Steelwater is an unknown brand in the safe industry. You won’t find them in traditional gun safe stores. There is no dealer section on their website whatsoever and they only sell direct… big red flag! They import all of their safes from China and only slap their Steelwater logo on it. They use low quality solenoid electronic locks, key overrides and only provide you with the illusion of security. Overall, these Steelwater Gun Safes are not the best quality and there are far better options for equivalent or better prices. Read these Steelwater Gun Safe Reviews to find out which safes are better.
Lock – Steelwater Gun Safe Reviews
First and always most important for any gun safe is the lock used. In an attempt to cut cost and have the absolute lowest prices possible, Steelwater opted to use a low quality Solenoid electronic lock. Undoubtedly, these locks are unbranded, un-rated and prone to failure. They include a key override for when the lock inevitably fails. While some models do include a hard plate or re-locker, it is useless when you include a key override. Steelwater is more interested in providing the illusion of security than actual security. It’s a big reason why none of the real safe dealers carry any of their safes.
Security – Steelwater Gun Safe Reviews
Steelwater Gun Safes have no burglary ratings, not even CA DOJ approval as a firearm safety device. We don’t even know if it can withstand light burglary attacks. Ideally, you want a UL Approved Residential Security Container, RSC burglary rating. Their high end models have 1/4″ steel plate doors and 9 gauge bodies which would exceed the CA DOJ requirements as a gun safe. However, they never actually tested it… another red flag. They also advertise it as exceeding residential security containers which is a completely different rating from UL where they also did not have it tested. Considering they don’t even understand the terminology in the industry where they are selling products, I would be wary of the rest of their claims. Finally, Steelwater gun safes use solid steel locking bolts that range in thickness up to 1.5″.
Another common weak point in these safes is the locks reset button which is just a red button inside the door that can usually be accessed with a coat wire. Fortunately, they do use a red plastic cap over this reset button to make it more difficult. Overall, there are just too many access points for me to recommend these safes from a security standpoint.
Fire Rating – Steelwater Gun Safe Reviews
Steelwater Gun Safes use Gypsum Fire board as their insulation material. This is consistent with nearly every other manufacturer besides American Security who uses concrete composite. Steelwater does not test their gun safes with ETL, an independent laboratory, to verify their claims. This means that they only do a factory test and we have to trust that it will actually survive. Lastly, there is no mention of an intumescent door seal but looking at the pictures, it does appear to have one.
Style and Function
Steelwater Gun Safes use the standard textured black paint common for imported gun safes. Hardware includes drop down handles, 3-spoke handles and 5-spoke handles. Hardware finishes are all chrome. The interior is standard carpeting with gun racks, side shelves and top shelves. Finally, most models have some type of door panel organizer and some have light kits.
The Bottom Line
Sadly, I can not recommend Steelwater gun safes with their Solenoid electronic lock. them. Their safes only provide the illusion of security with big bolts, useless re-lockers and hard plates. All things considered, there are much better options with UL rated high security locks in this category. Lastly, some examples are the Stealth Gun Safes and Kodiak Gun Safes.
The reasons I like these safes better is because they come with a UL Rated High Security Electronic Lock, a much more durable paint job, Door Panel Organizers, Electrical outlet and limited lifetime warranties from reliable companies. Yes, it does cost a little bit more but it will save you a giant headache when the Steelwater safe decides to stop opening.
