Electromagnetic Door Holder Failed

[dishsoap]

Hello everyone! New to the forum but just had a quick question regarding electromagnetic door holders. In one of the schools I work in, I have a magnetic door holder that barely holds the door open. You have to very carefully set it up against the magnet or else it won't hold. I have 29vdc running to the magnet. So my question is, is it just the magnet that needs to be replaced? do these units just lose its ability to work as it gets older? or if there is a problem with the unit will it just fail completely. Its a simplex 2088-9582 model.

 

[gadfly56]

Hello everyone! New to the forum but just had a quick question regarding electromagnetic door holders. In one of the schools I work in, I have a magnetic door holder that barely holds the door open. You have to very carefully set it up against the magnet or else it won't hold. I have 29vdc running to the magnet. So my question is, is it just the magnet that needs to be replaced? do these units just lose its ability to work as it gets older? or if there is a problem with the unit will it just fail completely. Its a simplex 2088-9582 model.

Door holders are usually GO/NO GO kinds of devices. Unless it's not seeing the current it needs it should just work, but the max current for any of these devices looks to be ~100 mA. Is there a lot of force being generated by the self-closer?

 

[Strathead]

I agree with gadfly. Are you sure you have 29VDC? Is that with the device loading the circuit down?

 

[JFletcher]

Normally held open... That is an interior fire door. When a building loses power, or the fire alarm system is trip, that maglock releases to shut the door. When these doors are opened back up, the little swivel piece on the door sometimes has to be manually lined up with the little bullseye looking magnetic part that is on the wall. You might check for misalignment problems, loose Hardware, Etc, but if the doors will hold open, then it's basically working okay.

these doors do not have the same type of magnet strength of an exterior door that is normally shut would have... Those doors, you will bust a glass or bend the frame before that maglock gives... and interior fire door, can be manually shut and that maglock overridden rather easily...

 

[GoldDigger]

Three things to look for which might reduce the magnetic force below normal:

1. Any metal or metallic dust which is bridging the pole gap on the electromagnet.
2. Any misalignment or surface defect which prevents the plate attached to the door from making a very close contact to the pole faces.
3. A misalignment of the electromagnet assembly which keeps the two pole faces (center and ring) from lying in the same plane, thus keeping the plate from making proper contact with zero gap.