Padlocks Technical Advice Centre

This this our dedicated help, advice and testing results section for padlocks. Every time we get a good question from a customer, or asked to test a product, then we post the answer or results here. Use the list of Categories or the Search Box below to find the answer you're looking for. Don't worry you can get back to your basket our products by clicking our logo above.

We've also created a concise guide with the most commonly asked questions to download and print here:

Is there an outdoor combination padlock I can use by the sea?

We have some wooden storage bins that site visitors can use to dispose of their rubbish. The inner bins need to be accessed to be emptied but we need to be able to secure them at other times. As we have a number of staff that might need access we would need prefer to have […]

Can we get a weatherproof combination padlock for the storage boxes on our boat?

We have some storage boxes on the roof of our narrowboat which are used for items we do not need everyday. Although it does not need to be high security, we do need to lock them off, especially when we are away from the boat. We really want to avoid having keys if we can […]

Combination Padlock Independent Testing

The team at, respected magazine, Practical Boat Owner (PBO), have done some independent testing on combination padlocks that feature in their August 2017 edition. They put eight different combination padlocks in a salt water corrosion tank which sprays a fine mist of warm salty water over the padlocks every hour for a month. This would […]

Saltwater / weather testing of padlocks

We have been asked a few times how a manufacturer can claim that its padlocks will work after 10 years outdoors for example. Some larger brands of padlock who have had the same model in the market for over 10 years and can actually see their locks have coped or failed. However, most will use […]

Do I need a fully weatherproof padlock?

A fully weatherproof padlock is one that uses 100% stainless and non-corrosive materials. They are also know as marine padlocks and suitable for saline and other extreme environments. This is a common question and often the answer is no. The first thing to seize up and prevent a padlock from functioning properly is the internal […]