How to install gas struts?

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

What are furniture gas struts used for?
How to measure gas struts?

Gas struts, also simply known as lifters, hinges or gas actuators, allow you to use a piece of furniture exactly as you need it. Most often gas struts are fitted to top kitchen cabinets with a horizontal orientation. Then, in order to reach something in such a cabinet, it is not necessary to tilt the whole door sideways, as it happens in the case of classic furniture hinges. Simply tilt the front upwards (or downwards in base units). What are gas struts used for? How can gas struts for furniture be fitted correctly and how should they be measured? You can find out by reading the text below.

What are furniture gas struts used for?

Gas struts are very popular furniture accessories. They are used in various types of furniture. The gas mechanism means that you do not have to support the front. After tilting the cabinet, its front part will be open stably, which gives you great comfort while doing everyday works.

Most often gas cylinders are used for kitchen furniture, but not only. You will also find them in room dividers, cabinets suspended from the ceiling, bathroom and bedroom furniture. They are often found in bar cabinets. Hinged from the bottom, they are particularly useful in under-floor cabinets, and from above - similarly in top cabinets. In each case they make it much easier to reach the things you need.

The main advantage of such gas lifts is that they allow you to open and close the front panel freely and hold it in place for any length of time. There are many similar products, of which the most popular are probably the pneumatic jacks. However, gas struts have the advantage of simply being much cheaper and also just as efficient. Another advantage in favour of choosing gas struts is their relatively simple assembly. In terms of sophistication, it does not go beyond the installation of standard furniture hinges at all. When you buy such an actuator - for example from Furnica, where you can choose from a multitude of different variants - you get a product that is completely ready to use straight away.

How to measure gas struts?

Gas struts for furniture come in different sizes. In order to choose the right one, you need to measure the piece of furniture in which this element is to be installed, such as a kitchen cabinet. That's not all. Selecting a gas actuator for furniture is a process in which you need to take into account other parameters, including:

the dimensions of the furniture front (width x length),
type of material and thickness of the board - e.g. MDF - 12 mm,
the total weight of the furniture door,
the desired lift angle of the furniture front - there are usually three options: 75 degrees, 90 degrees and 110 degrees.

With all this data, you can see what the optimum gas lift force (specified in Niutons) will be for your application. For example, for a front weighing 1.8 kg and 300 mm high, with a lift angle of 90 degrees, a 60 N gas strut would be sufficient. A glass, heavier furniture front with a weight of 3 kg and height of 400 mm, for a lift angle of 90 degrees, will require the installation of a stronger gas lift - with a force of at least 120 N. A table of the distribution of measures, weights and matching the strength of gas lifts can be conveniently found in various free sources. However, it is worth paying particular attention to the materials of the respective manufacturer, as gas technology can vary from model to model. It is also a universal rule that for fronts wider than 400 mm, as well as all those that are extremely heavy, two gas lifters should be placed - one for each side.