I have heard mixed reviews about the Aeon Multi, but I was wondering if those who own it would think it would be a good use inside a gun safe? I think it would be perfect for monitoring door open/close with the light/motion sensing and also monitoring humidity (when to change the eva-dry) and temperature (fire).
Seems like a nice low cost alternative to the industry monitoring devices
Opinions?
I have two of these devices and they work great for me, but Iāve been strictly using them for motion detection. They do (obviously) report the other things, but Iām not using things like temp or humidity in any apps yet.
I went a different route and just use the SmartSense Multi with the acceleration. That way I can tell if the case moves at all. That being said, the humidity sensor would be a nice addition.
Another benefit of the AEON multi is that it can be plugged in. Granted, this would be pretty hard to do in a gun safe, but in my den I have my motion sensor on a shelf positioned in such a way that the dog doesnāt trip it when heās walking around. Below the shelf area is an outlet so I can plug it in there and Iām not having to worry about batteries for this device.
I just set-up my ST and thought about setting up one of my Multi-Sensors for similar use but quickly headed a different direction as the ST sensors are for open/close and motion (I didnāt see benefit of being alerted to either).
I wasnāt aware of the aeon units w/humidity sensor. I may just pick one up and try it out (a little concerned with range simply due to where I would place it & >.25inch of steel for the signal to get through).
You didnāt see the benefit to know if your gun case was being disturbed? If mine gets bumped even the smallest amount I get an alert using the SmartSense Multi I find I get a lot of peace of mind from that.
Nice! If you have an outlet or can rig up an outlet youāre golden then!
Hmmmā¦ maybe we need to add something to the ādevices we donāt haveā list: A SmartSense Multi with a humidity sensor!
Ha I know what your thinking Ben! I could have provided some more insight thereā¦ Safe is bolted to concrete floor & requires combo + key. I only had 2x multisensors, so I decided best use was my 2 entry doors from outside (from there I have 360 degree ceiling mounted cameras to view entire house & 130db siren I can set off remotely).
I agree placement on my safe is a good āwhy notā ā¦ just trying to prioritize all the projects I am working on
If I can piggyback onto this threadā¦
Iām a week into setting up my SmartThings stuff, including a Multi Sensor. I have a First Alert safe that weighs 150 pounds and Iām trying to determine the best way to use the Multi Sensor to help safeguard it. (Link to safe: http://www.costco.com/First-Alert-2.14-Cubic-Ft.-Digital-Ready-Sealā¢-Waterproof-Fire-Resistant-Safe.product.11731633.html)
Iāve considered 3 options and none seem to work perfectly:
Outside of the safe near the door hinges to Iād be alerted to vibration and the door opening: Unfortunately, the hinges are recessed so thereās no easy way to attach it there. I could attach it to the door and the frame, but it will be obvious and apparent to anyone who might be trying to get into the safe. If someone attempts to remove the Multi Sensor, Iāll be alerted. But if they see it and then realize they need to shut down my hub, that would be a bad thing.
Put it on the outside of the safe, but in the back or side where itās not obvious Iād lose the open/closed notification, but would get vibration alerts if someone tries to move it. However, since itās so heavy it doesnāt vibrate enough to trigger the sensor if someone is just messing with the lock.
Put it inside the safe, which seemed like the best bet since itās hidden from sight. However, I discovered that it canāt transmit if the safe is closed (walls to thick, I presume), so while the open/closed alarm would work, Iād never get an alert if someone tried to move it.
Any other suggestions?
On some safes you can replace the door handle and put a sensor inside the handle.
On most heavy safes like this one you can seat it in a wooden base and put the sensor underneath the safe inside the base. You can position the sensor so itās very close to edge of the safe in this way, with a minimum amount of wood to transmit through. The point of the base is so the safe can still sit flat even with the sensor underneath it. When you design it, think about how youāll get the sensor out again to change the batteries. 
Thanks JD. Itās on carpet, so I think the wood idea ā while a good one ā wonāt work. (And the handle canāt be swapped out.) My new idea is to put a motion detector in the closet where Iād located and an open/closed sensor inside it. Not perfect, but a good stop-gap solution for the time being.
The idea would be to build a wood base for it, so you could put that on the carpet and the safe on the base. Itās just to lift the safe up enough to make room for the sensor underneath.
Btw, in some configurations itās also possible to just glue a presence transmitter to the inside of the safe (remembering always the ability to change batteries) so that even though nothing gets through when the door is closed, as soon as the door is open, you know. You turn off the alert notification before you yourself open the door, then on again when youāre finished. This is super simple precisely because the safe blocks transmission while itās closed.
This wonāt tell you anything if someone steals the whole safe, or while theyāre tampering with it, but does fit some use cases, particularly unauthorized access from someone who knows the combination.
The closet door is a good workaround as well.
Thanks JD! I was misunderstanding your comment about the wooden base. I like the idea because it would amplify the vibrations. I did think about using the open/closed sensor internally. In all likelihood, I think someone would try to move it ā cracking the lock combination is unlikely ā so using the Multi Sensor externally for big vibrations is probably the route Iāll go, but Iāll continue to tinker.
