On one end of the housing is an end cap with a grey circular plate about the size of a quarter. To do this you will need a 3/8 inch hex key and access to the end of the screen housing. Of course, do this at your own risk! If this does not solve your issue you may have a broken internal locking mechanism and the screen housing will have to be replaced.įor those having problems with retraction of their luminAire screens, a possible solution is to increase tension in the recoil mechanism. Also ensure the plastic latches engage when finished. I have no idea what the factory set rotations are since Andersen is not forthcoming with this info. Be careful not to over tighten the spring mechanism since you are dealing with plastic parts that can break. From a "no tension" starting point, 50 rotations will give you a 3 second retraction rate. As you do so small gray plastic latches will release and reset with every 360 degree rotation. Insert the hex key into the small depression in the plastic and slowly rotate clockwise. Increasing Retraction Tension in Andersen LuminAire Screen NEWįor those having problems with retraction of their LuminAire screens, a possible solution is to increase tension in the recoil mechanism. Be gentle on the plastic locking pins near the main spring! Tension will then have to re-applied to the main spring via a hex key. In addition a new screen will have to be cut to size and attached to the aluminium rod and rolled to fit in the housing. If the screen needs to be replaced this spline will have to be removed and reinserted without breaking. The screen is attached to the movable part by a press fit full length plastic spline. The bottom rail stabilizes the retraction with a similar plastic attachment. A dirty top rail will slow the retraction rate or even stop it. Retraction causes a plastic attachment point to slide on the top rail like a trolly. Similarly if the screen is pulled too far out from the housing it will detach from the rod. If this "glue" becomes compromised the screen can slip from its attachment point resulting in it just spinning around the rod with no retraction. The screen is attached to the aluminium rod via a tacky substance. The other end cap contains a smaller spring that stabilizes the rod and contributes to the rewind function. One of the ends (with a gray plastic indent) contains the main spring that once wound applies tension. The housing consists of an aluminium rod with plastic internal cams on each end. If dirt, leaves or water enter the housing it will fail at some point. The retraction function is governed by the health of your screen housing. Well, there you go a brand new screen for just a few dollars in less than a half an hour.Having taken apart an Andersen LuminAire screen recently, I thought some insight on how it works and is put together might be helpful in solving some problems. Finally, trim off the excess screen with a sharp utility knife. With a pair of scissors, cut the spline off at each corner, and press it into the groove with a screwdriver. Using the spline roller carefully press the spline into the groove, first on one side, then the opposite side, and then the two remaining sides. Next, cut each corner at a 45 degree angle from the outside of the screen to the spline groove. Then, place the cut piece of screen on top of the frame, making sure that it overhangs evenly all the way around. Then, place the frame on top and cut the screen about one half inch larger than the spline groove. Roll the new screen out on a large, flat surface. With the spline removed, simply lift the screen out of the frame. The screen is held in place with a vinyl cord or spline to remove it use the point of a knife to start one end then simply pull it out. Now, you could take this down to the hardware store and have them fix it, but its easier to do it yourself, let me show you how. If you’ve got screen doors or screen windows, sooner or later this is bound to happen to you.
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