Spiral balances

Thanks for posting. It looks like you need new spiral balances for tilt windows. For the length, make sure you're measuring up to but not including the colored tip--that looks to be the case in your photo, and if so, then 28" is the correct length. We also need the diameter, specifically of that plastic outer tube. It should be either 3/8" or 5/8". It's a little tricky with these older spiral balances that used the plastic tube to do this, since they get flimsy--but do your best. If it's 3/8", then you need the S900-28; if it's 5/8", it's the S600-28. 

Finally, as far as the colored tips--it appears yellow at first glance, but true yellow tip spiral balances are pretty 'loud'--otherwise, they often are just faded colors. The tip color is important because it indicates the weight range the spiral balance can support. Do your best to confirm the exact weight of each window sash that these spiral balances support. You can then match those weights with the weight ranges listed alongside each color tip option under the product descriptions of both the S900-28 and S600-28 shop pages. 

Let me know if you have further questions about any of this. 

Hey there! Bob isn't here today but I'll do my best to advise you.

When measuring balance size, you basically want to go from the very top of the tube to the color tip at the bottom; you don't include the color tip in your measurement, you just stop short.

For most balances, you can measure just the outer tube itself and that'll be fine, since those always stop right at the color tip. Looks like your tubes stop a few inches before that, though, which is odd. Either these were altered in some way or it's some manufacturing defect.

Regardless, you want to measure from the very top of the balance to the white tip. That'll give you your length.

As for installing it, we always recommend using the same configuration as your old hardware. Don't worry about what our videos show or how other windows are configured; if your balances have been working fine all these years in their original position, then don't change it. If it ain't broke, and all that.

When you start altering the formula, that's when you start running into problems. You only want to change things when you know for sure that the original installers did something wrong, which, to be fair, does happen from time to time. But if you have no reason to suspect that these balances were installed incorrectly then I'd advise against messing with success.