S&G makes some good locks, but their electronics don't rank high on my list.
I'm really torn between an electronic lock, and the old fashioned mechanical lock. I want mechanical because of reliability. I have a small fire safe that I have had for 18 years. It has a mechanical lock on it. I have never done any service to this safe, and it works perfectly after all this time. However, my wife hates it because she can't remember the combo, and it's too much work to open. I'm sure this is the the same old cliche. I have always remembered the combo, but I am pretty good with numbers.
With that said, how do you feel about the electronic locks made my AMSEC? (ESL10XL). It seems like you would get pretty good support with their lock on their safe. The thing is, AMSEC's warranty is the same for either mechanical, or electronic lock. How many of the AMSEC brand electronic locks have you seen go bad? I wonder how many safes have to be drilled because of divorce in married couples? I just saw a safe on Craigslist that they claimed was drilled by a smith, and just needs the new lock installed. I called about it just out of curiosity because the lock on the safe was a mechanical one. The lady said the safe was her husbands and that they got divorced, and she didn't know the combo to the safe. She wanted to know what was inside, and hired a smith to drill it.
If I do get the electronic lock, that sucker is going to get changed out for a mechanical the second it shows any sign of malfunction. I already called a locksmith about the cost of swapping from an electronic lock to a mechanical. We really only have a couple locksmiths close by that have experience working on safes. One guy quoted me $180.00 materials and labor to do the swap for an S&G mechanical. He said if I was locked out of the safe......all bets are off, and he would most likely have to drill it.
He also told me that most of the swaps he does are the other way around........from mechanical to electronic. I assume that would be job security for a locksmith switching customers safes to electronic locks. If I was a smith, I would do the swap, but would certainly tell the customer the pit falls.......that way I could live with myself.
I'm thinking if I had an electronic lock, my wife would be in the safe allot more. I'm not sure I would like that. I wonder if she would believe that guns breed when enclosed in dark places?