Good morning,
I recently just purchased a house and noticed some of my windows won't stay open so I feel I have to replace the window coil balance.
I'm not exactly sure what the weight I need but on the plastic in the front it has the number H-417. The window itself doesn't feel like it's 17 pounds, Maybe 10 pounds.
The windows look like they could be from the 90's and are double pain.
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Tom from SWISCO responded:
February 1, 2024
This is a fairly old balance assembly, but I think we can still help. Before I say anything for sure, though, I'd like a clear photo of both the spring and shoe removed from the track. Seeing them without obstruction will allow me to narrow down the list of possibilities by a considerable margin. It will also let you get the stamp printed on the spring, which will tell you precisely how much weight each coil can support. We can use that as a reference to pick out the best calibration for the job. Lastly, I'll need you to measure the thickness of the shoe and tell me what you get. If there is no number printed on your coil springs, then you will need to weigh your sash on a scale to verify its weight. Estimations unfortunately won't be enough when it comes to balances. These are very precise systems. |
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Tom from SWISCO responded:
February 2, 2024
Thanks! Looks like you only have the spring shown in these photos. I still need to see the shoe, if at all possible. Seeing it in undamaged condition would be ideal. Thank you! |
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Tom from SWISCO responded:
February 5, 2024
This is precisely what I needed to see, thank you! This pivot shoe appears to match our 15-140, which is 17/32" long and designed to be compatible with our Series 150 coil spring. Since your old springs are stamped with 6 and 4, you'd want our S150-6 and S150-4, respectively. These carry 6 and 4 pounds each, which tells me that your sash probably weighs a 20 pounds. We don't sell the plastic cover that yours has, unfortunately, as this is a somewhat older model, but we sell a few components that will work just as well. See our 15-143 bushing, 15-144 bushing cap, and 15-145 support barrel. These three components "sandwich" over the spring to form a cartridge, just like your old cover. It's just a different shape. You'd need one of each of these per spring in use. These pieces are all sold separately. Please feel free to reach out if you had any other questions and I'd be happy to assist. |
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Tom from SWISCO responded:
February 5, 2024
Sure, I'll do my best to clarify. The way these work is pretty straight-forward. Both springs will connect to the pivot shoe; the "loop" you see at the end of each spring slide into one of the slots you see at the top of the shoe. The loop itself acts as a kind of anchor and prevents it from slipping out. As for how these install in the window, a screw goes straight through the housing assembly (made up of the 15-143, 15-144, and 15-145) and into the jamb. I see screws in your old housing assembly and I presume that this is how your original installed; I admit I'm not fully familiar with that top bracket you have circled. There's nothing like that in our assembly. The housing just screws into the jamb track. This is traditionally how all modern coil balances install, usually only differing with how the spring attaches to the shoe. Hopefully this clears matters up! |
