Strongest Euro cylinders?

[Chippy_boy]

Hi - I am new here so please be gentle!

I have for years relied on Assa Twin Combi 5800's and never (touch wood) had a problem with them.

However, I have been increasingly worried about lock snapping being on the increase. Because of the daft (i.e. non-standard) dimensions of my front door lock, the handle and cylinder guard options are limited and this has left me worried that my Assa cylinder could be snapped with a snap bar or mole wrech if someone managed to get the handle off.

So I am interested in changing the Assas for something that is notable strong and will resist (reasonable) attempts at being snapped in half.

I note some cylinders have hardened steel inserts along the bottom to provide added strength. I assume my Assas do not have this as they seem to be all one piece.

Does anyone know which cylinders are physically the strongest? I like the look of the EVVA MCS's but they are ££££ expensive. I think it worked out at around £750 for 2 cylinders and 3 or 4 keyed-alike keys... Blimey!

Still, I would pay that if they really are the best. What price peace of mind?

Thanks for any thoughts and suggestions.

[dls]

you can get snap resistant cylinders and also cylinders which are designed to break before the cam so it cant be turned only the front 20 percent or so of the cylinder breaks off, most manufacturers sell these now.
Another thing to consider is the thumbturn if you want one, some can be bypassed very very easily.
One of the reasons i dont pick many of the euro locks i have to open is they are all so easy break, the banks i deal with want new locks whenever a key is compromised even if they still have it so non destructive opening is not necessary with the exception of glass doors you dont want to slip and hit these trust me on that one.

[Chippy_boy]

Thanks for the reply.

I know about the snap resistant cylinders - that's why I am asking the question about whether any are regarded as being particularly strong compared to others? Regards thumbturns - my cylinders are keyed both sides.

I know the Assa Twin's can be picked or bumped, but here in the UK the most common form of attack is brute force, prizing the cylinder guard away and snapping the cylinder in half and then they are in. It seems to me to be a HUGE design flaw in the Euro cylinder specifications that there is such a small amount of metal around the center screw hole. This would seem to leave the cylinder very vulnerable to such a basic attack. Surely they should have allowed for a lower section just a few mm's thicker to provide sufficient rigidity to make snapping impossible???

[dls]

i agree seems stupid its probably like the chicken and the egg which came first the lock or the snap, the english oval is only slightly better but just as vunerable. one possible solution would be to eliminate the hole altogether and make a small dimple for a grub screw like a screw in cyl.
i live in ireland and they just kick in the door to grab the gold or cash they find around or they remove the glass from a window, so much for snap resistant locks. where do you stop bullet proof glass, 4 way boltwork on the front door, a big hairy dog if they want in all you can do is slow their progress down no more no less.

how about a self destructing barrel with a small bullet inside so when they snap it they get shot in the hand or it blows up in their face.

[mhole]

IMO snap resistant cylinders are a poor substitute for security rose or cylinder guard.

What kind of door is the cylinder fitted to? We may be able to suggest a retrofit product which will let you protect your (awesome!) Assa cylinders.

[Chippy_boy]

IMO snap resistant cylinders are a poor substitute for security rose or cylinder guard.

What kind of door is the cylinder fitted to? We may be able to suggest a retrofit product which will let you protect your (awesome!) Assa cylinders.

The front door is wood with steel cladding with multipoint UCEM lock. The daft thing is it has an 85mm handle to cylinder (PZ) dimension, which is completely non-standard and all the reinforced handles ar for the normal 92mm PZ.

Regards a dedicated cylinder guard, again the lock is non-standard so the Euro cutout is too high up the lock. Modern locks have the Euro hole right at the bottom so you can fit a cylinder guard over the lock on both sides, bolted together underneath. You can't do that with my stupid lock.

I would be tempted to replace the whole lock mechanism, but then again the lock is against me. It has a 50mm backset and there are only a very few alternatives of this size (like 1 maybe?). All the other (normal ones) are 35, 45 or 55 etc.

So If I can't replace the lock then it means a new door and so it does on. All of this hassle and effort just to protect the cylinder because (a) the Euro cylinder is stupid design and (b) some idiot fitted a non-standard lock to my door.

Incidentally, I will spare you all the detail about the back door, but it's much the same story.

As a solution, I am considering having some bespoke door handle plates machined from 12mm stainless steel plate. This does not seem prohibitively expensive, but haven't figured out how to attach the handles if I do this. Again, seems a load of hassle.

[jos weyers]

if you want to go really bonkers, protecs are the way to go

http://www.abloy.com/en/abloy/abloycom/Brochures/Cylinders/ABLOY-PROTEC

[lockinabox]

Here you go: https://securitysnobs.com/Euro-Profile-Locks/ . The price should be well under the cost of of the MCS. IMO, the Protec is the best overall (security/reliability/design/key control) mechanical door lock available today.

The Euro Protec cylinder is also very "snap-resistant".

You can add this to protect the cylinder if you want to get crazy with it: https://securitysnobs.com/Drumm-Security-Geminy-Shield-Euro-Profile-Guard.html

[mhole]

http://www.fenestration-news.com/news/N ... px?id=1107

This guard should fit, albeit with the addition of a suitable hole in the lock case below the cylinder. You'll probably want to check you lock, but I'll bet there is nothing which needs to move below the cylinder, so you can simply pull the MPL out, drill a hole for the bolt through the case, and refit it to the door.

All with the normal caveats - I haven't actually done this, YYMV etc.

[Chippy_boy]

Thanks for all the comments and advice guys.

Regards the cylinder guard, no it won't fit. The Euro cylinder cut out is 10mm from the bottom of the lock. Another stupid aspect to the stupid non-standard design! Thanks anyway./

[Chippy_boy]

We could do with an "edit" fuction, couldn't we!

What I meant to add in my last post was that the euro cutout is 10mm from the bottom of the lock and the hole for the cylinder guard would cut the lock's frame in half, complete destroying the mechanical integrity of the lock.

Incidentally my back door lock is even worse - the Euro hole is 80mm from the bottom and the dead bolt is below the Euro mechanism. Completely bizarre, non-standard and un-improvable. What a pain in the neck.