Exit Device MUST Know Info (quick tip)

When it comes to exit device hardware, I have a little tip that can save you a ton of frustration in time and save your customer's money.

In today's world, many office buildings with exit device hardware on them have room use change. Whether it's an office building or a church, they use the room for different things: company policy changes and the likes. That's where you get called and change the hardware according to the customer's needs. And at the same time, there is a ton of commercial exit device hardware with the same design. The quality level can change per the manufacturer and the grade, but so much of it is essentially the same. On top of that, many manufacturers don't put their names on the hardware, and it can get too challenging to figure out. So, I want to talk about and show you something so minor and straightforward, but it has a major impact.

Two exit device trims that use mortise cylinders, when flipped, have two different tailpieces. You're used to seeing a classic tail piece on the back of a mortise cylinder, and the other one is a little different because it has two separate tabs sticking out.

But believe it or not, when it comes to exit device trim hardware that functions like this, the difference between a night latch trim and an entrance trim is just the tailpiece on the back of the mortise cylinder. So, when your customer needs a different application, maybe they want it unlocked all day and then locked at night, or if they always want the door locked. The only way to unlock is a key, and when they take the key out, it's locked again; you can change that functionality by using the tailpiece.

You can either turn it one way to unlock or turn it the other way to lock on your standard setup.

Now, by using one of these two tailpieces, you will have to use it on different applications. The tailpieces are the ticket to do so.

Note: There are two different configurations for the two tailpieces.

Once the tailpiece is installed, you can turn it from a storeroom to a night latch.   

What I love most about this is that it does not allow you to junk perfectly good hardware for the finish, and it saves the customer a ton of money just by having these two tailpieces. In the applications you're going to use this on, you have to expect every once in a while to modify the tailpiece a little bit to fit. It may be a little filing or grinding. For a little extra tip that might be helpful, you often need these thread-on rings that go on the back of these mortise cylinders for they get stripped out or misplaced.

Can you believe it? These two tiny cams change the function of the lock! It's great to have on your vans because you'll never know when to need them.