Union oval cylinders

[horsefeathers]

Is it me or do these seem to fail far more than euro cylinders? Always seemingly Union brand.

Most of the call-outs to faulty ovals seem to involve them in aluminium doors, thru a L22070 case or similar. I have had about 9 this year where the key revolves around without moving the cam, compared to about 2 euros.

Is it an age thing do you think? I guess ovals still fitted in ali doors are 15-20 years old and nothing lasts forever I suppose. Maybe euros of that age will show similar faults. Or are (were) Unions known for this susceptibility? Thinking back, I cant remember seeing another brand other than Union fitted on ali doors.

Was the circular bar within (that engages the mechanism) made of a particularly soft material (presumably now corrected) so the key tip wore away a 'depression' in the end, so that eventually inserting the key didnt push the bar back, engaging the cam, therefore allowing the plug to rotate - much like picking a thumbturn!

Or am i just paranoid?

As an aside - when did euros (vhs) start to become popular, more so than ovals (betamax). Year I mean.

regards

wayne

[Mark A]

I've found this to be a common problem with Union Oval cylinders with thumbturns, with end of key wearing to the point that the clutch does not engage, causing plug to freewheel.

Is usually easily fixed by cutting a new key.

[horsefeathers]

True....but why Union ovals in particular?

regards

[Mark A]

The clutch material must be far harder than the brass key blanks.

I usually recut the keys on steel blanks and this seems to extend the useable life.

Mark

[al25027]

Just going off the subject slightly, but does anyone else find the Union Oval a difficult pick. Come across a few recently,( a couple on new builds too - not old, ally doors) opened eventually with the Wendt, but not after a good 20 mins.

[Mark A]

Yes I do find them difficult to pick.
They seem to either open in seconds or put up a real fight.
Although some lockies find them easy to pick.
The springing feels lighter compared to others so perhaps I'm just being too heavy handed.

Mark

[quacking_duck]

I've had quite a few call outs to ally doors with Union Oval cylinders, although most have been problems with poor quality L22070 'copy' cases rather than Union cylinders themselves

Problems I have found with the cylinders themselves are usually where people have used excessive force on the key if the case has been jammed, or the cylinder has been loose, as they either snap the key in the cylinder or damage the linkage between the cyl and the cam.

Euros have been around for a fair while on ally in the UK (about 15-20 years), for example the old Union M series ally multipoint locks. Until about 15 years ago, the majority of UK Adams Rite ally mechs would have been US type screw in mortice cyls, euro mechs and cyls gradually replacing them also.

Very light tension is needed to defeat the Union cylinders with the Wendt, although, with me being heavy handed, I know exactly what you mean about the stubborn ones.
I find the best blades for them are the 5 ball rakes, or pick the pins individually with the half ball or half diamond blades. The same blades should also be effective on the HPC EPG.

[toomush2drink]

Ive also found heavy tension and ripping the pins with a half diamond can work too.Ok its not the most technical method but its easy to forget these sorts of things you always try as a beginner especially when your skillls develop. Ive opened a few stubborn yales this way too when they wouldnt give in to the usual pin by pin picking.

[quacking_duck]

Thanks for that Toomush, I've just tried that on the bench with a couple of stubborn Union 5 & 6 pin and Yales with some success. Also tried it on a nightmare of a Yale X Euro I ended up using the rotary pick on the other week. I still can't get the other half of that one though.