Window balance problem

A home owner from St. Cloud, FL says:

Good morning,

All of my window balances have been broken, due to the heat in Florida. The area where you screw the window balance to the window had also been broken, so I was unable to get a true measurement for the window balance. 

I took one of the old window balances to a local window shop, and they advised it was a 29 inch window balance. I ordered the 29in window balance from your company, and when I installed it the spiral came out from the metal casing. When I was able to keep the spiral in the metal casing, it was very difficult to open the window, however, the window would stay open. 

I have attached pictures of what the window balance looks like installed, which shows the spiral out of the metal casing. Do I need a longer window balance, or is there something I am doing wrong with the install? 

Also, one of your videos shows to put the spiral all the way up and then pull down and charge the balance. When it's pulled down, it seems as though the balance is charged. Is this normal? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!Andrew

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Paul from SWISCO responded:

Many thanks for your correspondence. Tell us more about the 29" long balance you bought from us. Did it have the same thickness as your old balance tube? Are you able to show us the old balance with a tape ruler next to it? And may we see the top of the window track where the balance is screwed to? From there, we will try and identify what you need. 

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Paul from SWISCO responded:

Well, I can see one issue right away. It looks like your old balance is longer than the balance you purchased from us. It looks like it's 29-1/2" long; most spiral balances aren't made in 1/2" increments anymore but we usually recommend rounding up to the next highest inch.

It also looks like you have a damaged nylon casing left over at the top of the balance. This is considered the tube, not the rest of the spring you see here. What is the diameter of that white outer casing? If it's 9/16" or 5/8", then you want our Series 600.

The outer tube of our balances serves the same role as that old white casing. The only difference is that ours is metal instead of nylon, since the nylon deteriorates over time. 

A home owner from St. Cloud, FL says:
Thank you for the reply! The tubes appear to be the same thickness. I should say when I screwed the new balance into the window, the tube stick out and needs be to moved back to the track (does that mean it's too tight?) I've attached pictures of the old and new balance, as well a picture of where the balance gets screwed to (I still have the new balance screwed into the hole.. if you need it removed with a new picture, please let me know). Thank you for your help!!

Andrew
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A home owner from St. Cloud, FL says:
Ok, so get the 30" balance. The diameter measures 7/16", which appears to be the same size as the one I ordered from you. So get 7/16" 30" balances?
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Paul from SWISCO responded:

They never made a 7/16" balance. If it's less than 1/2", odds are it's 3/8". If that's the case then the Series 900 was correct.

Going back to your first post, you said that the spiral came out of the metal casing. To be more specific, do you mean that when you closed the window, the spiral was yanked out of place as if it were too short?

If so, then going up to the 30" balance should fix this. If you still run into this issue, you could also lower the mounting hole at the top to make up the difference. 

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