Door Strikes... who's using them?

BryanE

Active Member
Just wondering how many cocooners have door strikes installed on their homes. What areas are you using them on (exterior/interior)? What brand/model? Likes/dislikes? Finally, if you have any pictures of them installed... please post them.
 
Just wondering how many cocooners have door strikes installed on their homes. What areas are you using them on (exterior/interior)? What brand/model? Likes/dislikes? Finally, if you have any pictures of them installed... please post them.

Hello,
I am using an HAI strike and card reader with an OMNI Pro II. This strike is located on the exterior back door of the house and has proved reliable so far. Power is pulled over cat6 and feeds from HAI Power Hub, 83A00-1. The only dislike is the amount of material you need to remove in order to install the strike. In addition, I installed a low voltage, single gang box with a blank plate on the inside of the house to access all of the wires when the strike eventually fails. As we all know it is not a matter of if it will fail, but when it will fail. I will post some pictures tonight.
 
I use a Von Duprin strike and an Elk M1 to manage access control.

It uses an Elk arming station mounted in the garage to open the door from the outside and a flush mount motion sensor in the ceiling configured as a request to exit on the inside of the house. The arming station is configured for dedicated access control and can not be used to arm/disarm the house.

I leave the door locked permanently and the strike set to 'fail secure'. A hidden lock box allows access to the house in the event of a power failure or strike malfunction. I integrated the strike into the backup power for the Elk, so even with the power out, I still get about a day of operation.

This setup had been working flawlessly as the primary entry/exit door for my wife and myself for over one and a half years now.
 
I use a Von Duprin strike and an Elk M1 to manage access control.

I really like the Von Duprin products. Any installation issues? Did you go with a 6211?

A hidden lock box allows access to the house in the event of a power failure or strike malfunction. I integrated the strike into the backup power for the Elk, so even with the power out, I still get about a day of operation.

I'm always interested in hearing about fail-safe's in case of total failure. Does your lockbox simply provide a key to open another exterior door?
 
I purchased a $45 strike from Smarthome. The problem is the weight of the door prevents it from working as I would prefer. I have to pull back on the door to remove load from the strike before it will click open. This prevents me from waving the keyfob and then just pushing the door inwards, as I had envisioned.

I did read about this issue recently (quite a bit after I had the doorstrike installed). It seems many strikes have this issue. I have not come up with (or read yet) about a way to have the door closed and the strike unloaded "by default".

Link
 
I'm always interested in hearing about fail-safe's in case of total failure. Does your lockbox simply provide a key to open another exterior door?

Yes. My lockbox just contains a key. It unlocks the same door with the electronic strike. When the strike fails securely, the door reverts back to operate just like a normal door. The key unlocks the door and you turn the handle to enter.

The Van Duprin I am using is a 5EST1001. I was originally concerned about how much material I had to remove from the door frame for install, but any door strike you install will require changes you can not easily repair (and look nice) without replacing the door frame. I just accepted this and moved forward.

Loading is definitely an issue. No load means no door seal which is very bad for your AC/heating bill. Good luck getting this approved by the wife! There is an answer though. HES. They make loadable strikes. Unfortunately, I had installed mine before discovering this.
 
When the strike fails securely, the door reverts back to operate just like a normal door. The key unlocks the door and you turn the handle to enter.

Could you explain this in more detail? My understanding of Fail Secure is that the door remains locked when power is absent. So even if you unlock it with a key, wouldn't the door strike prevent the door from opening?
 
When the strike fails securely, the door reverts back to operate just like a normal door. The key unlocks the door and you turn the handle to enter.

Could you explain this in more detail? My understanding of Fail Secure is that the door remains locked when power is absent. So even if you unlock it with a key, wouldn't the door strike prevent the door from opening?

Maybe I have it backwards, but my understanding is a door strike works by allowing the "strike" plate (the reinforced hole in the door frame) to be opened or moved out of the way. This allows the door to open without needing to depressing the latch on the door.

Electronic strikes look like this and mount in the door frame, not in the door.

Maybe you are thinking of an electronic deadbolt. These devices actually use a servo to move the deadbolt latch in and out. They look like this.

All of the door knob hardware installed in my door is normal stuff (it does not have a deadbolt, just a locking knob). I replaced the hole in the door frame with an electronic strike plate. That allows me to open the door without unlocking the knob on the door.
 
Most standard strikes will not operate when there is a load on them.

Securitron makes a strike called the "unlatch" which the deadlatch portion of the strike drops in and then the strike pushes the deadlatch and the latch into the door to allow the door to open.

http://www.securitron.com/en/site/securitr...UnLatch-Strike/

For you guys who want to monitor everything it can even be ordered with a latch monitoring output.

When you cut it in make sure you get the location exactly right. Too shallow, the weather stripping won't seal. Too deep, the latch won't line up properly.
 
I am using a HAI door strike and reader for about a year now and have installed 2. No problems with any of them. The nice thing about the hai strike if there is any pressure in it, it will not open so if you send a unlock command to the door by mistake with a pocket remote or something it just won't pop open.

yes the door has a normal knob so if power goes out I would just have to use the key.
 
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