I am debating to change all the locks on an apartment building with changealock.com, or using http://www.kwikset.com/Products/SmartKey/.

[jimb]

SmartKey better?
Price wise - yes
Security - no
Durability - ?

It's a very easy lock to rekey and it does not require anything to rekey it except the old key, the new key and the reset tool which comes with the lock. But, I would not put it on apartments, in fact I wouldn't put it on anything that I wanted to protect. They can be opened very quickly by destructive entry. With a little knowledge a tenant could rekey his apartment and later move and you would not have the old key for rekeying the lock. This complicates rekeying that lock.

I don't know about Change A Lock, but it might be worth a try.

[Jeckel]

Well if I kept a copy of the key, then I should be fine. The security on this lock has ANSI Grade-1 strength steal dead bolt, and bump resistant, I think that all locks have flaws when it comes to destructive entry, my tenants have a withholding to damages such as changing the lock themselves. I was checking the insurance on the building regarding locks, if there is any signs of forced entry they will be covered.

[zeke79]

Keep in mind that if you are doing an apartment building that the kwikset/weiser smartkey systems CANNOT be used to setup a master system as they can only be setup to operate at one shearline. That is one other downfall of the smartkey system.

[ridinplugspinnaz]

Well if I kept a copy of the key, then I should be fine. The security on this lock has ANSI Grade-1 strength steal dead bolt, and bump resistant, I think that all locks have flaws when it comes to destructive entry, my tenants have a withholding to damages such as changing the lock themselves. I was checking the insurance on the building regarding locks, if there is any signs of forced entry they will be covered.

Perhaps I'm not understanding you correctly, but I don't know where you're getting the impression that holding on to a copy of the original key will help you if the tenant takes it upon himself to rekey the lock. The original key that comes with the lock isn't any sort of master key; once someone rekeys the lock, only the new key plus the "learn tool" can be used to recombinate the cylinder again. Smartkey makes it easier for you to rekey cylinders, but the same is true for your tenants... it's something to consider, if nothing else.

Short of that, the Smartkey cylinder itself is a pretty delicate design compared to ordinary pin-tumbler cylinders, so it's probably a bad choice for outdoor locations or any location that is going to see a lot of abuse. These locks are considerably more prone to breakage outside of their normal "operating envelope", so to speak. The convenience of rekeyable cylinders might be completely moot if you have 2-3 times as many locks that fail over a given time period. Don't take that 2-3x figure as gospel, it's just an example of the kinds of tradeoffs you might expect with a more delicate lock system. These are just more considerations that you should make before deciding on a system, but judging from your comments you seem to be pretty gung-ho on going with Smartkey. Anyway I hope some of that info proves useful for you.

[TOWCH]

Best SFIC, or an access control lock.

Personally don't see the need. Let the tenant put whatever they want on the door, put it in your rental contract they give you a copy of the key, and that they change the lock back when they move out.

[TOWCH]

Best SFIC, or an access control lock.

Personally don't see the need. Let the tenant put whatever they want on the door, put it in your rental contract they give you a copy of the key, and that they change the lock back when they move out.

Kwikset "smartscan" locks would allow you to use your fingerprint while giving tenants the key.