vinyl window ballance

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 10, 2022 1:13 pm

I replaced the glass in this sash and now it won't stay open. I don't know what the difference is, but it now weighs 6 lbs. more. Original weighed 20 lbs.. This now weighs 26.4 lbs.. It appears to be a 8500 series. Single hung 20/30.
Is there a stronger spring? Glass dates to 1998. Home built 1999.

2 user uploaded images

11 Replies

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 10, 2022 2:44 pm

I took that 20/30 off of the remains of an inspection sticker. My bad. The bottom sash, frame and glass measure aprox. 33 1/4 inch x 30 1/2 inch.

Casey from SWISCO

May 11, 2022 11:47 am

Hello,

Your photos resemble the 15-180 balance shoe, which is compatible with the S190 coil springs. Take a look at the product's specifications and compare them to undamaged parts to confirm. Thanks for posting!

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 11, 2022 12:54 pm

Yes the S190 looks good, but will two of the 940 be strong enough to hold a 26 lb. sash?

Casey from SWISCO

May 11, 2022 1:40 pm

That would actually be too strong for a 26-pound sash. I would recommend using one S190-640 and one S190-740 on each side.

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 18, 2022 3:09 pm

The balances arrived and today I installed them. They are way too weak. They don't even slow it down. No improvement over the originals. If the 740 is rated for 7 lbs. and the 640 is rated for 6 lbs. that only comes to 13 lbs. How can I hold a 26 lb. sash? Two 940's are still only rated for 18 lbs.
Any thoughts on this?
Paul

Casey from SWISCO

May 18, 2022 4:04 pm

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble. I see that you only purchased one of each coil, so I'm assuming that you might have installed one coil on each side of the window. What I meant was that you would need to use the S190-640 and S190-740 on each side of the window, meaning that you would need a total of four coils.

I recommended these because you would have 13 pounds of support on each side of the window, which would support a total of 26 pounds based on your sash weight. Hopefully this clears up the confusion.

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 18, 2022 8:48 pm

In order to install two coils on each side, do I need double support detent clips? Can both coils be screwed to the shoe at the present location? Will this modification require making the access into the track bigger?

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 18, 2022 9:04 pm

I see I can attach a coil to both sides of the shoe. That answers that question.
fyi. I looked at the old coils under a magnifying glass and found a number 832 if it helps

Tom from SWISCO

May 19, 2022 1:30 pm

Hey there! Casey isn't here today, but I can help you from here.

Based on the weight of your sash at 26 pounds, then her original assessment was accurate; you need a 6 and 7 pound spring on each side of the window. That gives you 13 pounds per side, for 26 pounds total. We sell the 15-181 double spring clip and 15-182 bushing, in case you need an extra one.

If your original springs are marked with 832, that means they only hold 8 pounds each. With only one on each side, that's only 16 pounds of support. That's very weak for such a heavy window. You may want to triple check the sash weight just to be sure.

Home Owner from St. Louis, Mo.

May 20, 2022 9:31 am

Thank you Casey and Tom for all tour help. I never would have believed that there could be that much difference in replacement glass weight. The next time I order glass I will also give them the weight.
Paul