Spiral Balances

Quick Learner from San Jose, CA

Jun 12, 2014 1:28 pm

I watched the video of how to replace the spiral balances and am anxious to get started. I am having difficulty getting the sash out of the window however. The "give it a twist" part is not working for me at all. Is there a way to get the sides to slide better to allow removal of the sash?

6 Replies

Paul from SWISCO

Jun 13, 2014 8:58 am

First, make sure you raise the sash up a few inches before you tilt it in. That's an important step. If that still doesn't work, then there may be a way around it.

What kind of spiral balances are they? If you have tilt window spiral balances like our Series 600 then you may not have to remove the sash at all. You just need to get access to the bottom of the spiral as it attaches to the pivot shoe. It would be a little trickier getting out and replacing, but if you have no other option then it's worth a try.

Quick Learner from San Jose

Jun 13, 2014 10:03 am

After much struggle and lets say "encouragement", I was able to move one side up enough to get the sash out. I then found that I have 28 inch 3/8th inch wide tube balances. I don't know what series they are. The pivot shoe looks like a 9/16" thick code 15-173. I cleaned everything, checked the slide of the shoes and put everything back together. Again a real struggle to get the sash back in. The window is operating much better, but now I can order replacement parts. And the charging tool. For my application and parts, is there an easier way to remove/replace the sash than what was in the video?

Paul from SWISCO

Jun 13, 2014 1:15 pm

Well, you could also tilt the window sash in and loosen the tilt bar just enough so you can slide it out of the shoe. With a 3/8" diameter tube, you could have our Series 900 spiral balance.

Quick Learner from San Jose, CA

Jun 13, 2014 6:31 pm

I haven't learned what a "tilt bar" is yet. What is it and how do I access it to loosen?

Tom from SWISCO

Jun 16, 2014 9:46 am

The tilt bar is typically a piece of metal that is installed into the bottom of a tilt window sash. It's the piece that fits into the pivot shoe itself. Take a look at our tilt bar section to get a good idea of what they look like.