Screen cage door latch rusted solid, anyone found one that lasts

Started by Chuck Weaver · · 3 replies
Back to the forum
Reply
#1
When we first put the cage in down here I figured a latch was a latch, didn't think twice about it. Well the one on our pool side door just seized up solid on me this morning, had to practically climb over the frame to get out for my swim. Third one I've gone through in about six years and I think it's just the salt air chewing through whatever cheap hardware comes standard.

Anybody found a latch or hinge set that actually holds up down here long term. Stainless doesn't seem to be doing much better than the standard stuff once it's been through a few humid summers. Would rather spend a little more once than keep swapping these out every couple years. Good luck with it, hope somebody's cracked this one.

3 Replies

#2
No screen cage up here in Ohio so I can't speak to salt air eating hardware, that's a whole different animal than what I deal with. But it's funny you mention going through three latches in six years, my pool has a couple of those simple slide bolt latches on the deck gate and after 15 seasons the original ones are still kicking, just some surface rust I hit with a wire brush once in a while.

Course I don't have humidity and salt working against me year round, just brutal winters and then normal summer weather. Probably not much help on a fix but sounds like whatever they're speccing for cages down there just isn't built for that environment, salt air will chew through stuff that'd last decades anywhere else.
#3
no salt air here in phoenix so i can't really speak to the corrosion side, but when you say stainless "isnt doing much better" are we talking actual marine grade 316 or just whatever the cage company calls stainless, cause ive noticed a lot of stuff gets labeled that way and its really just regular 304 that has no business being near salt spray.
#4
We dont have a cage so no advice there, but swamp_tyler is onto something, our salt system guy told us the same thing about "stainless" pool hardware being 304 half the time, its basically decorative once real salt exposure gets at it. Might be worth asking the cage company point blank for the actual grade number.