Double Hung Window Sash Tension Spring Review

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(More customer reviews)Our old house has a lot of old-fashioned sash windows, and a couple of them had broken cords. I didn't want to try to actually take the window sash apart to do a proper repair, so I thought theses springs might be an easy fix.
These springs are made out of two pieces of metal welded together at the top. One piece is a curvy piece of springy steel that keeps its shape; the other is an easily bent L-shaped piece with a hole at the top.
You're supposed to slip the spring down into the channel that the window sash slides in. The spring pushes out and adds friction that keeps the sash from falling down. You may need one or two springs depending on how easily the sash slides, how heavy it is, and how loose it is.
Sounds simple, right? Well, things went fine with the smaller window, but in the bigger window I just couldn't get these to work. I ran into a number of problems:
- This didn't affect me because I found the info on another site, but there aren't any instructions or even a picture that shows how to install these springs.
- The hole in the top (intended for a nail or screw) was too close to the channel that the cord had been in, so I had to drill a new hole in the spring.
- Using one spring didn't provide enough tension to keep the sash open (it was too heavy), but I couldn't fit two springs (one on each side) because the fit was too tight.
- Also, when I *did* try to push two springs in, the top of one spring gouged the channel that the sash slides in. This could have been avoided if the curvy springy piece also had a 90 degree bend in it, near where the two pieces join; that bend would do away with the sharp edge at the top.
- While pushing one of the springs into place, the weld that holds the two pieces together failed and the two parts separated. If this had happened when the spring was already in place, it might have been difficult or impossible to remove the whole spring.
In summary, these are worth a try, but don't expect them to work in every case, especially for larger/heavier windows.

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