Monthly Archives: June 2017

Beware of Gun Safes Which Are Mis-represented

One of the fastest growing companies in the gun safe industry does not make anything, they import their gun safes from China.  This blog has referred to them in the past because they are most flagrant liars, the most deceitful people I know.  (Fear of getting sued prevents using their name.)  They came around again last week with a cube truck in which they display a number of products.  Giving them another chance, I climbed into the truck and listened to the national sales manager for a minute about how great their Chinese gun safes are.

Their top-of-line gun safe is supposed to be built of 8 gauge steel, which would be pretty good, but feeling the steel was enough to tell that this was another lie.  With a micrometer and gauge chart it took about 30 seconds to show he was wrong.  The steel was 10 gauge – a big difference.  Even after proving the lie he made up stupid stories to weasel out of the problem:  “Well the supplier’s paperwork says 8 gauge”; “it depends on which gauge system you are using”, “maybe this is one of the old models”, etc.

This guy stated that their gun safes are better than other imports because the factory they use is the best one in China.  But this factory is one which I know uses skip-welds. It also uses drywall construction scraps for insulation.  This company claims that one of their product lines is “Made in America” even though they are, in fact, made in China.  Apparently, if you install the lock and a few little pieces in the U.S. you can claim the whole safe is American.  I could go on….

The point is that these crooks claim to be protecting your valuables while intentionally misleading you.  Dishonestly selling JUNK at low prices is why they are growing.  If you buy a safe to protect the guns which are your passion, or to protect a significant part or your net worth, you darn well better buy your gun safe from someone who knows and cares and is honest about what they sell!

Most Gun Safes Do Not Seal Properly in Fires

Earlier posts talked of the problem with gun safes having only one seal.  We have two safes in our shop from different manufacturers that went through fires, and they demonstrate the point perfectly.

IMG_2609     IMG_2597

Gun safe manufacturers all talk about having the intumescent seal which is supposed to protect your valuables in a fire.  The theory is that when you have a fire, heat will cause the intumescent seal to swell up and seal the door shut.  But in many fires the gun safe does not get hot enough for the seal to work, allowing heat and smoke to enter between the door and frame.  Pictured is a gun safe with a “60 minute fire rating” which uses only the intumescent seal.  While the safe got coated with sooty smoke it did not get very hot, so the seals did not expand.  The paint will clean up fine; everything inside, however, was damaged by heat, acidic smoke, cinders and ash.  You can see that the seals never expanded.  Pictures of the interior show damage from smoke, ash & cinders.  Ironic:   The “Fire Safe” label is coated with soot and smoke that the “fire safe” did not protect against.

IMG_2601    IMG_2614

The plain fact is that for good fire protection gun safes need at least two different seals.  One needs to seal the door ALL THE TIME, whenever the door is closed.  See posts dated 7-6-15 and 7-20-15 for details.  Fort Knox gun safes use an airtight fin-type seal on most of their units and Amsec uses a foam cushion.  In both cases the gap between the door and frame is closed even when the safe is cold.

Seal systems on gun safes and vault doors are not a minor point – they are one of the most critical features.  Yes, you might need to pay a little more for real protection, but there is no point in paying less for a product which does not work!