Every so often I love to have a guest blogger write a post for me, so I can have the night off to do something fun and exciting like attend a PTO meeting (sad, right?). My colleague, Steve Ostapower, was recently involved in a situation where the power usage of a Von Duprin EL (electric latch retraction) device was questioned, and I asked him to share his findings with you (Thanks Steve!). Enjoy!
I'm in San Antonio, Texas at a beautiful hotel and conference center for our annual sales meeting, and there are A LOT of doors with mag-locks. Check out the coordination of the bank of pairs below...concealed closers, overhead stops, and mag-locks all coexisting in the same space. Notice that the mag-locks have a split armature to save space vs. a double-magnet. Every pair has a motion sensor, a push button, and a key switch, presumably for locking and unlocking the mag-lock. I would not typically specify a separate key switch for each opening in a bank of doors, but nobody asked me.
I saw this application twice in one week...the exit sensor for the mag-lock mounted behind the exit sign. It definitely affects the range of the sensor. The code requirements for mag-locks do not address exact placement of the sensor, but this seems like common sense, no?
Many of Schlage and Von Duprin's electronic access control product numbers have changed within the last couple of years, and I've gotten a lot of calls about converting products and finding current information. The Electronic Access Control Catalog is now available on the Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies website, and the Search feature makes it much easier to find what you're looking for.
This post was printed in the January 2012 issue of Doors & Hardware
This photo was taken by Jim Lenox of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies of Metro-NY. What you can't see in the photo is the pair of vertical rod panics which have had their rods and latches removed.
Have you ever run into one of those doors that needs access control, but for whatever reason it's almost impossible to get the wires to the lock? Maybe it's an existing door (especially if it's fire rated), or an opening set into stone or a fancy surround like the door on the left. It might be a situation where the wiring would have to be run in surface-mounted conduit, or where drilling into the walls or ceiling would create too much dust or would interrupt a busy workspace. In a health care facility, there are specific procedures that must be followed to protect the air quality for patients and staff. An exterior gate or remote door would also be a tough access control installation if the product is hard-wired.
This post was printed in the September 2011 issue of Doors & Hardware
One of my favorite job-related activities is going into a facility and helping with their hardware problems. This week I was called into a police station to look at a door that had allowed several escapes, as well as the main entrance. I thought it would be fun to see what you all would recommend in these situations.
I don't know about you but I'm so overwhelmed with information and data that I can't find anything. I hate spending time looking for what I need...Google has ruined me! I'm so used to being able to find an answer to any question within seconds, it drives me crazy when I can't.
I was at a security meeting for one of my projects recently, and I heard the security consultant refer to the "secured side of the door," meaning the inside - the area that is protected by the security system.
This is a very unusual door - stone clad and an exterior opening only about 100 feet from the ocean. The door and panic hardware were installed by Entry Systems Ltd., the stone, mag-lock, and wood surround were added by someone else. The photos were sent to me by Eyal Bedrik of Entry Systems Ltd., in Israel (Thanks Eyal!). If you have any questions about this opening, just leave them in the comments section and I'm sure Eyal will be happy to fill us in.
I have a special place in my heart for locksmiths. Maybe it's because I've been "saved" a few times...like the time I locked myself out of my apartment in my PJs at 6 a.m. Or maybe it's because I like the mechanics of what they do. I always loved helping our in-house locksmith with masterkeying, and I've been told by an experienced locksmith that I'm a natural at shimming cylinders. How many people can say that?!
I swear, I didn't send him the camo underwear. :-)
Today my oldest daughter and I participated along with some of my coworkers and some of our compañeros from Trane, in the Quannapowitt Take the Lake 5K. It was a beautiful morning and we walked/ran in honor of some of our friends and coworkers who have battled cancer or are still fighting.
I saw this keypad lockset in a rest area on the Jersey Turnpike recently. Can you identify it?
All of today's reader photos came from my compañeros at Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies:
OMG - I LOVE this video. Maybe I'll get inspired to do a series of "Hardware Gal" videos. :-)
I'm getting ready to head to NYC to do a presentation for the DHI chapter there, so here are some quick photos of a cross-corridor fire-rated pair sent in by Andy Olson of Reliable Glass and Door. There has to be some sort of rule against this.
This post was printed in the January 2011 issue of Doors & Hardware
This post was printed in the December 2010 issue of Doors and Hardware
I just noticed an article in the Edinburgh Evening News that was worth sharing. No, I don't make a habit of reading Scottish newspapers, but thanks to Google I see all kinds of news items involving fire doors.
My daughter Norah and I went to New Haven yesterday for what will hopefully be our last trip to Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. Thank you to everyone who has inquired about her...she's doing great and is back to her old tricks.
My site has been moved to a new server so hopefully all of the technical difficulties are behind us and I can get on with the important stuff - DOORS! :-)
I visited a jobsite today and saw some QEL devices in action. If you're not familiar with the QEL device, it is a *quiet* version of the electric latch retraction exit device. When the access control system (card reader, key fob, etc.) signals the door to unlock, the latch(es) retract to allow someone to pull the door open. You can always exit by pushing the touchpad. I have used the QEL device on several high-profile spaces where noise is an issue. I recently specified them for auditoriums at the United States Institute of Peace and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where the latches are held retracted while the auditorium is unlocked. As you can see in the video below, the touchpads are also held in while the latches are retracted so there will be no sound associated with exiting while the doors are unlocked.
Last week I got a compliment about this site from a security consultant, and I asked him if there were any topics he'd like me to do a post about. He said that a post on electrified lever trim (E) vs. electric latch retraction (EL) would be helpful since he spends a lot of time explaining the difference to his clients. So Michael, this is for you, and everyone out there who has been wondering how to choose between the two.
Yesterday I spent a few hours auditing a class on the Schlage AD-Series Electronic Locks. If you haven't seen this lock yet, you should go to the website and take a look. The whole idea behind it is that it's adaptable. You can change the type of credential reader (keypad, mag-stripe, proximity/Smart Card/Multi-Tech reader) , the function (classroom/storeroom, office, apartment, privacy), or even the level of access control (offline, networked, wireless), and the changes can be made without taking the lock off the door. So you install a stand-alone keypad lock today...tomorrow you can change it to a networked wireless lock with a Smart Card reader, and only the credential reader and inside escutchen need to be replaced. The rest of the change is accomplished with free firmware.
When someone wants to install an electromagnetic lock on the pull side of the door, I feel like it's my civic duty to warn them that the installation will not be pretty. I was finally able to get a photo of this application in the T.F. Green Airport today, so I'll be able to use it as descriptive evidence in the future.
Last night I went to a presentation at one of our 3 local middle schools, which I'm guessing was built in the 70's. What struck me right away was that the exterior doors are all about 10' tall, and the interiors are about 9' with a transom panel above. What a strange application for a school. They still seem to be working pretty well though.
I went to see an architect on Friday, for what I thought would be a 2-hour meeting to discuss the security requirements for a new project. 3 1/2 hours later (time flies when you're talking about hardware!) I emerged to the sunlight (and the parking ticket), after literally resorting to cheerleading to get the architect through one more floor of the building (Her: "Lori, my brain hurts." Me: "Come on! You can do it!!").
Someone recently asked me whether a low voltage license is required for wiring electrified hardware in Massachusetts. I asked my Panel of Experts and did some research on the Mass.gov website, and (regardless of what actually happens out in the field on a daily basis) a license IS required for connecting wires to electrified hardware in Massachusetts (actually two licenses - read on).
One of the disadvantages of a shear lock is the noise associated with locking/unlocking. This post has a video of the operation of a shear lock.
That's the question I was asked on Friday..."If someone orders a delayed egress exit device or delayed egress mag-lock, when do they need the 'BOCA' feature?"
Fair warning...this is going to be one of those posts that makes your eyes glaze over, especially if you haven't had your coffee yet. But since I've seen several people come to my site looking for this information and leaving without it, I need to post about it before the next person comes looking. I'll try to make it as concise as possible, and remember, the red italicized paragraphs are the code excerpts so you probably don't need to read those unless you're really digging into this issue.
The open back strike hadn't been installed when I took this photo, but what else is missing? It's a tricky one, but you can click on the picture to enlarge it if you need to.
Well...the latch is retracted and it involves a wire! As a follow-up to yesterday's post about retrofit dogging accomplished with a tie-wrap, here's a photo from Brendan Daley of Horner Commercial Sales that was taken in a new hospital. I'm guessing they weren't happy with the lock function so they came up with this ingenious solution. I especially love the tape on the lever. Thanks Brendan!
Last week someone called me with a "quick question" about a double egress pair in a hospital. The hospital wanted to install shear locks on a pair of double egress doors, to use during emergency lock-downs. Unfortunately, as some of you have figured out by now, I don't usually have a quick answer. There are actually two issues here:
I didn't want to scare anyone by adding more information to my previous post about stairwell re-entry, but I do get questions about how to accomplish this. The stairwell re-entry requirements state that the stair side lever must unlock on fire alarm or on a signal from the fire command station depending on the code (there is always free egress from the non-stair side). I have seen stair doors that had been retrofitted with card readers and electric strikes. If these doors are required by code to meet the stairwell re-entry requirements, an electric strike is not an acceptable way to do this.
Remember him? I guess I'm dating myself if I admit that I do since he made his debut in the mid- to late-80's, right around the time that Bill Lawliss, John Gant, and I all graduated with degrees in Architecture from Vermont Technical College. Just think where we could be now if we took those drafting jobs we were offered instead of choosing the glamorous field of door hardware.
An EPT is an electrical power transfer, which is used to transfer wires from the door frame to the edge of the door. It is used when there is a door-mounted piece of electrified hardware which requires power and/or sends a signal to a remote location. The security consultants that I have worked with all prefer the EPT over electric hinges or door loops, which perform the same function. It is also preferred over an electric hinge by most installers, because the EPT can be installed when the wiring connections are made, rather than being installed by the carpenter, removed for wiring, and reinstalled, getting mangled in the process. The EPT is concealed when the door is closed (the door loop is exposed and prone to abuse) and it can accommodate larger gauge wires than an electric hinge.
