accuride side mounted self closing slides

[michael foster]

I bought some Accuride slides from cabinet parts .com for a kitchen I was building for a client . I recommended them to him because I thought Accuride was a quality product. I put them in and they would close half way and stop or not pull in at all. After checking the box was square , that the width dimensions were correct and that both slides to each drawer were level we made some fine adjustments and they improved somewhat .Now that weight is in them they are worst . I tried to get help from Accuride and cabinet parts .com but did not turn up anything . Does anyone have any ideas .

Michael from Barbados

[Steve Baumgartner]

I've used Accurides a lot of times, generally without problems. About halfway in is where the inner part of the slide starts to move. It is typical for them to be very stiff the first time you put the drawer into the cabinet, until the inner slide centers itself. But after that, they should be quite smooth.

Any chance the bottoms of the drawers are scraping against something? I've had that happen a couple of times. Your comment that loading them makes the situation worse would fit with this idea. If so, you need to plane a bit off the bottom edges of the drawer.

Otherwise, it's a matter of getting everything perfectly parallel, which can be difficult inside a cabinet. I've found that the tolerance for error is somewhat small, especially if the clearance is not exactly as specified. If there is too little, you'll have to shave down the drawers or cabinet. If there is too much, you can shim the slides out from the cabinet sides. Sometimes the drawer or cabinet tapers a bit from front to back. That can be a beast to diagnose...

[Larry Fox]

Michael, I have experienced the same with their self-closing slides. Interestingly enough, I replaced 4 sets of them on a kitchen job I just completed because they would not pull in properly. These were big drawers and it seems that the "pistons" they put in them to pull the drawer in is not strong enough to operate on large drawers. The slides I used are rated for 100#. I have no doubt that the slide properly installed can handle a 100# drawer but I don't think there is any way that the slide would pull in with 100#. Another issue I have had with them is that the mechanism towards the back of the slide that pulls the drawer in remains in the "disengaged" position at times causing the drawer to not close all the way - poor design in my opinion.

The ones I replaced over the weekend I replaced with standard (non self-closing) slides and they perform very well. I think that, in general, Accuride makes a quality product and I will continue to use their products but I really think they wiffed on this particular slide and I will never use them again.

I also bought mine from Cabinetparts.com but I view this as an Accuride issue and not an issue with Cabinetparts. I buy pretty much all my stuff from them and they are an outstanding supplier. For reference, the ones I used were CabinetPArts item number AC-383222EC.

[Alan Bienlein]

We are having the same problem with the accuride soft close slides not working properly. Sometimes it will close the drawer all the way and sometimes it won't. Drawer slides freely till it engages the mechanism. The piston is there to slow the drawer down so the concealed springs above and below the piston pull the drawer in slowly.

I told them at work to never never never never ever use these slides again. Too many call backs.

[scott vroom]

I had a similar problem on a job where we used Fulterer side mount self close slides. My supplier told me the installation needs to be near perfect (parallel/square) to prevent the problem. My last several jobs I've used Blum Tandem undermounts with the soft close feature.....no going back for me. I pay $20/pair for the slides and connectors and it's worth every penny. If you decide to go with an undermount you'll likely need to make new drawer boxes.....but if your reputation is at stake it may be a small price to pay.

Hopefully you'll find a solution with the Accurides....good luck!

[Thomas S Stockton]

Same experience here ended up replacing about 8 pairs in a wall unit. If you want self closing go with blum, if you can get them wholesale they are not a whole lot more expensive and a bargain if you figure a couple of hours to change them out and new slides. I ended up throwing them out.
Tom

[Larry Fox]

Humm - I wonder if we should send a link to this thread to Accuride and/or CabinetParts. Accuride so they know that there might be some design issues and CabinetParts so they know customers are reporting consistent issues and they can maybe yank them from their site. As I said in my post, I think they are a first-rate supplier and I doubt they want to knowingly offer something there is strong evidence is cr@p.

[Mike Henderson]

I had the same problem with Accuride side mount self closing slides. Everything has to be PERFECT for them to work correctly. They have to be spaced just the right amount. Too much space and the piston mechanism will not pull forward (they stay back because the pin on the side piece slips out). Too tight and the drawer can get hooked in the closed position. I spent a *lot* of time shimming to get the slides aligned so they'd operate. And one drawer still doesn't work as well as it should.

I'll NEVER buy Accuride side mount self closing slides again. There's got to be a better solution.

Mike

[Mike Goetzke]

Sorry OP'er but this post just made me feel a lot better. I used Hettich Quadro Self-Close undermount on 12 drawers for our kitchen remodel (my wife loves them). I now need to make 10 pull out drawers for a pantry and the salesman at CSH kept telling me undermounts were overkill and tried to suggest the Accuride soft-close. Anyway I spent a few $ extra on the undermounts and glad I did now. FYI - working on our kitchen I searched for the best price on many items. I found a place called cabinetreecollection and the Accuride slides you mentioned are about $4 less a pair there and the service is great.

Mike

[scott vroom]

I don't know if this is helpful but I found a medium sized cabinet shop nearby that will gladly sell me any Blum hardware at their volume cost. I pay $20/pair for Blum Tandem 562H 21" full extension undermount slides whether I buy one or more pairs. I've yet to find a cheaper supply. I also buy Blum hinges on the cheap. I recently bid a job that requires 15 pairs of undermount sliders. I payed $300....a savings of around $90 vs the internet. I'll save a similar amount on hinges (mostly Blum 120+). It adds up.

Many cabinet shops are hurting with the building industry still in deep recession and it behoves them to bundle orders to get the cheapest volume pricing. A classic win-win situation. Don't be afraid to make a few phone calls to find a guy willing to help you save money.

[Mike Henderson]

Let me make a suggestion to those who have had problems with the Accuride slides. Amazon sells them. Go to the product page on Amazon and do a review. Hopefully, Accuride will see the reviews and do something about the design. And if they don't, at least you'll have warned future potential buyers.

The model number of the 22" slides, the ones I used, is 3832EC. If you search on Accuride 3832EC you'll get all the Accuride easy close slides and you can pick the one you used.

Think of it as helping another woodworker.

Mike

[Jim Andrew]

I'm not crazy about accuride slides either, I've been using the roller guides that Liberty Hardwoods sells, they are dirt cheap and compare to blum. Case prices are really right.

[Larry Edgerton]

Just a heads up.....

KV has a self closing slide that I switched to a few years ago that I like better. You have to ask, but KV has two lines, one made in the USA and an imported line of the same design. I use only the USA version but I never compete on price. Have played with the import version and it is alright but not quite as crisp as the domestic.

I have had these in my own kitchen for 8 years and no failures, and have had no callbacks.

Larry

[michael foster]

To all who replied, Thank you all very much.It was great to know that I was not at fault. I have since got the blum bug but I still have to do a correction on the project. I will send these posts to the client. They are quite a few drawers and nearly all of the boxes are different so I would prefer not to rebuild them. Does any one have a recommendation on a sidemounted self closing slide that works well. Michael.

[michael foster]

Just a heads up.....

KV has a self closing slide that I switched to a few years ago that I like better. You have to ask, but KV has two lines, one made in the USA and an imported line of the same design. I use only the USA version but I never compete on price. Have played with the import version and it is alright but not quite as crisp as the domestic.

I have had these in my own kitchen for 8 years and no failures, and have had no callbacks.

Larry

Larry , are these KV slides side mounted. I am hoping to do a switch and not have to rebuild all the boxes. Michael.

[Mike Henderson]

To all who replied, Thank you all very much.It was great to know that I was not at fault. I have since got the blum bug but I still have to do a correction on the project. I will send these posts to the client. They are quite a few drawers and nearly all of the boxes are different so I would prefer not to rebuild them. Does any one have a recommendation on a sidemounted self closing slide that works well. Michael.
Why don't you use the undermount? They seem to work better and are easier to get right.

Mike

[Peter Stahl]

Larry , are these KV slides side mounted. I am hoping to do a switch and not have to rebuild all the boxes. Michael.

Out of curiosity I looked KV slides up and KV8450 slides are side mounted and are reasonably priced at wwhardware. There is a KV web site, they may be able to tell you if there is a foreign/domestic slide. I have no idea if the KV8450's made in the us.

[Brian Ross]

I have used Tandem undermounts for the last 4 years and people love them . Had a conversation with a Accuride sales rep at the Vegas Show last year and one of his comments was that the accurides require a total side clearance of 1 1/16 of an inch and that a lot of people only allow 1 inch. Don't know if this applies to anyone here but thought I would throw it out there.

Brian

[Larry Edgerton]

Larry , are these KV slides side mounted. I am hoping to do a switch and not have to rebuild all the boxes. Michael.

Michael

They are side mounted, and require the same 1 1/16" clearance as Accuride. The ones I use are I believe 8419's, but I am not at the shop so not positive.

I looked at the slides like you used, and KV has something similar, and just decided not to use them. They totally violate the KISS principle.

Larry

[John A langley]

Michael. After talking to my sales reps from several different suppliers,I've come to the conclusion that side mounted self-closing guides are not a good concept no matter who makes them. Self-closing under-mount guides are a much more reliable guide. Your reputation is at stake. My suggestion is to change out the drawers to an under-mount guide. It may take a day of your time and cost you a few bucks for hardware but it will buy you a lot of good will. In the long run it will pay off. My 2 cents. Have a great day.

[Jeff Qualmann]

All of the KV 84xx series slides are U.S. made. The latest version of the KV side mount soft-closing slide is the 8450FM, which replaced the previous 8450 version about 6 months ago. Some distributors may still have a supply of the previous version still in stock.

[Mike Goetzke]

Michael

They are side mounted, and require the same 1 1/16" clearance as Accuride. The ones I use are I believe 8419's, but I am not at the shop so not positive.

I looked at the slides like you used, and KV has something similar, and just decided not to use them. They totally violate the KISS principle.

Larry

I applied undermounts everywhere I could in my own kitchen build. I had two short openings under the oven and micro and applied the 3832EC's because the undermounts would have taken up too much space. My boxes are as square as could be plus I provided 1-1/16" side clearance. I think I have a different problem than most. The soft close works great on both drawers but these slides just have too much resistance. You need to push them almost all the way in for the soft-close to engage. I even notice with the drawers fully extended they don't slide easily. I have $4 side mount slides on my shop cabinets that glide much easier than these. I have to buy a set of slides for a filler/spice pullout - again the space it too narrow for undermounts. Maybe I'll try the KV 8450FM.

Mike

[Sam Murdoch]

Accurides are very, very good slides, far better than KV in my experience- the deficiency is in the self closing (even Hafele can't get that right). Everyone asks for that gimmick but in my humble opinion it adds NOTHING to the system and is doomed to failure eventually regardless of what slide you use. Accuride has got all the bugs worked out of their side mount full extension slides why not just replace the self close with the person close and call it good? Blum is a different - though very fine animal. I have never had any issues with Accuride except when I built my boxes slightly out of square or slightly bigger than the 1/16" overall tolerance. This is a very real potential problem - I do mean slightly. You can compensate for the drawer box being too narrow by using thin small washers behind your slides. If your drawer box is slightly too wide or out of square you will also encounter resistance. EVERY PROBLEM I have ever had using Accuride (for at least 20 years) has been as a result of the cabinet or the drawer box being less or more than the 1/16" overall tolerance. I go for exactly 1/2" clearance on both sides. Then they introduced the soft close and back to what I said at the beginning...