Alarm Controls CY-1 Series - Mortise Cylinders

Keying is the only difference. The CY-1 is keyed different, so each cylinder has its own key. The CY-1A is keyed alike, so every CY-1A you order opens with the same key. If you are putting mortise key switches on several doors in one building and want one key to run all of them, order the CY-1A. If each opening needs its own key, order the CY-1. Both ship with two keys.

Straight cam. That matters because the cam is what drives the switch or lock mechanism, and a device prepped for a clover leaf or offset cam will not be actuated by this one. Confirm the device you are keying takes a straight cam before ordering.

That is what the CY-1 is for. It is the mortise cylinder used with Alarm Controls mortise cylinder key switch stations, sold as the cylinder alone, not a complete key switch station. If your switch housing and plate are fine and you only need to rekey or replace the cylinder, this is the part. If you need the switch itself, you need the station, not this.

The BEA 10CYLINDERKA is a 1.125 inch mortise cylinder supplied with a Schlage C keyway, keyed alike. The Alarm Controls CY-1 is a 1-1/8 inch standard mortise cylinder with a straight cam, supplied with two keys, and comes as CY-1 keyed different or CY-1A keyed alike. Both are the same 1-1/8 inch cylinder length, so either drops into a standard mortise key switch housing; choose the BEA part when the facility is already standardized on Schlage C so the cylinder falls onto an existing master key system.

Two options work. The Alarm Controls CY-1A is the keyed alike version of the CY-1 mortise cylinder, so a group of CY-1A cylinders operates on one common key; order the CY-1 instead only when each opening must have its own key. The BEA 10CYLINDERKA is also a keyed alike 1.125 inch mortise cylinder and uses a Schlage C keyway. For a property manager keying a run of key switch stations across a fleet of doors, either family keeps one key on the ring, but do not mix families in the same group -- keyed alike means alike within the ordered set, not across brands.

Eight CY-1A cylinders. Keyed alike means every CY-1A shares the same key, so all eight openings operate off one key and you get two keys with each cylinder. Ordering CY-1 instead would give you eight separate keys, which is the wrong result for a property manager standardizing a building.

Dimensionally they line up: the CY-1 is a 1-1/8 inch standard mortise cylinder and the BEA 10CYLINDERKA is a 1.125 inch mortise cylinder, which is the same length. The difference a locksmith cares about is the key system -- the BEA cylinder is furnished with a Schlage C keyway and keyed alike, while the Alarm Controls part is ordered as CY-1 keyed different or CY-1A keyed alike and ships with two keys. Swapping brands means the existing keys will not carry over, so plan on rekeying or reissuing keys for that opening.