Heavy Duty Hinge

I needed spring hinges for my outdoor shower enclosure door. My carpenter originally designed the door out of Hardie boards to match the rest of the enclosure. That was a big mistake, as it weighed over 125 lb. The door was redone but it still weighed about 60 lb. However, there was a problem in that traditional strap gate hinges would not work. This required a heavy duty hinge. This fits the bill as it is rated for gates up to 154 lb. I did a great deal of research and came across D&D Technologies. I wanted to have a heavy duty hinge that would attach to the 2X4 frame of the door, without the need for additional bracing. I could not find exactly what I needed, so I called their customer service. A real person answered and promptly directed me to Ian, who told me this model that would work for my door. One thing to consider, when you are selecting this hinge is the gate gap. The original door had only about 1/4 inch on each side. This hinge requires no less than 11/32 inch gap on the hinge, but 3/4 inch is optimal. This necessitated cutting about 3/8 inch off of the hinge side. Not a big deal, but a bit more time consuming. Also, some models have one (or two) "ears" that wrap around the corner. This particular hinge does not, minimizing the amount of gap required. One last point. D&D supplies #12 one-inch, self-tapping screws with the hinge. This length is woefully inadequate, especially for a hinge rated for 150 lb. plus. I went to my local hardware store and bought 2 1/2 inch stainless wood screws. I pre-drilled the holes with an 11/64 bit and they went in like butter. Since the hinge has a cover you don't see them so no need to paint them black. The spring mechanism is so strong that I have it set at minimum tension and the door closes firmly without banging. Adjusting the tension is super easy, requiring only a screw driver. All in all, I am impressed by the quality and even more with the D&D customer service. I didn't expect to pay over fifty dollars for a pair of hinges, but I'm completely satisfied with the performance.

These hinges are plastic so we will see how they hold up over time. I would have preferred a stronger material. The description says you can mount them with a gap between the post and the gate as small as 1/4 inch. However, to do this you have to chisel away a little bit of the edge of the wood gate where these mount or it will not close all the way. The other flaw is with the mounting hardware they provide. Included are small, self-tapping screws that are not sufficient to support the weight of the gate. In fact, all three of the gates on which I installed these hinges started sagging within a couple of days. I went to the hardware store and picked up stronger lag screws which did the trick. Overall, they seem to work great once installed, but the installation was much more difficult than it should have been given the need to notch the gate and make a trip to the hardware store for better screws.

A bad windstorm literally ripped out gate off it's old hinges and I had no idea what to do about it. After a bit of research, I hesitantly purchased these and hoped for the best. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! Installation was super easy and we have had many bad windstorm since then and the gates haven't budged once. If you're looking for a sturdy hinge replacement, or a go-to hinge for the first go-around, you can't go wrong with these.

They are large, beefy hinges--really sturdy. They're easy to install--instruction are very clear. Adjusting the self-close mechanism with a flat-bladed screwdriver is easy. They're self-lubricating, but they'll eventually need to be re-lubed--use graphite powder only for that [this direction comes from the instruction sheet that comes with the hinges].

As stated, there is WAY too much slop, right out of the bag. It can't be fixed, and the hinges are worthless in my opinion. I had high hopes for these, especially because I have a fondness for Aussie folks, and it makes me sad to write this review. But it must be said. I purchased a few different sets of hinges from D&D here on Amazon. All, utter failures. My gate is only 32lbs but I ordered the "heavy duty" sets (just in case). Nope. No good.

The title line say it all

These do the job intended. An auto close gate is a requirement for a yard with a pool and these close my 6 ft high wood gate. Easy to install but take great effort to adjust.I needed a large screw driver and strength of a stronger man to adjust these to the tension needed to close my gate. A smaller gate may not need as much pressure .

This hinge looks good. The springs are not heavy duty, nor is the hinge itsekf. Consider using nore hinges than you’d expect for better results.