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When Things Start Out...
Here's some things you may hear... Be on the lookout!
How it all starts out . . . When there's door issues.
• The vendors slowed me down
• The vendors gave me bad parts
• In theory the door is suppose to work, right ?
• It's everyone else's fault !
When the original install has been completed,
you would think the door should work and work for years to come !
• It's not normal for new doors to have cracked welds, is it ?
Especially on the main lifting points . . . Real safety concern !
• If you noticed one cracked weld, there may be more to follow !
• It may be a good idea to have an engineer inspect the entire doorframe !
Maybe it's their first large door . . .Is the door underdesigned ?
Noisy Doors - On New Door Hinges - Why are the hinges making awful noises ?
How much noise will the door make in years to come ?
Noisy Cylinders - The new noisy cylinders had to be replaced . . .
How many times will the cylinders need to be replaced ?
It's not normal to be changing out cylinders on a new door, is it ?
New Doors come with a warranty and hope to be trouble free for years to come.
• It's not normal to be expermenting with different pumps designs on a new install. What's even worse is if you are shorted the pump on a new install.
ARE WE TALKING ABOUT A prototype door HERE ?
not something tested or proven ?
It's Easy to sell a door but, not everyone has the experience to manufacture a safe door !
What's the cost to buy your door a second time ?
has the Experience and know-how !
Imagine waking up to this knowing that you won't be able to get your aircraft out of the hangar. This inferior "other brand" hydraulic 74' x 19' Florida hangar door literally fell off its hinges and had to be sent to the junk heap. It was replaced with a Schweiss hydraulic door.
HERE IS ANOTHER DOOR IN FLORIDA...
HINGES RIPPING OFF
HINGES RIPPING OFF
THE DOOR HEADER
* NOT A SCHWEISS DOOR!
Imagine walking out to your hangar to take in an important business meeting or family vacation and your big 74’ door is twisted and lying on the ground. A Florida airport manager experienced this shocking revelation.
“It looked like the top hinges broke off starting with a structural failure at one corner which created a domino effect halfway across to the side of the building. There were several planes in the hangar at the time, but they thankfully weren't damaged. This calamity put the hangar out of operation for four months. We chopped up the door and threw it away. It wasn't good for anything else; it was just nothin' but a hunk of junk metal sitting there. It wasn't even an old door; it was installed in 2010. I think the company that built it is now out of business or operating under a different business name.”
- Tom Vaughan
Florida airport manager
This was a perfect case that emphasizes the need for hydraulic or bifold door buyers to do their homework on why some manufacturers doors and door components are superior to others. A “company, now out of business, ” sold and installed a 74’ x 19’ hydraulic door at Airglades Municipal Airport in Florida that went to the ground due to inferior hinges not strong enough to hold the door in place; and this was during normal weather conditions, no wind, no storm whatsoever! The entire door had to be sent to the scrap heap and was replaced with a Schweiss hydraulic door. A perfect scenario of why “cheap” doesn't save you money in the long run.
“I can tell you one thing, if we ever have to replace any other doors, it will be with a Schweiss door and not any other brand door; there is no doubt about it,” said Tom Vaughan, who manages the Airglades and LaBelle municipal airports near Clewiston and in LaBelle, Florida.
Getting a new Schweiss hydraulic door fixed this dilemma, but can you imagine, there are 69 more of these inferior doors at LaBelle and Airglades to worry about each day.
You might expect something like this to happen if a tornado, hurricane or high wind conditions ripped through the area, but exactly the opposite was the case - weather conditions were not a factor.
“I can tell you one thing, if we ever have to replace any other doors, it will be with a Schweiss door and not any other brand door; there is no doubt about it. We asked our local aviation engineer to look at the Schweiss door from his engineering standpoint. He took pictures and we gave him a brochure and he said he was going to take it back to his engineering firm to tell them if they have any future clients interested in putting up a door to direct them to Schweiss.”
- Tom Vaughan
Florida airport manager
“It looked like the top hinges broke off starting with a structural failure at one corner which created a domino effect halfway across to the side of the building. There were several planes in the hangar at the time, but they thankfully weren't damaged. This calamity put the hangar out of operation for four months,” said Vaughan.
Vaughan said that when his door fell he had heard prior to the incident that the door company had gone out of business. Looking online to see what other door designs there were, he ran across Schweiss Doors. They also had a local tenant, who upon returning from the SUN 'n FUN air show saw the Schweiss Doors display and described how well they were built.
“We chopped up the door and threw it away. It wasn't good for anything else; it was just nothin' but a hunk of junk metal sitting there. It wasn't even an old door; less than six years old, it was installed in 2010. I think the company that built it is now out of business or operating under a different business name. I wasn't even able to call the manufacturer to see if he would stand by his product,” said Vaughan.
The hangar now has a 74’ 3” x 19’ 2” custom-made Schweiss hydraulic door on it. The door is engineered for 175 mph windload with a 12-volt backup system and reinforced with a strong external truss and Schweiss' hydraulic steel frame with triple push tubes. The newly designed wraparound hinges can be lubricated from inside the building. It also has a hydraulic 2-speed valve that enables the door to slow down at the top and bottom cycle for smoother operation.
“Schweiss doors are overly built, the hinges are 10 times better and bigger than the chicken sh-- hinges on the other manufacturers door. They all have grease fittings where the “ other manufacturers ” doors don't have grease fittings. The Schweiss cylinders are about three times the size for the same size door.
“We asked our local aviation engineer to look at the Schweiss door from his engineering standpoint. He took pictures and we gave him a brochure and he said he was going to take it back to his engineering firm to tell them if they have any future clients interested in putting up a door to direct them to Schweiss. Our Schweiss hydraulic door arrived on time and in good condition. Schweiss made a promise to have it to us in three weeks, and they darn sure did. We were thinking it would be 60 to 90 days to get the door. I worked with the engineers at Schweiss Doors and they were very helpful with suggestions and gave us all the information we needed,” concluded Vaughan.
You know what they say about hindsight being 20/20?
It doesn't have to be that way if you just do your homework before deciding on whose door to buy!
The large Florida hangar had several aircraft inside when the door collapsed. Had a plane been leaving the hangar it could have resulted in a lost aircraft or even death.
NOT A SCHWEISS DOOR!
WILL YOURS BE NEXT?
Another door less than six years old being hauled off to the junkyard!
In addition to the loss of many thousands of dollars worth of useless door, additional expense was incurred to remove it and purchase a Schweiss replacement door. The less than six-year-old hangar was put out of commission for four months.
Hydraulic Door
Repair Video
SOME TOOLS MAY BE REQUIRED...
• Cutting torch • Fire blanket • Jack to lift the doorframe • A welder and a good parts store!
It seems that in the hydraulic door world, some keep using the same design, putting little or no thought into improving it. So guess what? You end up with the same-old design! Good or bad, time tells the story. See the door video below! When you buy a door it may come with all the hydraulic safety gismos, but when the frame tears apart and cylinder brackets rip off the subframe, the door is coming down fast! This is not safe!
WHAT KIND OF FRAME DESIGN DO YOU HAVE?
WHO MANUFACTURED YOUR DOOR?
(Note: the door below is not a Schweiss Door)
The Schweiss Hinge Design
The Schweiss hinge design is superior. The Schweiss design, with the extra long pin, not only reduces the stresses in all the components of the hinge, but it spreads the forces on a narrow section of the door. The Schweiss design is robust !
The Only Door With Wrap-around Hinges
Grease Zerks on All Hinges
Double Push Tubes
Patent Pending
Strong Doorframe!
Unique Schweiss Design
Wraparound Hinge Brackets (RED)
Solid Connection
More surface area
Ties into the header tube
The Schweiss Advantage
Wraparound Hinge Brackets (GREEN)
Solid Connection
Ties into the vertical doorframe
The hinge is the door... so it had better be STRONG!
The weight of the door and hydraulic forces exert loads on the hinge while the door is operating
The unique hinge design incorporates heavy hinge plates that wrap around each vertical push tube for added rigidity. Without this wrap-around design, the doorframe members can be overstressed and begin to tear apart from door weight and hydraulic forces over time. This won't happen with a Schweiss Door!
Hydraulic doors operate with one set of top hinges. These hinges need to be strong enough to support the door weight and the hydraulic cylinder forces when opening; unlike a bifold door that shares the load between the top hinges and the center hinges.
Hinge Surface Area
It's all about surface area. The more surface area you have in the hinge design, the lower the stresses will be in all the components. The Schweiss hinge design has 22" of surface area that will give you years of service no matter what size door.
SCHWEISS HINGES... ONE OF A KIND
More Hinge Points
More Surface Area
Strong Hinges
Greasable Hinge Pins
Removeable Hinge Pins
smart design
The Schweiss robust hinges are designed to withstand the door weights and hydraulic forces of the cylinders as the door opens. Your door is only as good as its hinges! Take one look at the Schweiss hinges and you will clearly see the workmanship, strength and functionality of each hinge. The Schweiss hinges are big... strong... heavy-duty.
Greater Hinge Surface Area
Are You Experiencing
Hydraulic Door Problems?
Below is a sample of a Hydraulic Failure Study that was done by an engineering firm...
Scope:
The scope of this report is to evaluate the forces on the existing hydraulics while opening the door and provide recommendations regarding the door opening force and commonly reported problems and failures.
Commonly reported problems and failures:
- Door side tube becomes detached from door top tube.
- First exterior door hinge becomes detached from building door subheader.
- Door top cylinder bracket becomes detached from door subjamb.
Temporary Fixes - (Schweiss Doors does not endorse some of the fixes below!):
- Reinforce the upper hydraulic cylinder bracket
The hydraulic cylinder connection to the door subjamb should be reinforced to resist the full Hx and Hy cylinder forces. - The existing top cylinder connection bracket detaches from the door subjamb
While an actual analysis of the existing cylinder bracket is beyond the scope of this report, the attached photos and sketches do not appear to be capable of resisting this load. Anecdotal reports of movement or twisting of the existing bracket and cracks in the existing bracket welds would indicate that, in the opinion of the author of this report, the brackets require reinforcement. - Replacement of the first exterior hinge
Analysis of the existing hinge is outside of the scope of this report. The first exterior hinge should be replaced to resist the full exterior hinge reaction force of 29.0 kips horizontal and 3.8 kips vertical. - Reinforce Vertical door side column to door top tube
Analysis of the existing connection is outside of the scope of this report. The gusset must be sized to transfer the 29.0 kip force parallel to the door-side vertical member. This force must be evenly distributed to the first exterior hinge connection. - Evaluate the existing building structure
The existing structure should be evaluated by a qualified professional engineer to determine if the door-side column is sized properly for torsion, bending, and axial forces as indicated in this report. Evaluate the existing load transfer from the first exterior hinge to the lateral force resisting system of the building. - Evaluate the hydraulic cylinders
Hydraulic cylinders should be evaluated to determine if they are sized appropriately and have proper spherical bearings to reduce excessive wear and reduce bending stresses.
Hard Working People are Experiencing
Hydraulic Door Failures... Why?
- What can happen when others fail to report loads or the proper loads?
When manufacturing large moving doors, without understanding how increasing door forces put additional strain on the building, others have failed to report loads properly. Maybe they don't know how to obtain the correct information. In that case, they're not giving building manufacturers the important detailed information they need. There's windload strength built into each hydraulic door. You're taking a big risk if the other hydraulic door manufacturer designed the door and reports the loads of the door for the closed position only! Now the building company doesn't have good information to properly design the building structure! That's risky business! The end result... the building manufacturer doesn't build the building to be strong enough or capable of handling all the increased forces that a large moving door will have on the building structure, which can lead to more failure! - One size does NOT fit all doors!
It appears others are using brackets, hinges, and cylinders designed to be "one-size-fits-all." But one size does NOT fit all doors! When manufacturers don't understand that forces and eccentricity keep increasing as the doors get larger and larger, you end up having a door that, over time, may fail when using underrated cylinders, cylinder brackets, hinges, and a doorframe that is too light. - Hydraulic Doors Keep Getting Larger
Yes, it's true that hydraulic doors have been a big part of the large commercial door market for years now. BUT, over time, hydraulic doors continue to increase in size. Hydraulic doors keep getting larger and the door forces increase as the doors increase in size. As hydraulic-style doors get larger, the forces become much greater, but they're still lifted at only two lift points, putting more stress on those two cylinders, top cylinder brackets, hinges, and the doorframe. - It's costly to remove and replace an existing door that is destroying itself!
When purchasing a Hydraulic Door, purchase the door from a reputable door company that is there for you, to service and provide you with the correct door data information, and to make your door a safe door that will work for many years! SCHWEISS DOORS
Schweiss is on the Move
It's an exciting time for Schweiss Doors. We are continually engineering and delivering the next generation of Hydraulic Doors to a market that is long overdue! Schweiss Doors leaves its customers with a much safer product and better support that's backed with years of "Safe Door Sense."
That's why Schweiss Doors is the leader in the hydraulic door industry. We're not trying to see how cheap we can build it - Schweiss is driven to build the Best Door!
You must KNOW THE FACTS and KNOW THE LOADS on the door that will be repeatedly impacting every member of the door, its subframe, and your valuable building structure. These things fatigue like anything else, and if improperly designed, their life span can be extremely short; that leads to DANGER, DAMAGE, and FAILURE.
IMPORTANCE OF WARRANTY...
WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO THE END USER OF THE DOOR?
If the door company I rely on for warranty claims goes out of business. Now What?
If a company you depend on for your commercial door needs disappears, you could be left with a lot of unanswered questions. What does this mean for my door? Who do I turn to now for repairs? My door is a very important part of my shop or hangar - will this unexpected situation hurt my real estate values?
You might be thinking: What good is a door if the brand name is now tarnished? When your bifold and/or hydraulic door provider goes under, you're the one who gets sold short. You're left with no service, no replacement parts and no one to walk you through important service issues. Think about it: what if something really goes wrong? A working bifold or hydraulic door is an absolute must for a properly functioning commercial building; you must trust your door!
Do Your Homework... look into a door Company's reputation... longevity... and experience!
Really! When you're looking to purchase a hydraulic or bifold door, you should always look into a door company's reputation, longevity and experience. Without a good reputation and a solid history, what are you left with? Not a thing - and definitely no one to rely on! It's scary when you have no backup for such a large, important component of your building! Price is one thing and quality is important, of course - but no warranty? Now there's an awful thought! Imagine getting ready to fly and your hangar door just won't budge! You and your plane aren't going anywhere. Getting ready to move your farm equipment and your shop door just won't budge! You and your large farm equipment aren't going anywhere. You run to the phone for helpful customer service, only to find that the door company you rely on is no longer in business!
Looking for the Cheapest? When you're tempted by the cheapest option on the market think about it first - because you really do get what you pay for! Without available service, you're really in a tough spot. Those problems will keep multiplying. Without that warranty, you're left calling around to find a reputable repairman. It's highly likely that repair company will ask you for the name of the door manufacturer - and once they find out the door company is no longer in business, they might just run from the mess, leaving you back at square one! In today's lawsuit-abundant world, a decent repair company isn't going to run out and assume the liability when the slightest thing goes wrong! In the real world, when that original door manufacturer is nowhere to be found, the last person to touch that door could be liable for negligence - and any good repair center knows this! Here's the thing: you're not only buying the door, you're buying the odds that the company will stick around for the long haul, ready to service your moving door when you need it most!
Who do I Turn to for Help?
At Schweiss Doors, we are in it for the long haul. We've been around for more than 35 years and we're not going anywhere! We're available to service the heck out of your door and we'll always be here when you need us.
Just remember this: Sure, that door you rely on so much moves great today - but just knowing that, should something ever go wrong, Schweiss Doors will back you up - now that's real peace of mind! You shouldn't have to experience that lonely, scary feeling when your door company goes out of business - at Schweiss, we're always here for your commercial door warranty needs. ALWAYS!
Sometimes the topic of warranty seems trivial, but at Schweiss Doors, we know there's much more to a door sale than just the sale itself! When you purchase a hydraulic or bifold door from Schweiss, you're just beginning a lasting realtionship with our company. We provide ongoing service - and that's the
Schweiss Advantage!
Warranty is everything! Imagine calling a company only to find out nobody's home - the entire company was dissolved! "Sorry baby, you're on your own!" No one wants to hear those words! At Schweiss, we know warranty is huge! Warranty is everything! A warranty without the original company behind it means absolutely nothing.
Warranty is worth it, it's everything, and you need a door company that will carry you through any service issue that may come up! At Schweiss Doors, we're here to help! We have a proven track record of excellent warranty servicing and fantastic customer care.
Do Not Believe Everything You're Told
Quote... A farmer asked..."When the door is hanging straight out there, you better have something strong holding those cylinders. Doesn't that put a lot of stress on the building?"
Quote... A engineer once said... "The Doors Will Find the Weak Points in our building design. Many metal building engineers have a tendency to get lax with the design of the door supports and framing surrounding your doors and forget that we not only have to support the weight and wind on the door, we also have to support its operation." *NOTE: "It's better to overbuild your building than to make costly repairs later."
DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU'RE TOLD!
Beware of the following door myths below...
- • Door does not hang on your building
- • Door does not require any extra building strength
- • Door has it's own Header - that the door is self contained
- • Self-supporting framework - No additional building structure braces needed
- • Door can be left open in windy conditions, can the building withstand the forces?
USE COMMON SENSE and the Schweiss Door Specifications and Reactions sheet to find out the rest of the story!
Understanding Hydraulic Doors . . . by Schweiss
Understanding Hydraulic Doors
Schweiss Doors is the leader in the development of hydraulic doors, building on their
experience from Bifold Doors. Schweiss has spent extensive time analyzing and developing
"New Specifications and Reactions" of hydraulic doors that provide the forces that are
transferred to the building framing. It is critical that the customer pass these
"Specifications and Reactions" onto the Building Designer.
Important:
No matter what you may see on other door supplier's websites, literature, specifications
or reaction sheets there are some things that you can be sure of for any hydraulic door.
Hydraulic door forces are considerably different from bifold doors.
Bifold doors roll up the face of the door side column, hydraulic doors cantilever from
a fixed location on the cylinder bracket which is offset inside and behind the door side
column. Bifold doors fold as they open. Hydraulic doors open as one piece so the
hydraulic door is cantilevered much further than the bifold door. The operator of the
bifold door distributes much of the dead load of opening the door to the hinges. The
hydraulic doors are opened using powerful hydraulic cylinders which concentrate the door
opening loads at the cylinder bracket location on the building door side columns.
Schweiss Manufacturers the Best Hydraulic Doors
If there is a failure of a hydraulic component
the door needs to stop immediately!
WARNING
When others are using restrictors or orifices to mitigate a hydraulic failure...
• They may be setting you up for slow motion disaster, Your worst nightmare!
• There's nothing safe about a door slowly, gently coming down on top of a plane or vehicle at a
"controlled rate of speed."
When phrases like these are being used to explaining what happens in event of a
hydraulic failure using restrictors/orifices
• "Gently coming all the way down..."
• "Coasting down..."
• "Controlled rate of decent..."
• "Preveting the door from slamming down..."
When manufactures use Restrictors or Orifices on their cylinders...
• Inadequate safety built in
• Door will come all the way down if theres a failure, no matter what.
• No way of stopping the door from coming all the way down
• Slow motion disaster . . . Your worst nightmare!
ASK YOURSELF...
"How safe can it be when the door doesn't stop in the event of a hydraulic failure? "
...IT'S NOT
Find out what your getting when
you order your hydraulic door...
Restrictors / Orifices
The door will not stop if a hydraulic component fails.
The door is coming down on whatever is underneath it.
Slowing the door as it comes down isn't good enough.
Velocity Fuses / Counter Balance
Stops the door immediately! Standard from Schweiss.
