KidCo 4 Lock Set
by Kidco
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List Price: Our Price: $16.98 You Save: $8.01 (32%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of KidCo 4 Lock Set
Customer Review: Unbelievably easy installation
Summary: 5 Stars
I just installed about a dozen of these, and it was very simple. I'm an engineer and product designer myself, and I was pretty impressed with this design. I'm actually here buying more.
Great stuff about this design:
- Installation tabs make it easy to align and stick the catch to the cabinet, and then you peel the adhesive backing and hook the latch on, close the door, and the latch is positioned perfectly. Then you break off the installation tabs, and you're done. If you want more security, you can then screw them in, but no need to mess with templates or anything because they are already stuck on.
- Any reasonably strong magnet of the right polarity will work as a key.
- The disengage switch. Very handy.
The system is pretty foolproof on basic cabinets. It works great for cabinet doors that lay on top of the cabinet. I did put them on a pair of recessed doors, which would have been really difficult if I couldn't have installed them on the inside by opening one of the door pair. Also, they are pretty tall and will not work in shallow drawers. I also have a sideboard with drawers above doors, so there is no surface at the top of the door to mount the catch on. I put the catch on one of the shelves instead, so the latch was in the middle of the door edge. Worked fine, if a bit inelegant. It would be nice if you could use these sideways in that kind of situation, but they are gravity-based.
The adhesive is strong, but I would recommend screwing in just the catch that mounts to the cabinet. It would be nearly impossible to pull the adhesive straight off the latch side, but the catch adhesive is sideways to the pull, so it doesn't take as much force to fail. You don't really have to pre-drill, but it does make the screwing easier. If the adhesive is on something that isn't smooth (I had a set of cabinets with rough plywood inside), screws are absolutely needed on both.
Also, as far as keys go: you need a reasonably strong magnet, but any will do. Don't spend the extra $$ for spare keys. I found that I had quite a few kitchen magnets around that worked for all of them except the drawers which were double-thickness (they happened to be the colorful clip magnets from IKEA, which are pretty useful anyway). So save a few bucks and go buy a bunch of strong fridge magnets (bring a latch to the hardware store and make sure the magnet activates it from 1.5" away to be sure). The thing to remember is that fridge magnets may not have the right polarity. If you have a key or magnet that works, the way you tell if another one will work is to put the bottoms together. If they repel, your new magnet has the right polarity. If they attract, that magnet will not work as a key. In my group of fridge magnets that I already had, the polarity was all random, so only half of them worked. I now have at least one key within arms reach of every locked cabinet.
Customer Review: Doesn't work for all doors, watch out for screws in door, too
Summary: 3 Stars
Pros:
*Well-made
*Easy to install and use
*Can be set to not lock when not needed
Cons:
*Doesn't work on certain doors (works only on 1/2 of mine)
*Instructions should have a disclaimer/details about limitations
*An extra set of adhesive tape would be helpful
When this product works, it is wonderful. Installation is a cinch and takes minutes. It's good quality and well made. It just doesn't work on all doors (or in my case, it didn't work on 2 out of 4 styles of door). The instructions should include some basic information on where *not* to install the lock.
It worked flawlessly on the first cabinet I tried it on (a door on our bookshelf). The product was easy to install, easy to use. Being able to disengage the lock when you don't need it is a great feature. The locks also work well on my kitchen cabinets.
The lock will *not* work if it is installed close to, or over, metal screws (such as on the doors of my media stand). The magnet that makes the lock engage is drawn down into the off position at all times, because of the magnetic attraction to the screw. Unfortunately, because my cabinet has glass doors, I could only install it in one location, which happens to slightly above the screws for the door handles. It's a very powerful magnet and even though the screws were not directly behind the locking mechanism, the lock was still was drawn to the metal in the screws.
I wish the directions had mentioned to look for screws or other metal near the installation location because removing the adhesive from the doors is difficult and then the lock set is unusuable without the adhesive (well, unless you use the included screws, but there is a reason you bought this as an adhesive lock). I think it would be nice if the manufacturer included one extra set of adhesive tape so that if the lock does not work on a door, or if there is user error, the lock itself can be reused (I had 3M double adhesive tape in the house that I cut to fit the lock so it could be reused).
I then tried them on my bathroom cabinets and found that it did not work on those cabinet doors. The doors could not close with the lock installed. This is because the back of the cabinet door is recessed and not flush with the door frame. In this case, the portion of the lock that goes inside the cabinet would need to be installed further recessed into the cabinet (which would require breaking off the cabinet guides and figuring out how far to install it, yourself). On my cabinet, there was nothing to attach it to further in, though.
I think a lot of headaches would be solved, and a lot less adhesive wasted, if the directions included some simple guidelines on what doors these work best on (doors that shut flush with the frame) and instructions not to install the magnetic lock near a screw or other metal components.
Customer Review: Works well, difficult install
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall the locks work great, The standard "open door slightly and push button to release" locks were problematics for drawers. Kids fingers got caught up in the drawer when it was opened slightly. The install on cabinet doors is easy and straight forward. Note that the lock is large in size so may block some access
Drawers presented a challenge:
- The drawer front panel (face) is larger than the drawer frame and due to size of the lock, we needed to create an extension to the drawer frame so the lock will be installed on an even surface. A simple board 3/4" thick did the trick
- Now when the lock was on the drawer, it was recessed 3/4" of where it needed to be (relating to the cabinet frame), another board was needed for the cabinet frame (behind the cabinet face separation between the drawers)
- All boards are installed internally so nothing was visible to the outside, the hinge was connected to the second board and the lock works great. No issue with cabinet face of 3/4" and the flush panel of another 3/4" the magnet was working great through the 1.5"
- Make sure the screws connecting the flush board are not between the lock and the magnet as it disables the magnetic field (not sure why)
PROS:
- "Simple" to install (cabinet doors)
- Child safe, no slight opening so no risk of fingers being caught
- Strong (for now)
- Override lock is a great feature
CONS:
- Large in size creating a difficult install on drawers
- Does not work when rotated 90 degrees
- The magnetic key disappears - have a few readily available
- No one hand operations - you will find your day to day routine changing because you need to hold the magnet with one hand and open with the other
ADDITIONAL INSTALL TIPS:
- To get the perfect alignment
* Install the base (cabinet side) first
* Press the override switch (so it doesn't lock)
* Slide the lock onto the base and remove the protective layer from adhesive
* Close door - the adhesive will catch the lock and since it's on override, will pull it with it
* Strengthen the adhesive on both sides
- If the lock doesn't always lock:
* Option 1 - remove the base and position it 1/16" forward
* Option 2 - remove adhesive, place a thin separator (1/16" deep) between the lock and the door, use the screwdrivers to place
Good luck!
Customer Review: GREAT PRODUCT! DON'T BE TURNED OFF BECAUSE OF PREVIOUS REVIEWER!!
Summary: 5 Stars
What the previous reviewer didn't realize is that there are 2 different packaging options for this item. The first option is a pack that contains 1 key and 2 locks for people who want to try it out and the second option is to buy the pack that contains 4 locks but no key for those who already bought the starter kit and happened to like the product. So make sure you really read the description of what you're getting if you're buying online. (This one happens do be the 4 locks with no key so you might want to try the starter kit first...I actually rec. it because UNFORTUNATELY the lock doesn't work with all situations because of draw designs) Then on top of that Kidco also sells the key seperately with no locks for those who have the product, love it, and happened to misplace or lose their key OR want to purchase an additional incase they ever lose the 1st key. I will admit that I think it's pretty lame for a company to try to squeeze every penny out of you especially when it probaby only costs 5 cents to make the darn key and especially when you're dealing with child safety products. As far as how well the product works...I LOVE IT and wish it had worked out better with all my draw situations! It's especially great for those cabinet doors that stand alone and don't have another door next to it where you can just buy one of those wrap around door knob locks that require 2 knobs to be side by side. I didn't have as great of luck with my kitchen draws because the draw panel is added on to the actual draw so it isn't flush with where you put the catch. I put 5 stars to bring the rating up because the last reviewer only gave one and it's actually a great product. I know it will outsmart my baby far beyond any cheaper options out there. I installed them with the adhesive tape that comes with it but I plan on reattaching it with the screws also included because I personally feel that the screws will do a better job AND because I love my child more than my freaking cabinet doors for all those worried about messing up your precious wood cabinets...I mean give me a break...the holes are so small anyway and it's totally concealed, only you will know it's there. ALSO, this locks so tight that little fingers/hands can't reach inside small openings (which usually occures with the other types of locks) and pull stuff out. And also there's an option to turn the lock off for in between kids. DEFINITELY CONSIDER THIS PRODUCT!!!!!Customer Review: Great for cat-proofing
Summary: 5 Stars
My cat was starting to get curious for what was in my cabinets (trash, cleaning supplies, etc). Having previously used baby-proofing items for cat-proofing, I looked these up and thought they looked good. So far, so good. Because of the design, you cat would have to be extremely strong or have magnetic paws to open them (or I guess he could take the key in his mouth to open it, but that's also unlikely). I'll update this if I change my mind, but they really seem great. In addition, I'm in an apartment, so drilling holes wasn't an option. And they're a snap to install!
Through buying this and one key, I realized a few things I didn't see in any of the Amazon pages.
1. The latch moves up and down. Normally, it stays up, keeping latched with the other side. However, if you place the magnetic key (or any other sufficiently strong magnet) near it (through the cabinet), the latch "disengages" and goes down. With the key there, you just pull it and it comes open effortlessly. Closing requires nothing special. I figured it worked, but beforehand, I really had no idea exactly how it worked, so there you go.
2. You don't have to mount the key on the other side of the door (as seen in all the pictures). You can stick the magnet in the included adhesive mount or stick it to any magnetic surface, like a refrigerator. You can use one key for as many of these locks as you want. Whatever's convenient. Note that, as others have said, no keys are included in this package. You'll need to buy those separately, but this is basically useless without at least one, so I thought this part to be relevant to this review.
3. There's a switch on the latch, difficult to hit accidentally but easy if you know about it, that unlocks it. If you slide this switch to the locked (locked to unlock, dumb, I know, but that's how it's labeled) position, it won't lock, but that can be convenient if you want to open and close it several times without using the key, like when taking out the trash or something. It won't automatically go back to normal, so you'll have to remember to put it back, but it's a nice feature.