Broken window assembly part

Home Owner from Tuscaloosa, AL
Looking to purchase replacement parts.
5 user uploaded images
8 Replies
Tom
Tom from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

Thanks for contacting us! Looks like you'll need an all new balance. Yours looks like our Series 795, but you seem to have a hook at the top. Ours uses a screw tab, not a hook, so this will have to be a custom order. I just had a few questions before we begin.

First, can you remove the bottom "T" shaped shoe and tell me its overall width? It should be either 1" or 1-1/4".

Can you also tell me how many balances you need?

Once I know that, I'll email you an order link and price quote for the desired quantity. Our balance will have the appropriately sized bottom shoe in addition to a 15-198 hook on top, allowing it to install the same as your original.

Home Owner from Tuscaloosa, AL
It's very difficult to get that shoe out. I'm concerned that I'll damage the channel it's in. It seems to fit flush in the channel and that's 1-1/4". To me, it seems like the balances are ok, it's just that the hooks on the shoes are broken, so they don't attach to the balances. There is very little play in the channel for the shoes to move and I'm thinking maybe that's the problem. Could I have the wrong size shoes and maybe a 1" shoe would fix the problem?

I have four windows that all seem to have the same problem, broken hooks on the shoes. The one window that does work is difficult to open and close because it's so tight in the track.

I'm thinking maybe for now, I should just get two pairs of shoes for one window, 1" and 1-1/4" and see if one of those pairs fixes the problem.

Thanks for all your help.
Tom
Tom from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

To remove the shoe, you just tilt it in and twist it so that the "T" is vertical instead of horizontal. It should just slip out of the jamb after that. I don't want to guess at its size. I've been burned too many times in the past whenever I've tried. At this point you could have either size.

I'm also afraid that our shoes won't work on your balances. If you look at the "stem" on your shoe (the skinny part that goes into the balance channel), it has a deep groove. This is to accommodate the shape of the metal channel. Our shoes lack that groove and so will be too large to fit. 

Home Owner from Tuscaloosa, AL
The width of the shoe at the bottom is 1". Is that groove in the balance photos what you mentioned, and is that groove part of the design or part of the problem?

You may notice what looks like some part numbers on the shoe. Notice the shoe hooks that attach to the balance are broken. They're made out of a cheap, rubbery plastic material that seems to be dry rotted and it's crumbling apart.

Thanks
5 user uploaded images
Tom
Tom from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

Yep, that's the groove I was talking about. That will prevent our shoes from working since they lack a matching groove on their stem.

As for your shoe, that will match our 15-194. This is everything we need to know. I'll email you an order link and price quote right now for 2 balances. To summarize what we're doing, this will be an S795-28 with a 28C stamp. It will also have a 15-198 hook on top and a 15-194 shoe on bottom. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Home Owner from Tuscaloosa, AL
I ordered one set to see how that works. If they work, I'll order three more sets.

Do you have any tips on installing them, or how to videos? I'm concerned about damaging the channels when installing the parts, because the channels are so tight and don't have any cutouts for the shoes.

Thanks for all your help.
Tom
Tom from SWISCO
SWISCO
Expert

Awesome, thank you! Please let us know how they work out.

As for installation, I recommend looking at the video below. Now, this video is specifically a tutorial on a project that has nothing to do with your window, it just so happens to incorporate the Series 795. However if you skip ahead to the 3:15 mark, you'll see my pal Mike install this exact balance in the track. Hopefully this helps!

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