Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The gas spring is probably not broken. The extension force of the gas strut is 500N, it states this on the label, and it means 500 Newton. In kilogrammes, this is about 500/10 = 50kg. To compress the gas spring requires even more force, because of the friction of the seal that keeps the nitrogen gas in the gas strut. The gas spring should still be able to be pushed in by hand up to about 100N, above that, then it becomes very difficult and you may damage the gas spring. Therefore to compress the gas spring for the first time, its probably better to mount it in the application, this way the cover or hatch then acts as a lever, making it easier to push by hand.

If this fails! Then it maybe one of the following:

• If a gas spring has been lying in stock for a while, the seal with which the nitrogen gas is kept inside can stick to the rod of the gas spring, when this sticking effect occurs stronger forces are required to compress the rod. You will need to remove the gas strut and use stronger equipment.
• The gas spring could also have been selected too strong. Verify that you have selected the correct extension force with your order.

The cylinder of a gas spring (the ‘thick’ part of the gas spring) is filled with nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas is forced in under high pressure. The higher this pressure, the greater the force with which the piston rod (the ‘thin’ part of the gas spring) wants to slide out of the cylinder. In order to ensure that no nitrogen gas escapes, while the piston rod retracts and extends, the piston rod slides through a seal which encloses the piston rod tightly at the end of the cylinder. As well as the nitrogen gas there is also a small amount of oil in the cylinder. The oil provides extra cushioning as the piston rod reaches its outermost position (fully extended). The oil has an additional purpose, which is to seal and lubricate, so that the piston rod can slide in and out with less friction.

The position of the gas spring can vary dramatically from when a lid (cover) is open to when its closed. With the boot (tailgate) of the car the position of the mounted gas spring entirely reverses. Therefore, when placing a gas strut, we need to ensure that the amount of oil that is in the cylinder, will automatically flow to the seal in the whatever situation it finds itself, with the lid (cover) open or closed.

We kindly ask you to place your order through our webshop.

This can be done via the Configurator and from the Calculation tool.

The Configurator lets you compose your order after which you click on the shopping basket so that the gas springs and/or end fittings are put into the shopping basket and the contents of the basket are displayed. You can, by going back to the Configurator, add other products to the contents of the shopping basket. You can also still change the number of products. Do not forget to click on ‘Update basket’ afterwards. Then ‘Proceed to Checkout’ you can place your order by filling in your address details and by finally making your payment.

The Calculation tool first calculates which gas springs and end fittings you need and then by clicking on the shopping basket, you go to place your order. The contents of the shopping basket will be displayed and via ‘Continue to Checkout’ you can place your order by filling in your address details and finally making your payment.

In principle all the products that we offer via our web shop are in stock and you can expect the products to be with you within 1 – 2 working days, except for items for some parts of Scotland, the Highlands and Northern/Southern Ireland which can be 2 – 5 working days. For larger quantities it is advisable to ask us what the delivery period is. You can always inquire about the interim status of your order by sending an email.

Yes, that definitely matters. Applying only one gas spring is cheaper, but this can have its drawbacks. If you choose one gas strut instead of two, then this gas spring will basically need to be twice as strong. Usually our Calculation tool (which will calculate what kind of gas springs you need) will also choose a slightly more robust gas strut if you indicate that you want only one gas spring. There will need to be more force in just one gas spring. We recommend that you use two gas springs and mount them on both sides of the cover. The forces will then be distributed evenly across the cover or the hatch. This results in everything remaining straight and true. If you do choose one gas spring, we recommend you mount it in the middle of the cover, if you mount the gas strut on one side of the cover, most of the load will transfer to the opposite side, which will cause it to slant and twist or remain open and not close properly. With our Calculation tool you can easily see what the difference is if you indicate whether you are looking for one or two gas springs. We recommend that you use this Calculation tool in determining the gas spring or gas springs that you are looking for, because it takes into account many different forces at play. The strength of the cover and your hinges are obviously not included in the calculation because they are unknown to us.

You will need to look up the specifications yourself before using our gas strut configurator to try and construct a replacement model for this type of gas spring.

In order to increase your chances of success we would like to refer you to the list of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for the answer to the question: ‘how do I find a replacement gas spring?’

Yes, the cover is generally more heavily loaded when gas springs are used. It is therefore important that you assess whether your cover and the hinges are strong enough before you apply the gas struts. The figure below shows a cover of 25kg with and without gas springs:

The cause of the higher forces is the fact that the gas spring generally works over a shorter moment arm of force. To be able to carry the entire moment arm of force of the cover a larger force is therefore required. The gas spring therefore also has an extension force which is much greater than the weight of the cover. In this example, the gas strut has an extension force of up to 420N or 43kg. This is a lot more than the 25kg weight of the cover.

If you find a too large hinge force in the Calculation tool, then you can lower it by choosing a longer gas spring. This will then work over a larger moment arm, and therefore requires a smaller force. The gas spring will naturally still need to fit. This can be seen in the Calculation tool figure and be measured in your own application.