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Undermount Soft Close Slides Inconsistent Closing

5/8/20       
Al Gerhart Member

Website: http://thecarpentershop.net

I've used undermount slides for nearly twenty years but recently used a lesser known brand because I thought the shipping had gotten too high and the lesser known brand was available locally. Richeliue brand, has a simple grey plastic front mounting clip.

Frameless cabinets, system holes, 5 mm screws attaching the slides to the carcasses. Clean slides, everything finished before slides installed.

I stopped using them because the brackets weren't as easy to adjust as the Grass Dyna Pro slides but I have a customer with a couple dozen pair of the Richeliue brand undermount soft close and the dang drawers aren't closing consistently, as in one time they will close up with a gentle shove, net time they will stop a half inch away from the cabinet face.

So I go out there today and where the most problems are is in the bottom drawers that are most heavily loaded. Not that heavily loaded, maybe thirty pounds. Feel in back to see if the little metal prongs in back are engaged in the holes in the back of the drawer, remove the drawer and check for level, same distance from the front of the cabinet, parallel, wear marks on the drawer indicating a protruding screw, test each slide without the drawer, then with an unloaded door. One or two worked better after resetting them, four or five didn't. Some work perfectly for a couple of tries, then stop closing tight, stopping 1/4" or 3/8" away from the rest of the drawers. Doesn't seem to be rhyme nor reason for the problems.

Any ideas on getting these drawers to close consistently? The top and middle drawers work okay, just the bottom drawers.

And is there a set amount of pull that is expected from one of these soft close undermounts? When you pull one open it seems that there is at most a couple of pounds of force to overcome while pulling the cylinders to the front catch position, how could there be any more "pull" when the drawer is pushed closed?

Is there a limit on how much weight these slides can pull in consistently?

http://https://www.richelieu.com/us/en/category/hinges-slides-and-opening-systems/slides-and-drawer-box-systems/slides/concealed-slides/825-full-extension-concealed-slide-with-synchronized-soft-close-us-model/1198458

5/8/20       #3: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Leo G Member

You screwed up and went cheap.

Replace them with Grass or Blum.

Or call up Richelieu and tell them your problems you are having with them and see if they'll replace them.

5/9/20       #4: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Dennis Bean  Member

Website: http://www.saliceamerica.com

These come from China. It’s another side effect of COVID19. Try social isolation for fourteen days. If the problem persists, they may need a ventilator.

5/9/20       #5: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
JM

Our Richelieu rep did his very best to get us to switch to these. Made it extremely tempting. We got about 10 of them for a small job to try them out. Absolutely horrible......junk.

We started out using Blum, which are very good, then switched to Salice due to cost savings. Not as nice as Blum, but much more economical. We then tried the Richelieu ones because the pricing was so good, and then decided to try the DTC slides. https://www.marathonhardware.com/pd/dtc-ds10-undermount-slides/pr-104491

So far, we think the DTC are better than Salice, but not quite as good as the Blum. They are about 1/3rd the cost of Blum, and half the price of the Salice.

5/9/20       #8: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Al Gerhart Member

I tried their hinges too. Not impressed, both boxes sitting on the shelf un used. Claimed that the drilling pattern was the same as Grass, nope, unless you beat them in with a hammer.

5/9/20       #9: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
MarkB Member

We all get tempted. I absolutely love the Grass Dynapro's. They are (to me) one of the best undermounts out there. I have no good access to them anymore. I dont care for Blum for no specific reason I just dont care for them. Salice support, and as with his post here from Dennis, is unmatched (in my opinion) in my world and thats the slide we use.

Our distributors have shipped pairs of imports, KV Muv, all sorts that may chop a couple dollars off but as youve found, even $5 bucks on 20 slides that go south is no form of a saving and to the contrary is a colossal expense.

Slides and hinges are pretty much the only thing your customer interacts with mechanically on a regular basis yet its the thing everyone tries to pinch pennies on. I know local shops that go nuts over carcass material and other "cabinet maker" details that their customer cares nothing about but they will be the first ones to shop with wreckless abandon on slides and hinges. Makes no sense to me.

Swap them out and be happy you learned your less on a few drawers as opposed to a monster kitchen for a contractor that wont use you any longer because your drawers had issues.

5/9/20       #10: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Bob Lewis Member

Had always used Blum but switched to the Richelieu ones and they were terrible.
We have been using the DTC ones from Marathon for several months and are very happy with them.

5/10/20       #11: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Robert Guin

This is my outlook at quality of hardware. Right now I am paying on average about $20 for Salice drawer guides including brackets and front clips. If a kitchen has 10 drawers that equals $200. If I buy cheap guides at $10 each, I would save $100. However if I have to go back later and replace one of the cheap guides because it is broken, I lose another $10 in addition to my time to go back to replace it and also the time I lose in the shop that I could be building something else. I would rather add $100 to the job at the beginning and feel confident that the materials are going to last. Same goes for hinges and plates. I use the Salice cups with the stamped steel plates rather than the forged plates. Cost a little more but don't have to go back and replace them at a later date. Most of the time a couple hundred dollars more to the cost of a job will not make much difference to the customer.

5/10/20       #12: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Quicktrim

I went from Blum to worth pro slides.

The wurth pro slides operate very nice , long inpull stroke, the front clips are available in 2d or 3d adjustability so great for inset face frame etc..

They are also shipped anywhere in the country In unlimited quantity all year for 150.00 at woodworkers warehouse.

5/11/20       #13: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Tyler

We've been really happy with the Hettich Quadro IV21 4D's. Great smooth consistent closing action.

5/12/20       #14: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
door shop guy

A ventilator would probably blow out the shock absorbers just like it blows out lungs. Take lypospheric vitamin C and order Grass or Blum.

5/13/20       #15: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
Dan drb woodworks

I’m just curious, what are you guys paying for Blum ? That would cause you not to use them for piece of mind . Most of our kitchens have close to 40 or more drawers and or pull outs . By the way Leo G is usually right about most things.

5/14/20       #16: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
JM

Below prices are for 22" including clips in CANADIAN$$

Blum Movento $26
Blum Tandem $18.06
Salice $16.83
DTC DS10 $9.75

Price on Blum has come way down since I first made the switch from Blum to Salice. When I first switched, the Tandem were about $26 and the Movento were over $30.

At current pricing above, I would probably switch back to Tandem from Salice, but the DTC DS10 are not much worse than the Blum....I think they are better than Salice.

We buy the slides 200 at a time.....so its at least $1600 per order we get to keep in our pocket (depending on which you want to compare it to).

I really believe Blum are the best, based on all the different ones I have used (my opinion). I also believe a lot of the Chinese ones are very low quality (Richelieu branded ones for example). The DTC DS10 are an exception to this......we are really happy with them.

I dont have any warranty or quality concerns with any of the slides I mention above, so why not use the least expensive??

5/15/20       #17: Undermount Soft Close Slides Incons ...
daniel wipf

blum tandems for me are $17.50 for the 21'' slide and a standard clip


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