Edison Safes is a relatively unknown company in the safe industry. They are based out of Idaho and have only one dealer, gunsafes.com. They are owned by United Commerce Group which is the same company that owns GunSafes.com. Upon doing some further research, I discovered all of their products are actually made by Sun Welding Safe company based out of Simi Valley, CA. In these Edison Elias Gun Safe Reviews, I’ll help you understand what makes them seem like great safes but are actually over priced, a risky purchase overall and don’t come close to the competition.
Lock – Edison Elias Gun Safe Reviews
S&G UL Rated High Security Mechanical Lock
First and always most important is the lock. Included in the price is the S&G UL Type 2 Mechanical Lock. This is one of only two mechanical locks I recommend as it is high quality, reliable and known for longevity. It uses a three number combination that rotates into the lock body on the inside of the safe. This lock is designed to last for decades and features over 1 million possible combinations.
Securam Basic UL Approved High Security Electronic Lock
The second lock option available is the SecuRam Basic UL approved high security electronic lock. This is an excellent quality lock made by a longstanding and reputable company. SecuRam is the exclusive electronic lock provider of Liberty safe who sells the most safes in the US. UL Approved type 1 is the highest security rating available and has over 1 million possible combinations.
The keypad is metal and durable as well as the battery compartment is very convenient to remove from the outside of the safe. All in all, this is an excellent quality lock and the one I would recommend if purchasing a drop safe due to its convenience and ease of use.
Hard Plate and Re-Locker
This lock is also protected by both a hard plate and two internal spring-loaded re-lockers. The Hard plate is a piece of hardened steel that absolutely destroys drill bits. Also, the internal re-locker fires if the lock is punched through securing the bolts in place. Both of these are essential security features and included on this safe.
Security – Edison Elias Gun Safe Reviews
In terms of security, the Edison Elias Gun Safe is built tough. It passed the UL RSC burglary test which ensures the safe can withstand an attack on the door with multiple different tools for a minimum of 5 minutes each. Finally, one attacker is used in the test and this is the same burglary rating as the most expensive Liberty and Fort Knox gun safes.
To achieve this security rating, Edison used a 3/8″ steel plate on the door and 3/16″ steel in the body. This is definitely an adequate amount of steel compared to standard 12 gauge RSC options. Finally, securing the door are 1″ thick locking bolts covering all four sides of the safe offering good pry resistance.
Fire Rating – Edison Elias Gun Safe Reviews
The Edison Elias Gun Safe features a 30 minute fire rating at an unmentioned temperature. This is a huge red flag for me and this rating is not verified by an independent company like ETL or UL. It’s also not even mentioned if it has gone through a factory test. They also claim you can double, triple or quadruple the fire rating just by adding more layers of the 5/8″ fireboard. All in all, this is not a fire rating I would trust by any means.
Style and Function
The Edison Elias Series is available in a variety of textured and gloss color options. Hardware includes a chrome drop down handle or 5-spoke handle. One of the better features of this gun safe is that the interior can be customized to your needs since each safe is built to order. Also, interior options are available in beige or gray. Finally, a door panel organizer is not included.
Warranty
The Edison gun safes come with a lifetime warranty on all components except the lock. This includes break-in and attempted break-in. The big caveat to this is that you must pay for the freight costs to the factory and the safe must be bolted down to concrete to have this warranty honored. This is of course nearly impossible to uninstall a gun safe bolted to the concrete and ship it to their factory for repair which renders the warranty completely useless and just a facade. Always read the fine print.
The Bottom Line
Would I buy the Edison Elias Gun Safe to protect my firearms and valuables. Unfortunately, no I would not. While I want to like this product due to its low cost and adequate steel thickness, I can not recommend a product with shady business practice in the warranty or the highly unreliable and vague fire rating. Safes are meant to last forever and if a company won’t back their products with a reliable warranty, it likely isn’t going to last forever.
With that said, there are gun safes in this category and price range that I highly recommend. The American Security BFX Gun Safes feature the same UL rated high security lock but then increase the steel on the door to 1/2″ steel plate door, use a concrete composite material that offers excellent burglary and fire resistance, an outer and inner steel plate in the body, a 120 minute verified fire rating with a reliable warranty. All things considered, I would buy the American Security BFX Gun Safe over the Edsion Elias series.
