Ron Helwig

Zurich Keyless Mechanical Door LockBackset: Standard 2 3/8 inch or 60mm rating: asin: B000XDHTRQ list price: $94.00 USD amazon price: $94.00

I finally got around to ordering a keyless door lock for my bedroom door. I've been meaning to get the bedrooms more secure; with all the traffic we get through the house being able to lock bedroom doors with something that can't be unlocked with any old key is a good thing.

I specifically searched for a manual keycode lock. The electric powered ones just seem too problematic: you have to remember to replace batteries and what happens with the wired ones when the power goes out? Most of the non-electric ones are made for businesses and are fairly expensive.

I did find a couple of non-electric door locks on Amazon.com though. I compared them and searched for reviews on the Internet for a while, and settled on the Zurich model. The options available weren't well explained on the site, but I took a stab at it and seemed to have gotten it right.

This model comes in two variants: Standard and Commercial. They seem to have slightly different dimensions. I chose the standard, figuring it would most likely match the existing doorknob. I was also concerned about whether or not the knob would be for "left-handed" or "right-handed" doors. It turns out that it does matter sometimes, but this model can work either way. When you install it, you can set it to one way or the other. It is also programmable, so you can set your own code (with a little fiddling). It also fit well into the existing doorknob's hole, replacing the original doorknob; with just a bit of fiddling needed.

The only downside so far was probably just a manufacturing and/or quality control glitch. There was a screw inside the mechanism that wasn't screwed all the way in, and it was blocking the '9' and 'Clear' buttons. I wouldn't expect to see it on another order, but it is something to keep in mind.

Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with it, and expect to order more for the other bedroom doors just as soon as they have them in stock again.