FAQs

All products come with installation guides and templates and in the unlikely event you should need assistance with installation, our technicians are on-hand to provide guidance and support.

For Support or Technical requests please complete contact us here.

All doors are different sizes and weights so in order to conform to regulations no matter what size your door is, door closers are manufactured in different power sizes.

A Fire Door Closer must be a minimum of power 3.

The table below shows the range of power sizes and the door dimensions each is suitable for. 

Where the door may be subject to draughts or wind it is usual to increase the power size by 1.

*Note* Closers can be either fixed power or variable power meaning you can cover a range of dimensions and weights within your building with a single closer. For a variable closer the power range is listed in the description and will demonstrate its maximum and minimum power, i.e. 2-4.

Figure 1 / Pull Side - Hinge side of door

This is the most common fitting position. With this fitting, the door closer is fixed to the hinge side of the door (the side where the knuckle of the hinges is visible when the door is closed) or also known as the pull side of a door. The door closer is attached to the door and the arm is attached to the frame above.

Figure 6 / Push Side - Opposite hinge side of door (also referred to as Figure 66 Parallel Arm)

With this fitting method the closer is once again attached to the frame of the door with the arm attaching to the door itself, however the unit itself is fitted onto the opposite side of the door to Figure 1 (i.e. the side with no hinges visible). Closers are most commonly fitted in the Figure 6 setup on outward opening external doors where the door closer needs to be inside the building.

Legislation dictates that a Fire Door Closer must be fitted for safety purposes.

In order to prevent the spread of smoke and flame throughout a building, Fire Door Closers are either Alarm Linked Electromagnetic and close at first detection of a fire (i.e. when the alarm sounds) or are Self-Closing to keep the door shut at all times. 

Self-Closing door closers can impede access around the building and therefore must meet the opening force requirements detailed in Building Regulations Document M - referred to as "Ease of Access"

An Electromagnetic Door Closer is wired directly into the fire alarm so that in the event of a fire, the door will automatically shut prevent the spread of fire and smoke throughout a building.

A Standard Door Closer keeps the fire door shut and does not link to your fire alarm system.

The Equality Act (2010) and Approved Document M (2011) prescribes the required standards for Ease of Access for all inhabitants of a building (regardless of age, gender or disability). 

What this means for door closers is that in order to assist in delivery of Ease of Access they must:

"...produce an opening force of below 30N between 0º and 30º degrees and below 22.5N between 30º and 60º degrees…”.

If you would like more information regarding the correct specification of door closers for Ease of Access please click here.

In Hold Open mode, the closer can be adjusted to hold a door open from an angle of 75 degrees to the maximum opening allowing easy passage at all times.

In Swing Free mode the door can be opened or closed to any position and operates freely as if no door closer was fitted.

Door Closers can be supplied with an optional Backcheck action which provides resistance within the door closer to prevent the door from being thrown open. Backcheck is recommended in locations where a door is likely to be blown open by the wind and damaged.

All Door Closers are classified according to a 6-digit coding system for BS EN1154 (mechanical) and BS EN1155 (Electrical). Each digit corresponds to a particular feature of the product measured against the EN performance standards. The meaning of these digits is as follows:

1st Digit - Category of Use: Grade 3 is for doors closing from at least 105° and Grade 4 is for doors closing from 180° open.

2nd Digit - Durability: Grade 8 indicates that 500,000 test cycles are completed but here at Arrow all of our models are tested for a minimum of 800,000 cycles.

3rd Digit - Power: This identifies the power of the closer for the position it is being fitted into. For closers that have “Variable Power” the range is displayed.

4th Digit - Fire Classification: A grade of 0 denotes the closer is not suitable for use on fire doors and a grade 1 certifies the closer has been tested and is approved for use on fire doors.

5th Digit - Safety: Under building legislation all door closers are required to be certified as “safe to operate” and are then subsequently graded as 1 in this field. You should not purchase a door closer which has a grading of 0.

6th Digit - Corrosion: Closers are graded for resistance to corrosion according to BS EN1670. Grade 0 = no resistance, Grade 1 = mild resistance, Grade 2 = moderate resistance, Grade 3 = high resistance, Grade 4 = very high resistance.