Heavy Duty Lid Supports?

[d2mini]

So you can see in the pic below that I'm using gas struts to hold up the doors of my canopy. The HEAVY doors. This has worked out fine since the cabinetry was built six months ago, but the ones on the right side never seemed quite as strong and have progressively weakened to the point where they can't hold the door up, or just barely do. The left side remains working fine. I may have just gotten a bad set.

Anyway, before I buy a replacement set, I'm wondering if there is maybe a better way to accomplish holding these doors up? I like how they help make it easier to lift up. On the way down, on the other hand, you need to be careful to make sure you are holding them pretty good, because once you pass a certain point, gravity and weight take over and the door will slam down if you are not putting in a little effort to hold it.

FYI, these doors are about 35" tall x 38" wide and are made up of two solid wood cabinet doors held together by more solid wood and some stainless bracing. HEAVY.

Thanks!

 

[d2mini]

Bump

 

[Ryan2013]

Just watch those supports for signs of corrosion. I had one holding up my 6 foot x 2 foot canopy and it stopped working while I was under it cleaning the tank. All i got was a loud creak and kt came swinging down. Needless to say, I ended up with a nice cut on my face as I tried to get out from under it.

 

[dattack]

I have seen someone made a nice one with just a solid piece triangle piece of wood that just unfolds and holds the door against the canopy. I think it was here on reefcentral. Simple yet effective.

 

[fishgate]

Those struts always fail at some point. I would try to engineer some sort of spring helper system to take much of the load off the struts. Use stainless springs.

 

[d2mini]

I was thinking of ordering these.
Looks like you have to bend the spring with one hand though, which means it's a two hand operation to close. I do like the one handed operation of the struts.

http://www.downwindmarine.com/Sea-Dog-Hatch-Spring-Stainless-Steel-p-90892553.html

 

[Donw]

I have had great luck with the aventos hk hinge system from blum. You would have to do some modifications to your hood but they are much nicer than gas struts and hinges.

Don

 

[d2mini]

Looks neat, Don.
But it seems my doors may be too long?
http://www.blum.com/us/en/01/10/40/

 

[Donw]

Looks neat, Don.
But it seems my doors may be too long?
http://www.blum.com/us/en/01/10/40/

You can go taller. The reason for the 24" is in a kitchen they will either hit the ceiling or go to high for the average person to reach.

Don

 

[mcgyvr]

You could just move the mounting points around and possibly keep the existing shocks or calculate for new ones
http://www.tunalift.com/uygulamalar-en.html
Then pick a force approx 20% more to account for losses over time..

You can also get "soft close" versions that have a damper so it doesn't "slam shut" when gravity takes over.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-furniture-brackets/=omz3u2

 

[e55driver]

You could try toy box hinges from a wood working company. There made not to crush little fingers. I think two hinges hold something like 90lbs.