Padlocks have a past that can go all the way back to 500BC during the period of ancient Rome. In the beginning these locks were made of iron with a metal bolt to secure them and in order to lock and unlock them they’ve been using a shaped piece of metal as a key.
Throughout time there have been a big progress in padlock design resulting in a wide range of options available today. These options may be different in terms of size, material and the level of security.
Here are what you should check when selecting a padlock to ensure that it is the best for your requirements:
Security Level
Different padlocks have different security ratings but are not standardized across the industry but when it comes to high security padlocks these ratings are the ones to follow and rely on. Two notable security ratings are the Sold Secure and CEN ratings.
Sold Secure categorizes locks into three ratings gold, silver and bronze where gold being the standard. On the other hand CEN rating is a standard that rates padlocks from CEN 3 to CEN 6 where CEN 6 being the highest level.
To choose the padlock for your needs it’s important to consider your security requirements. For example an industrial site gate would require the highest level of CEN 6.
Material
A padlock has 2 parts the body and the shackle. The size of the shackle can indicate how secure the padlock is and shackles with a diameter of 7mm or less are commonly used in situations where security requirements are low.
For medium security needs shackles with diameters between 7mm to 10mm are preferred while anything larger than 10mm is considered higher level of security.
The shackle material determines the strength of a padlock, for example stainless steel shackles are great for general use especially in places where there’s a lot of moisture or rust, they’re highly durable and resistant to corrosion while hardened alloy shackles are a better choice if you need extra security because they’re super strong and almost impossible to break making them ideal for high security requirements.
Price
The budget you have will definitely affect the type of padlock you choose. High security padlocks are more expensive and if you need to secure valuable items be prepared to spend big money on them.
Expensive high security padlocks have an extra advantage because it deters thieves by that would prefer an easier target to mess with.
