Gas Struts

November 13, 2013 10:46 AM

I have a couple of gas struts to lift a big steel hatch. I'm concerned about breaking them (because I had a couple of other gas struts which did break) I'm assured by the vendor that they are suitable for the location, but I am not entirely convinced by their design. It was put together only by looking at a few photos and is only really for the purpose of selecting the correct bracketry etc. What do I need to think about when attaching these struts? What sort of forces are particularly bad? What kind of travel should I be looking at? Basically what advice can you give me on positioning these things?
posted by Just this guy, y'know to Technology (2 answers total)

Best answer: They will function best in a straight line motion, so ideally you'd like to position them so they don't have to traverse any sort of significant arc between their close and open positions. Any lateral motion will wear on the outer seals and piston seals, and those will deteriorate rapidly if they have to bear any lateral weight. Also, depending on the weight of the hatch, you may also need to consider how beefy the two attachments points are for each strut, especially if one or both strut ends are attached to a right angle stand off, pivot, or ball end.
posted by mosk at 1:37 PM on November 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks,
they're installed now. Not broken, but I'm not entirely happen with them.
I had to depressurise them more than I really expected to make them useable, and I suspect I needed to have a slightly different closed position to make themnot want to spring open.
Oh well, it's done now.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:31 AM on November 14, 2013