I recently saw a photo in a door and hardware installers’ group on social media, with a question about the purpose of the cylinder on the active head of the panic hardware. Was it supposed to prevent the touchpad from retracting the latch? Or control the locked/unlocked indicator? Or something else?
I can see why this might cause some confusion – similar to a classroom security function lockset which has a key cylinder on the inside as well as the outside. I have had a few AHJs initially reject the classroom security function locks, thinking that the inside cylinder would lock the inside lever, preventing egress.
With a classroom security function lockset, and with the panic hardware shown here, the inside cylinder locks and unlocks the outside lever. This allows an authorized person to lock the door from the inside, without opening it – an important part of every school security plan.
The product in the photo is Von Duprin 98/99 panic hardware, with the -2SI option. Turning a key in the cylinder will lock or unlock the outside lever, and will change the indicator to show the status of the lever. Egress is not impacted at all – building occupants are still able to exit with one motion (pushing the touchpad).
And if you’re wondering why the cylinder has been moved from the top of the head to the bottom, the change was made to allow this function to be used with vertical rod panic hardware. Retrofit kits are available to add this feature to existing Von Duprin panics.
For more information about this function, visit the Von Duprin website where you will find a data sheet as well as a video.
Any questions?
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a quick nod to the hard working and able end user business development reps from Allegion. They have been especially focused on the education vertical market. Open / closed indicators for classroom security is a common need in k-12 and higher education settings. End user reps in Southern California have introduced this concept to facility managers and the “lock people” on their staff, and written specs for them.
although there are some terrific locksmiths who work in the education vertical, the majority are less experienced than someone you would normally refer to as a locksmith. So when it comes time to do a change our on an entire campus or school, the facilities people, or their lock people, are ill-equipped to handle the job. It is just too big to do, and also do their day to day lock work. So we have seen many districts reach out to the faster and more experienced locksmiths and hardware installers to bring these types of retro-fits to life.
If you fall into the category of faster or more experienced, you may want to reach out to the factory reps in your area, or contact your distribution reps in you area, for an introduction.
This has been a nice piece of business for our company. The lock people have generally been excited to have us on their property, and make a big improvement in a short period of time.
Thanks factory reps, for suggesting improvements and retro-fits on existing buildings.
If you, as a factory rep, do not know who to suggest to help on this kind of project, contact the distributor reps in your area for the name of locksmith dealers who have the staffing, training, and experience to handle a project like this. Together we can make the world better one door at a time.
Thank you so much, Glenn!
– Lori