Installing a gas furniture shock absorber on a kitchen cabinet

Shock absorbers and bump stops

Two types of dampers are popular: shock absorbers and pushrods. The shock absorber serves to soften the impact when closing the facade. The pusher ensures its correct opening. The store offers gas and oil plastic mechanisms with an elastic button as shock absorbers. She takes the blow of the door and smoothly brings it up. Another type is a thrust buffer or bump stop. The element is used for lightweight doors. It is equipped with a silicone gasket, which dampens the sound. According to the installation method, shock absorbers are either mortise or overhead. The first ones are pressed into the prepared hole, the second ones have an adhesive base on one side. Self-adhesive bumpers are often installed in kitchen cabinets and drawers. They are made of transparent, lightweight and durable polymer (EVA).

Load calculation

Depending on the size of the façade, the required load is selected; it is measured in Newtons.

The load range of gas furniture shock absorbers is: 50N, 60N, 80N, 100N, 120N, 160N, 200N. Furniture makers who have many years of experience in furniture production select the required gas lift by eye. For beginning craftsmen, there are tables with tips, thanks to which you can easily select the right device.

Gas shock absorber selection table:

When choosing a furniture gas lift, you can focus on the following figures - 1 kg of facade (with all the decor and fittings) per 10 newtons.

The colors of gas lifts for furniture that are on the market are white, black and steel.

Types of gas shock absorbers

There are the following types of furniture gas lifts:

1. Direct-acting gas lift, that is, this device works to compress the rod (the rod is in full extension);
2. A reverse-acting gas lift device is triggered by the extension of the rod (the rod is in a recessed state).

Most often, shock absorbers of direct action are used in the manufacture of furniture.

By installing the device in different ranges, it is possible to ensure that the door opens at different angles. This is especially true for cabinets that are located very high, or, conversely, low.

What are the main advantages of using gas elevators over other fastening fittings?

1. Firstly, gas furniture lifts use compressed nitrogen, which does not lead to corrosion of the device, unlike ordinary oxygen. In addition, nitrogen is not capable of damaging the rubber parts of the shock absorber. We can say that this gas greatly extends the service life of the elevator.
2. Secondly, using such lifts you can ensure smooth closing of doors even in budget furniture.
3. Thirdly, modern hardware manufacturers have launched shock absorbers on the market, the installation of which does not require the use of any tools.
4. Fourthly, the large selection of loads that can be used when installing lifts on cabinet fronts allows you to choose the most suitable fittings to open the door silently and with minimal effort.
5. Fifthly, gas furniture shock absorbers have a fairly wide temperature range, thanks to which they can be used in any room.
6. Sixthly, the material used to make gas lifts (steel) makes these devices reliable and strong.
7. Seventhly, the warranty period for these fittings is from ten to one hundred thousand closing and opening cycles, which indicates the high quality of these lifts.

Let's look at the main stages of installing gas furniture struts on horizontal opening doors.

Gas lift marking and installation

To mark gas lifts, we used the diagrams supplied by the manufacturer on the packaging.

Here it is worth paying attention to the angle at which you want the door to open in the final position. Depending on the three options, there will be markings for fastenings on the side walls and facades.

Since we want the facade to open as high as possible, we install fasteners on the side walls and facades according to the third option in Figure 9 for a standard gas lift and Figure 10 for a mini gas lift.

By the way, the marking axis for gas lift fasteners on the facade is the same as on the side wall - it is 25 mm.

There is such a wonderful template for marking for gas lifts. We think that it is needed if you do this on a large scale and are too lazy to do it yourself.

Watch a video about gas elevators

Installing a furniture gas lift: instructions and installation diagram

In order to install the gas lift on the cabinet door, we will need:

• pencil,
• roulette,
• screwdriver or screwdriver,
• self-tapping screws (mostly they come complete with fittings),
• the gas lift itself.

All necessary fastenings and screws are included in the kit:

For furniture facades made of chipboard and MDF, fastenings are required in the form of a platform with holes for self-tapping screws. The gas lift is attached to plastic and metal facades using clamps that snap onto pre-installed screws.

Also included with the gas lift is an insert - installation instructions. Be sure to study it before installing the shock absorber.

1. Let's mark the center of the side fastener; to do this, step back 235 millimeters from the top and 25 from the front end part. Mark the dimensions from the internal planes of the module.
2. Screw the side platform to which the entire shock absorber will subsequently be attached. Make sure that the fastener is clearly in the center of the mark. After this, attach the retractable part of the lift to the eye.

3. Attach the façade itself to the hinges.
4. Make markings and screw in the shock absorber counter fasteners. In this case, refer to the drawing of the gas shock absorber. The size can be varied, the opening angle of the facade will depend on this. Agree that this is very important when there is limited space to open the door.

Look at another diagram of installing a gas lift on a kitchen cabinet with dimensions:

The gas lift length is indicated in the fully extended position. As you can see, the length variation will allow you to install the structure on any kitchen cabinets. The length of the shock absorber when folded also varies widely and will allow you to choose a lift for almost any cabinet.

Analogs of gas lifts

Let's say you don't like gas lifts and want something else. Yes, there are similar systems for horizontal opening of furniture facades. But these systems are similar not in terms of operating principles, but in terms of compactness. The only thing is that they cost more, because after all, gas lift is a budget option for opening and fixing the facade.

Let's consider two such worthy mechanisms:

KLOK lift/fold mechanism

We don’t know who first produced this mechanism for horizontal opening, but at one time we remember it as a product from a manufacturer such as Huwil and known as the Huwilift Duo Standard lifting mechanism. Nowadays, whoever produces such mechanisms.

KLOK can withstand loads of up to 12 kg when fixing the facade in any position and up to 15 kg when fixing the facade at the maximum opening angle. The mechanism, like the gas elevator, is universal, that is, there is no division into right and left, it is also easy to install/remove from the mounting axes, in addition, the strength of the mechanism is adjusted with a hex key and its operation is silent.

Lifting mechanism Aventos HK-XS

Aventos HK-XS lifting mechanism can be installed in housings with a shallow internal depth on one or both sides. The lift is suitable for housing heights from 240 mm to 600 mm, the width of the housing depends on the power factor. The internal depth for mounting the mechanism is at least 100 mm.

What does the gas lift installation kit consist of?

The gas furniture elevator kit consists of the gas elevator itself, mounting on the side wall and mounting on the facade, installation instructions and self-tapping screws for fastenings.

Types of gas lifts

Let us highlight three main characteristics by which gas elevators can be classified:

Depending on the power load

The lifting force of gas shock absorbers is determined in Newtons, which you can see by the markings on the gas lift body. In order for this value to be understandable and tangible, the following correspondence is given: to lift a facade weighing 1 kg, a lifting force of 10 Newtons will be required.

It turns out that if the lift says 60 N, then it will lift the facade 6 kg, and even in one copy. But the reality turned out to be different, as we will show in our video at the bottom of the article.

For kitchen furniture you can find lifts from 50N to 140N, although the upper and lower load limits are sold much less frequently due to low demand.

Sellers and manufacturers provide interesting plates on the selection and calculation of gas lifts , we will provide them for you.