Everything you need to know about the 430mm Gas Strut

The Dunn & Watson 430mm gas strut is perfect for 4WDs, Utes, camper trailers, caravans and RVs. In fact, any vehicle where you need to open and close anything heavy, such as doors, boots, bonnets, windows, toolboxes and canopy windows. These high quality 430mm gas struts are made in Australia to our exacting standards and tested extensively on the Aussie market. When you need a gas strut for your project, you can’t go wrong with Dunn & Watson!

What’s the weight capacity of the 430mm gas strut?

When you are talking about gas struts, you need to consider its newton force (n). That’s because you can purchase a 430mm gas strut with 100n, 200n, 300n, right up to 700n. The weight capacity of the gas strut is related to this newton force, using the rule of thumb calculation of 10kg per 100n. So for a 400mm x 300n gas strut, the weight capacity is 30kg, whilst for a 430mm x 700n gas strut, it’s 70kg. This is why it’s important to know the weight of the item that needs to be opened and closed, otherwise the struts might not match your needs.

However, these calculations only give you the strut’s potential weight capacity under the best of circumstances. This changes as the weight that needs to be lifted gets closer to the hinges, because the strut needs to work harder to make the lift. If you are unsure which of the 430mm gas struts is right for your project, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

How to select the right gas struts?

If you purchase a 430mm gas strut, it means that the full extension length of the strut is 430mm. You need the length of your gas strut to be about 60% of the height of the door or window that it needs to open and close. This means that this particular gas strut is suitable for lifting doors or windows of length approximately 716mm (430mm is 60% of 716mm). So now you have the length of the gas struts you need, what about the newton force?

Replacing old gas struts

If you are replacing an existing gas strut because it’s no longer working properly, there’s often a label with all the information you need to replace like with like. If there’s no label attached or it’s illegible, then you need to measure the diameter of the shaft and the cylinder, and you need to estimate the newton force you need. A good guess of the newton force can be achieved by using a broomstick with a set of bathroom scales (remember each 10kg equals 100n). With all of these measurements, you can usually select the right 430mm gas struts with the correct newton force as your replacement. This is also a good strategy if you have increased the weight of the window for some reason and you need to estimate the new newton force required.

In our example, we have calculated that we need a 430mm gas strut. If the weight of the canopy window that we need to lift is 30kg, then we need a 430mm gas strut with 300n. You just need to check that the width of the shaft and cylinder of the replacement match the old strut.

Installing gas struts for the first time

You might think that it’s just as easy to select the correct gas struts for new installations, but it’s a little more complex. There’s actually a formula you need to use, which can appear a bit daunting, but if you have your measurements, you should be fine. We can actually work this out for you if you give us your measurements, but the formula is included on this page if you want to have a go yourself.

The measurements you need are as follows:

G = the weight of the item to be lifted (door or window)

H = 50% of the length of this item

L = mounting distance of the hinge

When these numbers are entered into the formula it gives you the newton force you need. All you need to do then is to measure 60% of the length of the door to give you the size of the strut needed. So going with the same example, if the newton force from this formula equals 300n and the length of the door is 716mm, then 60% of the window length is 429.60mm and so we need a 430mm gas strut with 300n.

Features of the Dunn & Watson 430mm gas struts

Since we manufacture our own gas struts in Australia, they all go through an exhaustive quality control process. This includes a 20,000 cycle testing regime and 150 hours of shaft salt exposure testing at our factory. These tests ensure that all our gas struts are made to the highest standards and can continue working at their optimal levels, even in sandy, dusty or salty environments. After all, there’s no point if your gas struts start to corrode in coastal areas or gets jammed up with sand or dust.

So our struts have a brass guided shaft and a well-oiled seal to ensure that they always glide smoothly when opening and closing, as well as an additional backup seal just in case the primary seal fails. We also fit them with a dampener, which is a safety feature that prevents the struts from slamming open or closed. A situation which is likely to cause significant injuries.

• Made in Australia
• Superior quality
• Fully tested before sold
• Well-oiled seal and additional backup seal
• Brass guided seal that won’t corrode
• Fitted with a safety dampener

In summary, our 430mm gas struts are ideal for any applications where you need to open and close windows, doors or tailgates on 4WDs, Ute canopies, camper trailers, caravans and RVs. You need to make sure that you buy the right length struts and the correct newton force for the job, and we have given you tips on how to do that.