How to replace gas struts of gun safe in 3 steps?

The 50N OEM strut began to have diminished after a few years, and eventually, I could not open the safe lid without effort, and it is really hard to retrieve the pistol quickly. Therefore, I read mixed reviews and find Apexstone 7-inch gas struts are a great option for replacing the OEM strut that comes with the Sentry Handgun Safe (biometric or combo). So I will share my experience about how to replace gas struts for SentrySafe.

Before doing this, you can find that the Apexstone 7-inch 80 N gas strut is about 0.5 inches shorter than the original OEM rod. You can see the length difference in the picture below. For the situation, it will probably make the lid open a tiny bit less than the out-of-box experience. However, it should be hard to notice the difference because the safe lid hasn’t been opening much for the last year. My video shows that it opens fairly quickly and isn’t too much effort to close. Please go further for the easy mounting guide if you think it is acceptable. If not, you could also try a 7.68-inch gas strut.

The procedure is really simple. I divided the installation steps into three steps.

Step 1: Remove the old strut by turning it in place to remove it from the lid connector and unscrewing the bottom case screw with a standard Philips #2.

Step 2: Remove the rod connector. I used a wrench to grip the rod to keep it from turning and unscrewed the end piece. Take out one of these new Apexstone 80N/18lb 7-inch gas struts and remove both end connectors.

Step 3: Put the spring and rod connectors on the new strut and hand tighten the black end to the lid connector on the Sentry Safe. Swing down the rod and slide the screw through the rod connector and tighten it back in place to finish the installation.

Well, that’s the great replacement for a gun-safe gas strut, it comes in a 2-pack, so you will have a spare strut once the new one runs out of steam. Also, great price point vs OEM replacement.