gas spring for selden rodkicker

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superboots

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I want to replace and upgrade the gas spring in my rodkicker/vang. I have the selden part number but want to use a non-selden product. Anyone have experience in getting one this way. I have tried a couple of suppliers but they don't know the equivalents of their products to Selden's . The boat is too far away to remove the original gas spring.
 
You should be able to work out the force rating you need, then look at industrial suppliers.
You can sail the boat without the gas spring, so why not wait until you can remove the old one, to check the size and end fittings?
 
When I have approached suppliers they have asked for measurements which I don't know . I do know the force rating 5000N. I would like to sort this sooner rather then wait another year (or two)!
 
superboots said:
I want to replace and upgrade the gas spring in my rodkicker/vang. I have the selden part number but want to use a non-selden product. Anyone have experience in getting one this way. I have tried a couple of suppliers but they don't know the equivalents of their products to Selden's . The boat is too far away to remove the original gas spring.
Click to expand...
Just had mine done by Allspars in Plymouth, as ever great service from Allspars. Parts were expensive, IIRC it was £180 all in. Big boom though, I guess size matters when it comes to pricing these things.
 
Did mine using a commercial replacement. The kicker is easy to dismantle so it's just a case of remove and replace.
I did have a minor problem with the screwed end of the strut rusted onto the rod of the gas strut.
I chose the easy opt out of buying a spare plastic slide to save hastle and the risk of possible breakage.
Subsequently managed to drill out the old one.
Despite having to buy the slide, it still came in muck cheaper than using the Selden part ( which by the markings on it are not made by Selden ).
 
superboots said:
When I have approached suppliers they have asked for measurements which I don't know . I do know the force rating 5000N. I would like to sort this sooner rather then wait another year (or two)!
Click to expand...

Have you tried SGS? They list a replacement for a smaller Selden strut, so may be able to help with the bigger one you need. I've bought gas struts from them and their service has been great.

Seldon Rod Kicker Gas Strut - D0M0B45 250 565 -002
 
I replaced the original gas strut with an adjustable (pressure) stainless strut from SGS Engineering last year. I also replaced the two plastic internal slide fittings which are Selden specific but not too expensive.

I'll post photos and specifics later when I'm at the laptop.

Our of interest, what is the model of strut you have?
 
But because the plastic had worn , you can see the wear in the aluminium part of the inner strut.
I therefore shortened that aluminium part by about an inch (and packed out the lower part of the aluminium strut with the old plastic part to match for length).

20200404_163440.jpg
 
superboots said:
I want to replace and upgrade the gas spring in my rodkicker/vang. I have the selden part number but want to use a non-selden product. Anyone have experience in getting one this way. I have tried a couple of suppliers but they don't know the equivalents of their products to Selden's . The boat is too far away to remove the original gas spring.
Click to expand...
I replaced mine last summer with a Nitrolift stainless steel unit from SGS. Before ordering I used a spring balance (luggage type) on the outboard end of the boom with the sail and cover in place. I then measured the lever arms to the balance and the strut to work out the force in the strut needed to support the boom, sail, and sail cover. It turned out that the original unit was under-sized so I ordered a more powerful one. I got one with an adjuster so that I could bleed out some of the gas to reduce the force if I had to but this hasn't proved necessary despite the new unit being about twice the strength of the original.
 
Ours failed within a couple of years from new. Selden were useless, taking weeks to reply to an email and only forwarded phone number of the nearest dealer. We had called him already and he took several days to get back with a ludicrous price and a lead time of 2-3 weeks.

I had already ordered a replacement online for a fraction of the price. The Selden part had a stainless rod with mild steel body and I ordered a similar spec. model. It failed after about a year and I ordered one with a stainless steel body and rod. I got a large discount on the all stainless steel model because the firm were surprised that the previous unit had failed so quickly.

It was easy for me to select the correct unit by measuring the original and reading the details on the body. I'm pretty certain Selden won't publish the information, perhaps someone in an owners club will have it.

www.strutsdirect.co.uk and this now redirects to Metrol

I bought the SDSS-04-250 set to 1200N before delivery and specified no end fittings as it came with threaded ends ready for the Selden plastic end fittings. It was still working perfectly in 2019 after 6 years use. I was told that they don't like sitting in one position under pressure and always pull the boom up slightly when not actually sailing. I also seem to remember that some people fit them the wrong way around. Water runs down the rod towards the entry point in the body and this can lead to early failure.

Pretty certain I bought this model NS-SS-V-14-250 Stainless Steel 316 Variable Force Gas Strut £80.67 incl. VAT

It was described as up to 2500N but the Selden unit was actually marked as 1200N and Struts Direct set it to this before despatch. Even if your unit is a 5000N, it might well be set to a lower value.

Replacement should be trivial if you can get details from another owner. It might even be worth giving details of your boat here on the off chance.
 
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Many thanks for all the replies. I will give SGS a ring to see if they can help. I did approach Allspars and they gave me a stratospheric price . My idea was to take replacement with me on next trip to boat - when we are given our freedom back. But, I just realize that won't be possible - as I hope to be flying. I assume this item is similar to life jacket co2 cartridges ans is therefore prohibited from inclusion in luggage.
I have changed my boom - its now a little longer but with a heavier section . I assume the original is a 20 so would want to go for a 30 - the strongest one produced by Selden at 5000N. Hopefully the outer casing is the same size and the new spring has the same diameter as the old.
 
superboots said:
Many thanks for all the replies. I will give SGS a ring to see if they can help. I did approach Allspars and they gave me a stratospheric price . My idea was to take replacement with me on next trip to boat - when we are given our freedom back. But, I just realize that won't be possible - as I hope to be flying. I assume this item is similar to life jacket co2 cartridges and is therefore prohibited from inclusion in luggage.
I have changed my boom - its now a little longer but with a heavier section . I assume the original is a 20 so would want to go for a 30 - the strongest one produced by Selden at 5000N. Hopefully the outer casing is the same size and the new spring has the same diameter as the old.
Click to expand...

I think that you may well be correct about prohibition of gas struts even as hold luggage. I think that I put in diagonally in a longish suitcase to avoid it being in the fully compressed position. It was also a 2500N unit set at 1200N, therefore not anywhere close to it's max. in normal use. I was probably lucky to get away with it about 8 years ago and wouldn't try it now.

It may well be a good idea to research online purchase from a company near your boat or at least in the EU. Delivery from UK to somewhere in the EU make prove more of a problem. At least that would allow you to dismantle the original unit and measure the strut. My original Selden unit had a mild steel body, I'd always buy an all stainless one as a replacement. I think UK price for yours could well be around £120 - £150 unless it is a very unusual size.

The Metrol link I gave earlier has plenty of information about selecting struts. The diagram below shows every single dimension you might need to check on the existing unit. Main things to measure are total length, stroke, body diameter and end thread details.


1615470249524.png
 
Related but slightly different. I don't know what replacement gas strut I need as there wasn't one in strut housing (to my surprise). Anyone have any ideas on how to size the right strut?
 
We had the same issue about 5 years ago, the strut fitted with a spring. Replaced this with an adjustable pressure ram from SGS, let out pressure until it would hold boom and sail etc with a small amount of pull on kicker. Has worked perfect. The unit supplied was stainless and only about £50
 
Nice. Just figured out that there is nothing to fit the strut in to at one end. The housing plastic bits are a bit of a wreck. Looks like I will need a whole new kicker. Still not sure which one and I don't want to oversize because the price difference between the smallest and largest is a lot. I guess I just need to follow the size selector on the Selden site (although they don't list my boat).
 
We made spacers to suit from acetal rod that fitted the inside dia of the kicker at either end, the ram was threaded at both ends and the spacers were tapped to fit, cut a slot in the spacer for the internal wire to run inside. Don’t forget the strut is only a tube with another sized to fit inside nothing difficult, it’s always under compression so everything stays in place
 
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