Gas Spring Guidelines

Follow Ameritool’s Gas Spring Guidelines and best practices to ensure a long life and functioning system with your gas springs.

1. Mount and dismount gas springs according to safety guidelines. To achieve long-life expectancy with reduced fatigue strength, employ sound mounting practices.
2. If gas springs are fitted in applications where failure means risk of health or life, we recommend using additional locking
   mechanisms. This is a customer responsibility.
3. In FOOD or MEDICAL settings, request food-grade lubricating oils in place of industrial-grade hydraulic fluids, as minor quantities of fluid may leak from gas springs and should not come in contact with food or similar products or with subsoil water.
4. Allow for movement in joints. If the mount is subject to vibration, fittings must be secured.
5. Gas springs, tension springs, and dampers are not safety parts. These units are wear parts and thus be replaced depending on the stress and the area of the application. 
6. Avoid side loading of gas springs. Long strokes may require additional support to avoid bending and tilting. Avoid non-axial forces.
7. Minor damage, corrosion, or paint residue on the shaft may damage the unit’s seal and result in rapid failure. Any product change, adjustment, or repair through any third party, without written consent from Ameritool will void any warranty or guarantee.
8. Unless specifically designed for tension loads, gas springs must not be loaded with traction forces.
9. Do not extend or retract gas springs beyond their design specifications. Gas springs are not to be used as a dead stop.
10. Use unit only within a temperature range from -10°F to 180°F (-23°C to 82°C). (High temp or Low temp seal packages are also available.) Contact Ameritool if intended use exceeds this range. Do not heat above 300°F (148°C).
11. Ameritool does not guarantee applications where proposals or drawings do not include parameters or conditions of use. In general, all orders must indicate if springs are used under normal conditions, -10°F to 180°F (-23°C to 82°C), or in environments that exceed these conditions.
12. Test gas springs after installation. Ameritool cannot simulate or anticipate the complete range of situations where our products may be used.
13. Avoid high accelerations or velocities during extension or compression as it could overload the unit. High stroke speeds or stroke frequencies lead to overheating and thus damage to the seals and the failure of the product.
14. Mount non-reservoir gas springs shaft-down, as they remain mostly in a static position.
15. Do not lubricate the gas spring.