which nightlatch .... Yale vs Avocet vs Banham vs ... anything else?

[baggister]

Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a Yale No 1 Night Latch - used them for years, Brotish Kitemarked, and they look and feel pretty damn solid to me.

I see that Banham are quite popular but also very expensive. Avocet are also premium keys. And Im sure theres lots more.

My question is, is the Yale #1 good enough? Because I think it's good enough for me.

Or do the others offer something extra worth thinking about?

 

[JohnD]

Yale No 1 Night Latch - used them for years, Brotish Kitemarked

No it isn't.

 

[Screwsloose]

No it isn't.

Forgive the thread resurrection, but why not? It's a British Standard rim lock. (I presume the OP meant the Yale BS1, as no other "No. 1" exists in Yale's current range.)

Or did you mean a rim lock alone isn't good enough? If so, I wonder how often burglars force entry past a lonely-but-BS3621-compliant rim lock.

 

[JohnD]

It's a British Standard rim lock.

No it isn't

Yale No. 1 - Auto Deadlocking Night Latch (60mm, Brass)

 

[JohnD]

But this one is

Yale Night Latch PBS1 (60mm, Brass) | Auto Deadlocking Door Lock | Free P&P | Safe

A useful recognition point is the lump of armour round the outside cylinder, though there are other differences.

 

[Screwsloose]

Yale Night Latch PBS1 (60mm, Brass) | Auto Deadlocking Door Lock | Free P&P | Safe

Thanks. That’s a beefy looking lock. It could be a Banham rimlock’s younger cousin

Would you consider the Yale BS1 adequate security on its own?

 

[JohnD]

BS3621 is a pretty good standard

But if you are lucky enough to have a wooden door, a mortise lock will cost you less for that level of protection, and IMO be more durable. Lever locks cannot be bumped, snapped, drilled or corkscrewed, so will resist the untrained or simple-minded crackhead better than a Eurocylinder.

The staple on the doorframe is, in most cases, the weakest point of a rimlatch.

The nightlatch method of operation does have the advantage that the door is locked every time you shut it, without needing a user a turn a key or even a handle. And unless deadlocked, enables the homeowner to open the door from inside without needing a key. This is important when it is an escape exit in case of emergency.

A weakness of many multipoint locks on plastic doors is that the user may shut them without locking the door, providing easy entry for the thief who tries door handles and snatches car keys, handbags and wallets off the hall table or from coats thrown over banisters. Entry, theft and escape takes few seconds. Having gained entry so easily, a more courageous thief may rifle the home while the householder watches TV or sits in the back garden.

It used to be said that most house burglaries were performed by people walking through an unlocked door. I don't know current statistics.

 

[blup]

Era also do a bs standard night latch

 

[JohnD]

Yes, which I think is better value.

 

[Screwsloose]

It used to be said that most house burglaries were performed by people walking through an unlocked door. I don't know current statistics.

I read that more than half (58.7%) of burglars gain entry through the front door. I haven’t done much burglary myself, so I was surprised why front doors are in vogue among burglars. I thought back doors would be all the rage. However, uninvited access via the back door happens in a third of burglaries.

In one in seven cases, an unlocked door welcomes in the burglar.

In one-third of incidents, burglars enter by forcing open the lock. Is it shoulder-barging nightlatches, snapping euro cylinders, or other shenanigans?

I was surprised to learn that burglars enter via a window in only 7% of cases. Why is it unfashionable for burglars to make an entry via windows?

See: https://review42.com/uk/resources/uk-burglary-statistics/

 

[JohnD]

I was surprised why front doors are in vogue among burglars.

I believe it is aided by many plastic doors needing positive action by the householder to lock the door. So a person pretending to be delivering leaflets or selling teatowels can try the handle, and if they do it often enough, has quite a good chance of finding a house they can walk into.

Nightlatches, including the old Yale design, do at least "lock" every time you shut the door, but most of them have other vulnerabilities and are quite weak. Yhey will often give way to a kick or shoulder. The BS types are more expensive

I use an automatic deadlocking mortice latch, but they are rarely seen, and AFAIK there are no current models meeting BS3621. My front door has a keyhole but no handle on the outside. It can be opened from the inside without a key. IMO that is ideal.

I told my insurers what I have and they accepted it.

 

[NorthWest1]

I don't think there's that much difference between them for the average residential user, a good mortice deadlock is all that's required. Only ever seen a couple of break-ins were a lock was suspected to have been picked.
Banham are a London thing, Ingersoll make some wicked 10 lever cylinder locks, very high quality and fitted on many high value properties and business.

 

[opps]

I read that more than half (58.7%) of burglars gain entry through the front door. I haven’t done much burglary myself, so I was surprised why front doors are in vogue among burglars. I thought back doors would be all the rage. However, uninvited access via the back door happens in a third of burglaries.

In one in seven cases, an unlocked door welcomes in the burglar.

In one-third of incidents, burglars enter by forcing open the lock. Is it shoulder-barging nightlatches, snapping euro cylinders, or other shenanigans?

I was surprised to learn that burglars enter via a window in only 7% of cases. Why is it unfashionable for burglars to make an entry via windows?

See: https://review42.com/uk/resources/uk-burglary-statistics/

I don't doubt those statistics but it might be the case that many burglaries take place in properties where there is no back door or that the back door is not accessible. From what I have previously read, any house previously broken into is more likely to be broken into again. It might well be the case that many are in blocks of flats- I don't know.

Apropos windows, a mate who restored sliding sash windows in a leafy part of west London, told me that if a toe rag sees a pretty Apple iMac sitting in a window bay, they will smash the window to steal it and would be half the way down the road before neighbours pay attention to the alarm.