Window Balancers Failing Often

A home owner from New Martinsville, WV says:
The springs on my coil balancers are breaking about every 6 months or less. The windows are from Hurd and no longer manufactured.The original shoe ears break off often. The spring bends and breaks where the 2 springs join. The spring mounts on the rotating shaft with a rubber gasket. The shaft turns with difficulty and the gasket breaks off.I noticed that my contractor had a support and shoe that you carry and had him install it on one of the windows. See below. The window works easier than the other windows with the style above.
User submitted photos of window hardware.
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Paul from SWISCO responded:
Your balances should definitely be lasting longer than just 6 months. It sounds like the springs you have area not the proper strength for the weight of the sash. Before we go over that, though, let's look at the Series.

Do you think you can use our Series 140 coil spring assembly? This comes with everything together in one kit. Look over the dimensions to make sure it can fit in your jamb track. Also keep in mind you may also need to replace the pivot bar with our 26-398 or 26-405; your old pivot bar may not work with the new shoe.

If this can work, you will need the weight of the sash. For this particular Series, you would divide the weight in half to determine the best option. For example, if your sash were 26 pounds, you would want the S140-13. One on each side will support the sash weight.

Let me know what you think!
A home owner from New Martinsville, WV says:
Your suggestion looks good. Two things make me think I will get better life from your suggestion. First, the spring appears to be held deeper in the shoe. The extra depth might stop the spring from bending and breaking like I am experiencing with the old shoes. Second,the spring is not mounted on a shaft that can get stiff. Before I order I need your opinion from the question in the original post about removing a small portion of the window channel to be able to remove the hardware without using spreaders. Thanks.
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Paul from SWISCO responded:
Great! I'm hoping these work better, too. I personally find the Series 140 to be a sturdy option. Sorry about missing your other question. If your window does not have a previously existing cutout, then making one yourself is definitely possible. Check out the video below, where we detail exactly how to go about this.
How to Remove a Pivot Shoe (Cutout Method)
How to Remove a Pivot Shoe (Cutout Method)
VIDEO
WATCH >
Removing Rusted Pivot Bars
Removing Rusted Pivot Bars
VIDEO
WATCH >
Anatomy of a tilt window
Anatomy of a tilt window
VIDEO
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How to replace a window pivot bar
How to replace a window pivot bar
VIDEO
WATCH >
How to Replace a Triple Coil Balance System
How to Replace a Triple Coil Balance System
VIDEO
WATCH >
Removing a Triple Coil Window Balance
Removing a Triple Coil Window Balance
GUIDE
READ >
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