How long should my rapid door last?

If your doors have already been installed for many years, you may be wondering if they are due for replacement. Or perhaps they just always seem to need repairs? So how long, really, should your door last?

It’s a fair question. An industrial door is a huge investment, and it is only beneficial if it operates efficiently and lasts for an extended period of time.

Which is why to begin with, all of our products come with a standard warranty period of 12 – 24 months*, depending on the product and whether or not you have invested in Preventative Maintenance. Yet the lifespan of a rapid door is really dependent on the following factors:

Usage Frequency

This is the biggest factor in determining how long your door will last. Obviously, a high cycle door which is being used constantly throughout the day, is going to reach thousands, if not millions of cycles, pretty fast. For the majority of our rapid doors, we have a tested performance rating of 1 million cycles. That’s not to say they can’t do more than that, and there’s a large number of these doors in the market that have done over that, including some in the range of 3 to 5million cycles. However, the point is that if they are opening and closing so often that they are barely closed, not only will they reach a high cycle count quickly, but they will also wear out the motor, curtain, tracks, etc., a lot faster.  Furthermore, if your door is in a high-use area, it may be more prone to dents, scratches and other damage from the regular traffic through and around the opening. This is why the more frequently you use your doors, the closer you need to keep an eye on their service dates.

Location of the Door

Following on from the above point, it’s also important to consider the day to day activities that happen around the opening.

Think about local climatic conditions and weather proofing against strong winds or drafts. If your door is in a high wind zone or similarly, if there is significant positive or negative pressure around the door, it will be put under a lot more stress and will again, wear the components out faster and be subject to more damage. Doors such as our new Ulti EX5 are designed to withstand significant wind loading and pressure and will last much longer in a high wind environment than other alternatives.

Also consider whether you need to regularly wash-down the area. A lot of doors aren’t designed to cope with the harsh wash-down chemicals so you’ll want to make sure your doors are able to withstand this. For example an Ulti Roll Car Wash or Ulti Roll Food, with stainless steel frame and components.

You may also benefit from a including a personnel door beside your rapid door so that pedestrians can come and go without opening up the entire door if it’s not necessary.

Door Quality

It’s often said that quality matters the most and with rapid doors, this is generally the case. If you purchase a high-quality door from a premium and trusted brand, you can have greater peace of mind that you will get reliable service for a long period. On the other side, if the door is of a cheap quality, you are likely to face more downtime for repairs and maintenance and it will neither serve you for a decent length of time nor provide you with the value you need.

 

So how do I make my door last longer?

Honestly, it really all comes down to taking care of your door.

Just like a car, your Rapid Door needs to be regularly maintained – and like a car, the more you do so, the longer it will last.

Which is why the best way to make your door last longer is to invest in regular scheduled maintenance, even if your doors display no obvious signs of damage. A Preventative Maintenance program will keep them running smoothly and can catch faults before they result in mechanical failure and an expensive repair or replacement cost.

We recommend that your door is serviced by an experienced technician at least every 12 months or earlier if required. If correct maintenance and servicing are not carried out your warranty may be void. Let’s face it, your rapid doors perform a very important role in keeping your family and assets safe, it is used daily and operating at its best is a high priority.

Training your staff operating in and around the opening is also advantageous so that they are aware if how the door operates, and whilst we know it may sound stupid, making sure they know when it is safe to pass through the door, and how low their forks need to be before they can pass through the door, can make a world of difference by preventing accidental impacts.

*subject to our Ulti Group standard warranty terms and conditions.