Door Industry Journal - Spring 2018

115 THE door industry journal spring 2018 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Locks & Building Hardware Corrosion Resistance Testing In this article Mark Lockley, Sales Director at Zero Seal Systems, reveals the extensive processes his company uses to ensure that the building hardware products they sell meet a satisfactory level of corrosion resistance. With many of our products being fitted to both the external and internal faces of outward opening doors, we are often asked for information regarding a products resistance to the elements, and in particular, corrosion. Test data relating to corrosion resistance may already be available for some of the specialist door hardware we distribute, especially the CE marked items, but for a lot of products it’s not. Although not an essential characteristic for most items, we at Zero like to have the answer! Therefore, across a wide range of products, we have carried out some independent Corrosion Resistance testing to BS EN 1670:2007 at a UKAS accredited laboratory. BS EN 1670:2007 specifies the requirements for the corrosion resistance of building hardware for doors, windows, shutters and curtain walling. It provides a method of classification of corrosion resistance of building hardware based on its performance in a neutral salt spray test. BS EN 1670:2007 is the standard used for corrosion resistance testing in many harmonised European door hardware standards such as BS EN 1125 and BS EN 12209 for instance. Briefly, testing involves placing products in a chamber ready to be sprayed with a salt water solution for a set number of hours. We decided to test for Grade 4 corrosion resistance, which is a 240 hour duration test, and classified as Very High Corrosion Resistance. We opted for Grade 4 as it is rarely tested to for door hardware with Grade 3 (96 hours) seeming to be the norm. We are pleased to advise that the following products were successfully tested to Grade 4; Outside Access Devices for panic & emergency exit hardware, surface mounted Door Stays, Door Stops, Lever Handles, Escutcheons, Pull Handles, Cylinder Pulls, Door Viewers, Gate Fittings, Vision Frames both square and circular, Door Louvres, Door Loops both surface mounted and concealed, Flush Bolts, Thresholds, Automatic Door Bottoms, Frame Seals, Rain Deflectors, Brush Strips, Door Selectors and Finger Protection. We believe having such a broad scope of products tested to Grade 4 will enable them to be specified and used with confidence in general external situations. Please contact us for details on exact products tested, and equally a full test report is available on request.