Hydraulic VS Pneumatic Screen Door Closer | Feature Comparison

Because of how less frequently we actually sit and take the moment to think about the wellbeing of our doors, the importance of having proper closer is relatively low to most of us. But that’s not necessarily true.

It’s one of those items that becomes a must-have during the last minute. And that’s usually when the door is almost to the point of wearing out due to banging again and again.

Anyways, you are here to find more about hydraulic vs pneumatic screen door closer. So, I’m guessing you’ve gone through quite a few types of door closure and ended up gaining interest in these two particular variants.

From this point, your main focus should be weighting the features of both of these excellently useful closures and decide which one would be more versatile in terms of application in your case. Shall we get started?

Hydraulic VS Pneumatic Screen Door Closer – The Basic Definition

A good way to start this discussion on differentiating both of these door closers is by going through their very basic definition or introduction. In terms of the hydraulic screen door closer, it’s one of the most popular options out there. And there are quite a few reasons backing up such preference of many.

It’s a universal style that uses a liquid-operation mechanism and also, you can get it with or even without a hold pelmet open system.

Hydraulic closers start from where traditional options fail at giving fast start and gradual finish of door closing mechanism to keep it shut by pulling effortlessly.

Then the other type is pneumatic door closer, basically noticeable more on heavy doors. You can find them in offices as well as homes. Those heavy swinging doors are what go best with this type particularly.

Pneumatic screen door closer’s residential and commercial purpose is to work on all those heavy and swing outer varieties of door. This one has a reputation of being a bit difficult to operate, but is that actually true?

We’ll find out about it in the rest of the comparison. A little bit of spoiler would be the skeptical views are somewhat true but there’s a twist to it. Let’s move on.

Considering Entire Usage Factor

The hydraulic closer is a liquid operation-based option. At a 90-degree angle, the door with this particular closer will stay ajar basically. You will require a very gentle push for the door to come back to its actual position. The latch system comes with adjustability. And you can basically limit or even increase the resistance considering factors such as seals on the door, tightness, even air.

One of the most popular usages of this closer type is for security doors. There’s almost no noise and the speeds are changeable according to your adjustment preference.

With the pneumatic one, it’s meant for typical heavy variety doors. Also, the usage is going to be less simple. The adjustment will need you to work with a screw. By the adjustments, you can make the closing mechanism slower or faster.

It’s Basically the Standard VS Heavy Duty Storm Door Closer Battle

If you only focus on the basic level, you may end up mistakenly taking both types as behaving same. However, that’s not true. And it becomes obvious when we talk about the load-taking ability of both types.

Hydraulic mechanism is known as the best door closer for performing better when you introduce it with heavier loads. And this is why some people choose it for the largest roller shutters. The ones that are common in industrial environments. Basically, the spots where they enter and exit huge automobiles or vehicles.

However also, pneumatic is not awfully bad at it. Maybe one step behind, but still shows pretty good results at handling heavy loads. So, if you see a large door with the pneumatic type, there’s nothing to be confused over.

The Better Closer in Terms of Speed?

When we consider speed, and by that, I mean at what pace your doors will slam, the best screen door closer is going to be the hydraulic mechanism. Because there are usually two adjustments available with it.

So that one can work for latch speed while the other functions for sweep speed. The swing shut of the door is basically sweep speed. It will at some point brake. And then start to gradually slow down. The very ending speed when the door is almost shut is latch speed.

The pneumatic ones are usually quite bad with both of the speeds. Especially if you have heavy loads in your hand, such as grocery bags, and you’re trying to beat the door. The performance is unsatisfying actually in this case.

If you however want to have a consistent, smooth, and soft motion range, it’s best to opt for hydraulic ones.

If It’s About Resistance to Shocks & Impacts

This is also a case where both of the varieties are quite close to each other in terms of performance. Because both of them do a pretty decent job at handling a high amount of shock as well as impacts with the right resistance.

But if you want to have even the slightest upper hand option, go for the hydraulics one. It’s also better for spots or settings that are meant to have a lot of traffic. Especially if vehicles are actively coming and going in that area. As then, the impact is going to be quite great and the closer should be able to handle it better.

Cost Wise Which One Is More Value Returning?

This is where the slight twist I talked about on the pneumatic door closer comes into play. You see, the hydraulic system is actually quite complicated. And you will need to spend more money on installing it. There’s also the maintenance cost by the way.

On the opposite side, a pneumatic system is comparatively less expensive both to install and maintain. And this is why some people still choose to sidestep the heavily costing hydraulic system if not absolutely necessary.

This also means you should not skip a hydraulic system in environments where it’s absolutely mandatory.

Ending Notes

Now that you have gone through a few benefits of Hydraulic & pneumatic Door Closer (also the drawbacks), it should be ticking in your head already which one you better go for. Here’s what I think.

The option you should go for will depend highly on your budget and also the traffic of areas where it’s going to work in. If you are basically looking for the best storm door closer for high wind areas, then going for a hydraulic one that comes with arms would work ideal.

However, if someone is interested in the best door closer that will work for almost all-weather conditions, then the pneumatic one with different speed adjustments for temperature will work just right.

At the end of the day, making a choice between hydraulic vs pneumatic screen door closer is a matter of your needs, circumstances, and application. So based on that, you should pick a winner for yourself.