My home is my castle. This old saying has not lost its relevance today. I would like the house to be calm, safe and reliable, like in a fortress. And what is a fortress without reliable doors and locks? However, one door is not enough. Without a reliable lock, a door is more of an interior element than a real security. From ancient times to this day, mankind has designed all kinds of locks, bolts and locks in order to make access to the home safe and protect it from unwanted visitors. There are many designs and types of locks, so if you are not a pro, you can easily get confused in terminology and a large number of options. Let's figure it out together.
Content
What types of door locks are there?
By installation type
Overhead
As the name implies, they are laid over the door leaf or in a special groove on the inside. A counterpart is installed on the door jamb, into which the locks enter when locking. Often they are supplemented with chains or opening stops to prevent the door from opening completely.
Mortise
Installed inside the door leaf in a specially provided groove. Before you buy a locking mechanism, you need to know the thickness of the door leaf, and the dimensions of the internal space for installation. It is also important to know which locking mechanism is used. There are doors with locking on 4 sides, when, when the key is turned on each side, pins are pulled out into special grooves, reliably fixing the canvas in the opening. Locks for such locking systems have additional plates to which the drive of the locking mechanism is attached.
Also, all mortise locks are divided into right and left, depending on the opening side of the doors.
By design of the mechanism
Crossbars
The key for such a locking mechanism has a number of identical oblique slots. Unlocking occurs not by turning the key, but by moving it forward. In this case, the slots engage with the counterplate in the mechanism, and the crossbars that enter the counterpart of the door jamb are retracted inside. This type is not considered to be resistant to burglary or picking of keys, and is recommended for use in public places such as entrances, utility rooms, or in combination with locks of a higher security level.
Suvaldny
One of the first designs of constipation. The housing contains several slotted plates. The number of plates can be different, from 4 and more. Each plate corresponds to a key cutout. When it is turned, each cutout engages with its lever, raising it and freeing the movement of the crossbars.
Locks of this type are resistant to burglary. The disadvantages of these products include large keys that are inconvenient to carry in pockets.
Cylinder
The structures of the larva are obliged to their name.A metal cylinder with a key slot inside contains spring-loaded pins, or, as they are called otherwise, pins. With the key inserted, the pins follow the pattern on the beard, or enter the holes, unlocking the lock and allowing the bolt to be turned.
The key shape and the number of slots or slots in the key depend on the manufacturer.
The varieties of cylinder locks also include secret mechanisms with semicircular keys in cross section, instead of a characteristic wave or a set of grooves on them, cuts of different depths, made at different angles. When the key is turned, the cylinders of the rotating washer, each of which has its own cut, rotate at a given angle, thus unlocking the lock.
Code
Open without a key - there is a block of buttons on the front panel of the lock. With the correct combination, the door opens. Convenient to use when installing in places with high traffic, where it is not possible to make a large number of duplicates, or the number of those who have access to the room is constantly changing.
Electronic or electromagnetic
Locks that use electromagnets to release the lock. When voltage is applied to the solenoid, it moves the lock and the door opens. Instead of keys, such products can use magnetic cards, digital panels, fingerprint scanners or electromechanical buttons.
Depending on the specifics of the installation and the applicable requirements, locks are also divided into narrow-profile and fire-resistant.
How to choose a lock?
To choose the best option for the locking mechanism, you need to consider several important factors. First, measure the thickness of the door leaf and the overall dimensions of the slot for installing the lock. Manufacturers always have several options to choose from for typical door configurations. The next step is planning your purchase budget. There are hundreds of models on the market at a variety of prices. The price will depend on the design, the degree of secrecy, the materials used and additional options, such as covers and handles included.
If you plan to buy to install a lock on a cheap Chinese door in the country or in a bathhouse, it would be unreasonable to purchase an expensive branded lock costing two or three times that of the door itself, and on the contrary, you should not save money when choosing constipation for an apartment where valuables are stored.
One of the most important indicators of a lock of any design is burglary resistance. This indicator determines how long a particular design will hold out against burglars. The class of burglary resistance is calculated according to several indicators. The main ones are:
The force applied to the elements of the lock (bolt and striker plate, mechanism, and connection of the face plate with the lock body) is measured in Newtons.
Opening resistance. Measured in minutes. Shows what is the minimum amount of time that should be spent on picking the lock of the corresponding class. This parameter ranges from 1 minute, for the simplest models, up to 30 minutes for locks of the highest class of security properties.
Burglary resistance classes
- Low resistance to cracking. It is intended to be used in places that do not require enhanced protection.
- Normal. Recommended for entrance and apartment doors.
- Increased. Recommended area of application - for apartments and premises containing significant values, and taken under protection.
- High. They must be resistant to opening for at least 30 minutes. They are also used for apartments and premises that contain significant values and are taken under protection.
It should be noted that when concluding an agreement for the protection of property and the installation of an alarm, a mandatory requirement of security structures will be the presence of class 3 and fourth locks. Thus, security companies give the rapid response team time to go to the client when the alarm is triggered, and in principle try to minimize the need to leave, because not every attacker decides to hack such complex mechanisms for a long time, risking being noticed.
Burglary protection technologies
There is always a struggle between manufacturers and those wishing to open the lock. Firms that produce locking devices and mechanisms analyze the weak points of their products, and modernize the design where it is vulnerable. Of course, not a single lock can resist a pro who, by all means, needed to get inside, but you can complicate his task so much that he will give up due to the fact that it will take too much time to open it, or it cannot be done without noise to attract unwanted attention.
Among the solutions that are used to protect locks:
- Armored lining. Make it difficult to drill cylinder mechanisms.
- Hardened pins in cylinders. The drill also makes it difficult to work, when it hits the pin, the drill is pulled to the side, and the mechanism remains intact.
- Reinforcement with armor plates of the place for fastening the shank in structures with levers;
- Code lugs on levers;
- Artificial loosening of the shank. When an attempt is made to force the action, the mechanism is destroyed. The lock will have to be changed, but the protection fulfilled its purpose - it did not let the intruder on the threshold.
Best locks for metal entrance doors for 2020
The review includes:
| Lever mortise lock with latch ZV9-8 / 13 | 898 RUB |
| Guardian 10.01.2004 | 954 RUB |
| Kale Kilit under cylinder 442 | RUB 560 |
| Kale Kilit lever 252 / RL | RUB 2,426 |
| Sibrtech ZV-3 | 597 r |
| Cisa two-system NEW CAMBIO FACILE 57.986.48 | RUB 14 800 |
| Mottura 54.797-D | RUB 11,000 |
Lever mortise lock with latch ZV9-8 / 13
In seventh place is the 8-lever mortise lock.
Designed for installation in doors 40-50 mm thick.
The design is universal, it can be installed both in the left doors and in the right ones by reinstalling the latch.
Scope of delivery: cover plates with handles in antique copper color, 3 steel keys 70 mm long.
Body coating - zinc. Front and striker plating - nickel.
Has protection against drilling, protection against picks and corresponds to the class of burglary resistance 3. The body and parts of the mechanism are made of high-strength materials.
The number of secret combinations is 250,000.
Three crossbars with a diameter of 11.7 mm with a projection of 21 mm.
Backset: 48.5 mm.
Center distance: 55 mm.
Advantages:
- High class of protection against burglary;
- High-quality body material with corrosion protection;
- Protection against drilling and picking;
- Universal installation on the right or left side.
Disadvantages:
- Not identified
Guardian 10.01.2004
The sixth line of the rating was taken by a mortise lever lock for metal entrance doors of Russian production.
The Guardian company has been on the market for 29 years, and during this time it has established itself as a reliable manufacturer with affordable prices.
Body material: galvanized steel.
Number of levers - 4
Dimensions: 82 mm x 85 mm.
Hole center distance: 50mm
Diameter and number of crossbars: 3 x 13.55 mm.
Crossbar protrusion: 26 mm
Advantages:
- Good value for money.
Disadvantages:
- No protection against drilling;
- No keyhole cover included.
Kale Kilit under cylinder 442
In fifth place is a model from a Turkish manufacturer in the middle price category. The company's products are popular with buyers due to their low prices and a wide range of models.
Kale Kilit produce not only locks, but also all kinds of related accessories for them, and related fittings.
Model with article 442 - mortise, with a cylinder mechanism and a latch.
Body material: steel.
Cover plates, crossbars material: steel with nickel plating.
Number of crossbars and their diameter: 3 x 16 mm.
Departure of crossbars: 26 mm.
Hole center distance: 67.5 mm.
The kit includes: a case with a mechanism, a lock cylinder.
Advantages:
- High secrecy of the cylinder mechanism;
- Latch;
- Large diameter of the crossbars.
Disadvantages:
- Lack of terminals for rods of the three-way locking system;
- There is no armor plate on the mechanism.
Kale Kilit lever 252 / RL
The fourth place in the rating is taken by the goods already presented in the review by manufacturers from Turkey.
Model with article 252 - mortise, with a lever-type mechanism. The declared safety class of the product is the third.
Body material: steel.
Cover plates, crossbars material: steel with nickel plating.
Number of crossbars and their diameter: 3 x 16 mm.
Departure of crossbars: 37 mm.
Distance to the center of the hole: 80 mm.
The locks are offered in two versions: right and left, pay attention to this when purchasing.
Advantages:
- Long overhang of girders;
- Armor plate as protection against drilling;
- Additional latch.
Disadvantages:
- Not identified.
Sibrtech ZV-3
A popular first class security model. It is in high demand due to its low price. It is recommended for use as an additional lock due to the low level of burglary resistance. Or, to be installed in rooms where the class of secrecy is not so critical.
Mechanism type: lever.
The thickness of the door leaf is sufficient for the installation of the product: from 40 to 50 mm.
Has left and right execution.
The set includes: a lock mechanism, a striker plate, two decorative plates.
Advantages:
- Low price;
- Pads included.
Disadvantages:
- Low class of secrecy.
Cisa two-system NEW CAMBIO FACILE 57.986.48
In second place is a movement from a reliable Italian manufacturer with more than a century of history. The company's specialists are constantly improving the class of their products and are rightfully considered one of the leaders in the industry. According to the applied technical solutions and the high class of secrecy and the price, which cannot be called budget.
Cisa NEW CAMBIO FACILE is a mortise lock for a lever type metal door.
The fourth class of secrecy.
A distinctive feature of the model is the ability to recode the key in case of loss. The set includes a basic set of keys, and a spare one, which is used in case of loss of the main one. If necessary, you can additionally purchase another set of keys from the manufacturer and re-encode.
Crossbar diameter: 18 mm.
Crossbar protrusion: 38 mm.
Distance to the center of the hole: 64 mm.
Cisa NEW CAMBIO uses technologies of protection against drilling, force hacking and key selection.
The rods in the upper and lower part of the body allow the use of the lock in doors with a locking system on 3 sides.
Advantages:
- High secrecy;
- Burglary protection;
- High quality workmanship;
- The presence of rods for a three-way locking system.
Disadvantages:
- High price;
- Lack of striker and handle included.
Mottura 54.797-D
The leader of our review was another representative of the Italian masters - the Mottura castle. Designed for installation in leaves with a thickness of at least 60 mm, it has a high degree of secrecy and an additional cylinder mechanism and rods for a three-sided locking system.
Type: lever
Number of crossbars: 4.
Crossbars diameter: 18 mm.
Crossbar travel: 22 mm.
Version: for right-hand opening type.
Advantages:
- High degree of secrecy;
- Four massive crossbars;
- Additional cylinder mechanism;
- Latch;
- Burglary and drilling protection.
Disadvantages:
- Lack of overlays and handles in the package.
Tips for choosing mortise locks for metal doors
Measure the door carefully, determine the thickness of the leaf, the dimensions of the inner groove, the removal of the key hole, and of course, the side of the door opening. Immediately consider what additional accessories you might need to find in your store. It can be decorative overlays, handles, shutters for a keyhole, an additional cylinder mechanism.
It is better to entrust the installation of the lock, especially if you have never done this before. In almost every salon, this service is provided for a fee and with a guarantee.
If you have experience in operating locks for metal doors or useful tips, write about it in the comments.
