Yesterday evening, after a 4 day lockup when I was due for a cleaning checkup, the padlock was jammed and could not be opened by either one of the two keys we have. It was a fun few minutes to figure out how this would play out, how it would stay put indefinitely, how this was a sign to go permanent, how, who and when somebody would come to help. In the end, luckily, I used some silicone spray to lube the lock in the padlock and yes, it did the trick. Not using this padlock right now but thinking about taking another chance on that, lol
Two ways looking at that . 1 cheap locks more likely to jam but as you say quick spray will sort that . 2 posh locks less likely to jam but spray less likely solution. Xx Wendy
Get a good lock. They will last a lifetime. I have padlocks on my outside gates that have seen rain and snow over 15 years and still work well with a little squirt of oil or silicone. Right now I switched to a security screw but mostly due to its lighter weight. Also oil the lock occasionally. What I do is to oil the key before inserting it or simply squirt oil into the openings on the lock.
Most oils are no good for tumbler locks, once they gum up you have to wash them out and that'e even harder. If you can't use graphite or real lock lubricant use the lightest oil you can get, usually "turbine" or sewing machine oil. (And WD40 isn't oil, it's "Water Displacement".)
Ah, followup Q to this. I have a cage with a lock non-padlock-style: Opening and closing the lock stucks a bit sometimes so there's a fear of breaking the key. Since permanent lockup isn't planned that would be unwelcome ... Question: are there sources available where this type of lock can be purchased independently and if so, which would be recommended high quality versions of it? Cheers cw