Jeld wen spiral balance shoe

Home Owner from Niceville FL

Apr 25, 2022 2:36 pm

Hello I was hoping you could help identify replacement parts for this balance shoe and maybe the balance. I absolutely hate these as they are really hard to open and a few of them have broken. So I would prefer to have something that stays in as an alternative to the specific exact part. However I'll take whatever to fix the window for now.

Thanks!
Josh

1 user uploaded image

11 Replies

Emily from SWISCO

Apr 27, 2022 2:02 pm

Hey, Josh.

Your balance looks like a match for either our Series 900 (3/8" diameter tube) or Series 600 (5/8" diameter tube) with the black tip option. As for the pivot shoe, this could be either our 15-167 or 15-179 so I recommend looking over our dimensions and comparing them with yours to see which one of these matches best.

Home Owner from Niceville FL

Apr 27, 2022 3:23 pm

Thank you for the reply. I take it there are no other options? These break and the spiral balances are super hard to open a lot of the time. The house is not that old it's super frustrating. Is there any hints or tips on that whole setup? Thank you again!

Emily from SWISCO

Apr 27, 2022 3:52 pm

My apologies! We always recommend sticking with the hardware that's original to your window. I'll also post a video below that will walk you through the replacement process for these types of balances.

You say your spiral balances are hard to open, can you elaborate what you mean by this?

Home Owner from Niceville FL

Apr 27, 2022 4:12 pm

Copy on original hardware.

Basically the window is pretty tight as it is hurricane rated. However often times I'm using quite a bit of force to even get the window lifted uo / open for fresh air. The one tech came out and said to use pledge to help sort of lubricate it however I haven't found that to work consistently. More so, what seems to happen is the balances puts too much tension on the show and they pop out or in this case broke the metal bracket clip portion that the nubs go into. Also it is a pain to even get the little nubs to hook onto the bracket, from the spiral balance. I have the tool but it's not simple and I am realatively handy. Perhaps I need to buy more spiral balances as well and / or they have some sort of shelf life?

I'm willing to gamble on another balance / shoe solution if it fits, as well as the required parts.

Again I appreciate your input and help.

Tom from SWISCO

Apr 28, 2022 10:09 am

Hey there. Emily isn't here today but I'll do my best to help.

Sounds to me like these springs are too strong for the sash. You'd be surprised how many installers put in the strongest possible balance they can find, not realizing that that does more harm than good. They call these "balances" for a good reason; the calibration of the spring has to be balanced against the weight of the sash. If it's too strong then you run into the same issues you're having now.

Looking at your photos, I would wager that you have the 9/16" diameter Series 600. You have the Black Tip, too, which is the strongest possible calibration.

Can you tell me what the length of the tube is? That would allow me to determine exactly how much weight your balance was intended to support. Can you also tell me the weight of the sash itself? With those two pieces of information, I can confirm whether the Black Tip is indeed appropriate for your application and, if it's not, what would be better suited.

Home Owner from Niceville FL

Apr 28, 2022 8:38 pm

Thanks again for the help and input.

I would not take your wager, as I agree 9/16s. Those weak grooves are what I despise.

Attached is a measurement of the tube.

I actually don't have a scale in the house but they are double pain, impact resistant (hurricane rated) jeld wen windows installed in 2011-2.

If I had to guess 25-35 lbs but I was never good at that game.
I can borrow a scale.

It may be that they also spun the spiral balance too tight but it is such a pain to do that I could see that happening. I am not very good at that.

I appreciate your inputs so far!

3 user uploaded images

Tom from SWISCO

Apr 29, 2022 9:27 am

Thank you! That is a 31" balance, so with a black tip we're looking at 31 through 40 pounds of support precisely. If That's just fine if your sash is 35 pounds, but if it's more on the 25 pound end of things then that's a problem. It would definitely be too strong in that case. I would definitely try to get that sash weight to confirm.

It is also possible that it was over-calibrated. These only require 2-3 turns to be properly charged. Any more than that can cause issues, though maybe not as dramatic as what you're seeing now. Still, it's definitely possible. Knowing the sash weight will either confirm or eliminate that as an explanation.

Quick Learner from FL

May 10, 2022 9:01 am

Thanks!

Professional from Florida

Feb 17, 2026 3:20 pm

That pivot shoe is from a jeld-wen window. Its 15-179.
The only reasons a spiral balancer/tilt-sash would be difficult would be:
Its been adjusted to be too strong, which would make it hard to close/too easy to open which is unlikely.
The shoe is splitting and creating drag.
If the balancers are popping out, its difficult to open then they are not retracting correctly and youre having to lift it harder essentially lifting the shoe off of the balancer. Meaning its not adjusted strong enough or the balancer was the issue and as it continued to jump, ruined the pivot shoe. They are cast pot-metal. Slag basically and are not very durable.
Or its a contractor grade jeld-wen window installed by subcontractors and overshimmed. The pledge trick works temporarily.
its possible the bucks swelled.
Id suggest measuring the inside and see if its consistent. My guess is you have a combination of issues and id start with the measurements. They are free. To be honest it's not a great product but if it were my home id start with the installation.

Professional from Florida

Feb 17, 2026 3:27 pm

A spiral balancer can be too weak and fail. Unlikely to be too strong since the tension is set manually.