Imperial USA ED-501 - 500 Series Grade 1 36" Rim Panic Exit Device

Yes. The ED-501 covers doors from 1-3/4 inch up to 2 inch thick, and it mounts on hollow metal or wood doors. The other number to check before you order is the lock stile: you need at least 3 inches of flat stile face to take the device. Projection off the door face is 2-1/4 inches, so allow for that where the door swings past a wall or an adjacent leaf.

It can. The 36 inch ED-501 covers door widths from 26 inches up to 36 inches, and the bar can be cut down to 26 inches in the field. Go wider than 36 inches and you need the XL version, which handles doors up to 48 inches. Don't try to stretch a 36 inch device onto a 42 or 48 inch leaf.

No. The ED-501 is a panic device, not a fire exit device, so it does not belong on a labeled fire door. The fire rated version of the same 500 Series is the ED-F501, which is UL10C rated. Note the trade-off: dogging comes standard only on the non-fire-rated device, so the ED-501 can be held retracted with a hex key while the fire rated one cannot be dogged.

No handing to call out. The ED-501 is non-handed and reversible, so one device works on a left or right hand door. For a property manager buying several at once that means a single part number covers every opening in the building, and for a locksmith carrying stock it means one bar on the truck instead of two.

The ED-501 ships with a standard strike and a shim, so the frame side of the latching is covered. It's an exit only device, meaning push to exit from the inside with no outside trim on the door, so if you need a lever or a pull with a cylinder on the outside, that's a separate order. An alarm kit, the EAK500, is available for the 500 Series if you want local annunciation when someone pushes the bar.

Probably not. The ED-501 is a wide stile device needing 3 inches of stile minimum, and most aluminum storefront lock stiles are narrower than that. For a narrow stile glass door, look at the Adams Rite 8700 Series or the Corbin Russwin ED4200, both Grade 1 narrow stile rim devices. Measure the flat face of your lock stile first, then pick.

The Imperial USA ED-501 as configured is not fire rated. For a labeled door, peers carrying a fire rating include the Marks USA M9900F in 36 inch and 48 inch sizes, both exit only; the Orca Hardware OED85 Series in 36 inch, exit only; the Dexter ED1000 Series Grade 1 fire rated rim device; and the Arrow FS1250, a 32 inch fire rated rim device. On the narrow stile side, the Adams Rite 3700 Series 30 inch is a Grade 1 fire rated narrow stile rim device. Note that fire rated rim devices do not carry dogging, so a door that has to be held in a push-open state during business hours needs a different plan.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is a wide stile device requiring a 3 inch minimum stile, which rules out many glass storefront rails. Narrow stile rim peers include the Adams Rite 8700 Series and 8800 Series at 30 inches and the Adams Rite EX88, all Grade 1; the Corbin Russwin ED4200, a 36 inch Grade 1 narrow stile rim device; the TownSteel ED3700, a 36 inch Grade 1 narrow stile rim device; the Falcon 19-R at 36 inches, Grade 1 narrow stile exit only; and the BEST 2401 Series narrow stile rim device, exit only and non-handed. The Detex 40 Advantex is a Grade 1 narrow stile rim device rated extra heavy duty.

The Imperial USA ED-501 fits doors 26 to 36 inches and is available in XL for 48 inches. Peers built for the wider leaf include the Cal-Royal 5500 at 48 inches with a push bar, the Corbin Russwin ED3200 as a 48 inch Grade 1 crossbar rim device, the DORMA 9300 Series at 48 inches, wide stile Grade 1 exit only, the CRL Jackson 1095 Series 48 inch crossbar rim panic device, the Marks USA M9900F at 48 inches fire rated, the Dexter ED1000 in a 4FT Grade 1 size, and the Sargent 2828 and 3828, both Grade 1 reversible devices for 48 inch doors.

The Imperial USA ED-501 rim device is described as suitable for hollow metal or wood doors. Most rim peers are listed as not wood door compatible, including the Corbin Russwin ED2200 and ED5200, the TownSteel ED1100, the Detex Advantex 10 Series, the Dexter ED1000, the BEST Precision 2101, and the DORMA 8300. The Adams Rite 3700 Series and 8700 Series are both listed as wood door compatible.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is an exit only device, meaning no outside operation. Peers that carry outside trim as part of their function include the Corbin Russwin ED5200, a 36 inch Grade 1 wide stile rim device listed as exit only and accepts trim, and the Corbin Russwin ED4200, the narrow stile equivalent, also listed as accepts trim. The Sargent 8504 is a Grade 1 narrow stile rim device with a night latch function. The Detex V4003A/03AN is a Grade 1 wide stile rim device offered with night latch trim.

They are not the same class of hardware. The Imperial USA ED-501 is a mechanical Grade 1 rim panic device with hex key dogging that latches into a strike. The SDC MSB550 Series 36 inch is a mechanical switch bar that releases an electromagnetic lock, and the SDC PSB560 SureExit is a 36 inch pressure sense bar with tri-failsafe technology; both are switching devices for an electrically locked opening rather than latching rim devices. The SDC S6136 Spectra is a 36 inch electrified architectural rim exit device with a 4 inch wide stile. The Securitron EMB is an electromechanical exit bar. Choosing among these depends on whether the opening has an access control lock to release or needs a mechanical latch.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is listed for door thickness of 1-3/4 inch up to 2 inch. Peers with a stated range reaching further include the Adams Rite 8800 Series, listed at 1-3/4 inch to 2-1/4 inch, and the DORMA 9300 Series, also 1-3/4 inch to 2-1/4 inch. The Securitron EMB is listed at 2-1/4 inch. By contrast, several peers are listed at 1-3/4 inch only, including the Corbin Russwin ED5200, the Falcon 19-R, and the Arrow ED910, so on a 2 inch door the ED-501 covers ground those do not.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is a rim device that latches to a strike on the frame or the adjacent leaf, which is not the right answer for every pair. For concealed vertical rod hardware, the Hager 4501 Series is a 36 inch Grade 1 concealed vertical rod exit device with a wide stile pushpad and the Hager 4601 Series is the 36 inch Grade 1 narrow stile concealed vertical rod version. Both are listed non fire rated. If a Dexter ED1500 vertical rod device is already installed, the ED1500-EXTRD-SP is a 12 inch extension rod assembly for it.

No. The Imperial USA ED-501 is an exit only Grade 1 panic device that actually latches and releases. A dummy device has no latching function and is used to match appearance on an inactive leaf. The Detex Advantex 00 Series is a super-heavy-duty dummy exit device with wide stile design, Grade 1, and the Sargent 12-8810-LTRIM is listed with a dummy function on a fire rated wide stile chassis. Ordering a dummy where egress hardware is required leaves the opening without a working panic device.

A rim device like the ED-501 latches into a strike on the frame at the door edge, which is the simple choice for a single door in a frame or for the active leaf of a pair with a mullion. It's surface mounted with nothing running up and down the door, so there's less to install and less to go out of adjustment. Where you have a pair of doors with no center mullion, a rim device has nothing to latch into and you want a vertical rod device instead, which latches at the head and the sill. The Hager 4501 is a wide stile concealed vertical rod option we carry for that case.

Yes, using hex key dogging, which is standard on the ED-501. Insert the hex key and the pushbar stays depressed with the latch retracted, so the door pushes open freely for deliveries or store hours, then key it back at close. This is the reason many buyers pick the non-fire-rated 501 over the fire rated ED-F501, which does not get dogging.

It's built for that traffic. The 501 carries an ANSI A156.3 Grade 1 rating, the top commercial grade for exit devices, and the chassis is steel. Imperial lists it for heavy duty commercial and industrial use. For an institutional buyer standardizing a facility, the non-handed design means the same part number goes on every stairwell and rear exit regardless of swing.

Several close equivalents. The TownSteel ED1100 is a 36 inch heavy duty Grade 1 wide stile rim device, and the Corbin Russwin ED2200 is a 36 inch Grade 1 wide stile rim device in exit only function like the 501. If you need outside trim rather than exit only, the Corbin Russwin ED5200 is a 36 inch Grade 1 wide stile rim device that accepts trim. Where the opening needs a fire label, the Marks USA M9900F is a 36 inch fire rated rim device, exit only.

The 500 Series covers it with the XL version, rated for doors up to 48 inches. If you want to compare, the Cal-Royal 5500 is a 48 inch wide rim device with a push bar and the Corbin Russwin ED3200 is a 48 inch Grade 1 crossbar rim device. A standard 36 inch ED-501 will not cover a 48 inch leaf, and cutting it down only goes the other direction, to a 26 inch minimum.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is certified to ANSI A156.3 Grade 1. The Cal-Royal 5000 is a 36 inch wide rim exit device with a touch bar and a Grade 2 chassis, rated heavy duty; the Cal-Royal 5500, a 48 inch push bar device, is also Grade 2 heavy duty. For a facility standardizing on a Grade 1 specification across its egress doors, that grade difference is the deciding line. Both Cal-Royal devices are listed as non fire rated, matching the ED-501 on that point.

The Imperial USA ED-501 uses hex key dogging, standard on the non fire rated version. Peers listing hex key dogging include the Design Hardware 1000R, a 33 inch heavy duty rim device, the Design Hardware 2000R, a 33 inch standard duty wide stile rim device, and the Stanley Security QED200 Series, a Grade 1 heavy duty narrow stile rim device with hex-key dogging. The Dormakaba QED200 is the Grade 1 heavy duty narrow 36 inch device in that same series.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is a rim panic device with a 2-1/4 inch projection on a 36 inch door. For a crossbar look, the Corbin Russwin ED3200 is a 48 inch Grade 1 crossbar rim device and the CRL Jackson 1095 Series is a 48 inch crossbar rim panic device, wide stile and exit only. For a paddle, the CRL Jackson 1095P is a paddle rim panic device, wide stile and exit only. The CRL Jackson 1295 Series is the non-handed push pad version, wide stile and exit only, closer in operation to the ED-501, which is itself non-handed and reversible.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is offered in AL aluminum and DU duronotic finishes and is a mechanical device with no electrical function. For a card reader opening, the Dormakaba electrified rim 36 inch device with 4908A trim is listed with a classroom function, the SDC S6136 Spectra is a 36 inch electrified architectural rim exit device with a 4 inch wide stile, and the Sargent 12-8810-LTRIM is a fire rated wide stile rim device with RX and MELR. Those add signaling and electric latch retraction that a mechanical rim device does not provide.

The Imperial USA ED-501 fits doors 26 to 36 inches and can be cut down to 26 inches in length. If a shorter factory size is preferred, the Adams Rite 3700, 8700 and 8800 Series are offered at 30 inches, the Arrow 3880 Series is a 30 inch Grade 1 rim exit bar with a wide stile pushpad, exit only, the Arrow FS1250 is 32 inches, and the Design Hardware 1000R and 2000R are 33 inch devices.

The Imperial USA ED-501 is described as appropriate for heavy duty commercial and industrial applications and is certified ANSI A156.3 Grade 1. Peers with a stated extra heavy duty level are the Detex 10 Advantex Series, a 36 inch Grade 1 wide stile rim device, and the Detex 40 Advantex Series, the Grade 1 narrow stile version. Peers listed at heavy duty include the TownSteel ED1100 at 36 inches Grade 1 wide stile, the DORMA 9300 Series, and the Stanley Security QED200 narrow stile device.

Two: AL aluminum and DU duronotic. Aluminum is the usual match for clear anodized storefront and painted hollow metal; duronotic is the dark bronze tone that matches dark anodized frames. Pick the one that matches the frames already on the building, since the device sits on the push side in plain view.

Plastic. The end cap on the ED-501 is plastic, which is worth knowing on a high abuse opening like a school corridor or a loading dock where carts hit the bar end. If you want a metal end cap on the same class of device, the Marks USA M9900 36 inch rim device ships with a Panic Protector end cap.