It needs at least 4-3/4 inches (120mm) of stile to mount. That covers most medium and narrow stile aluminum doors, but measure the lock stile before ordering - anything under 4-3/4 inches won't take this device. The EF3727 is built as a narrow stile exit device.

Ordering it with Less Bottom Rod removes the lower rod and bottom latch, so the device only latches into the head. That keeps the floor clear - no bottom strike to collect dirt, no rod to bend from carts or foot traffic, which is why it gets specified on retail and school exits. Order it with the bottom rod if you want the two-point latching at head and threshold. Both configurations are offered on the EF3727 in either finish.

Yes, that is the main reason to pick this type. A surface vertical rod latches into the frame head and, with the bottom rod, into the threshold, so each leaf of a pair holds on its own and you don't need a center mullion. A rim device on the same pair would require a mullion to latch against. On a fire rated pair, both leaves get a device.

No. The Von Duprin 3327A is a Grade 1 narrow stile surface vertical rod device for 36 inch doors on 1-3/4 inch thickness, but its fire rating is listed as No, so it is not a like-for-like swap on a labeled opening. The TownSteel EF3727 is fire rated and UL/cUL listed to UL 305. Use the 3327A only where the opening carries no fire label.

Sargent offers the 2727, a reversible Grade 1 fire rated surface vertical rod exit device in the 20 Series with a wide stile design, and the 3727, a Grade 1 surface vertical rod device in the 30 Series with a standard push bar and wide stile design. Both are exit only. The TownSteel EF3727 differs in stile type: it is narrow stile with a 4-3/4 inch minimum stile width, and it is non-handed or reversible by design. If the door is an aluminum narrow stile, the TownSteel unit suits the stile; if it is a wide stile hollow metal or wood leaf, the Sargent wide stile devices apply.

The TownSteel EF3727 is listed as wood door compatible. The Von Duprin 7527 and 7827, both Grade 1 surface vertical rod devices for 1-3/4 inch doors, are listed as not wood door compatible. If your leaf is wood, that difference rules those two out and the EF3727 in.

No. Every device in the 3700 Series is non-handed or reversible, so one part number covers left and right hand openings. Useful if you're stocking spares for a building with doors swinging both ways.

Wood doors are fine. The EF3727 is listed as wood door compatible, which is not true of every narrow stile vertical rod device - Von Duprin's 7527 and 7827, for example, are not wood door compatible.

The EF3727 meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it also meets Buy American Act guidelines, which matters on federal and many state funded projects. Combined with Grade 1 certification, it covers the usual institutional spec language for a fire rated egress opening.

It's a Grade 1 commercial device, the highest ANSI/BHMA durability tier, with a high shock resistant latching mechanism and internal components in electro-plated steel and corrosion resistant alloy. That is the spec you want on school, hospital and retail exits rather than a Grade 2 device like the Dexter ED2000 Series.

Not as an operating device. The Sargent 12-8710 is a Grade 1 fire rated surface vertical rod unit in the 8700 Series with a wide stile design, but its product function is Dummy, meaning it is used for appearance matching on an inactive leaf rather than to latch and release. The TownSteel EF3727 is an operating Grade 1 narrow stile surface vertical rod exit device.

Among cross-brand options, the Corbin Russwin ED4400 narrow stile Grade 1 and ED5400 wide stile Grade 1 are catalogued as exit only, accepts trim, and the Corbin Russwin ED7400 is a narrow stile Grade 1 crossbar device that accepts operator trim. All three are listed with a fire rating of No, so they are not interchangeable with the TownSteel EF3727 on a labeled fire door.

The TownSteel EF3727 itself is offered in a less bottom rod configuration as well as with the bottom rod, in 630 satin stainless steel and 695 Duro. Cross-brand, the Orca Hardware OED56 Series 36 inch device is catalogued as a standard duty vertical rod exit device, less bottom rod, aluminum finish, non-handed, for 1-3/4 inch doors, though its fire rating is listed as No while the EF3727 is fire rated and Grade 1.

Two: 630 satin stainless steel and 695 Duro (a dark bronze tone). If you're matching existing hardware across a building, 630 is the common commercial stainless match on pulls, closers and trim.

Standard duty options include the Design Hardware 2000V 33 inch surface vertical rod device and the Dexter ED2000 Series, which is catalogued as a Grade 2 surface vertical rod panic device. Both are listed with a fire rating of No. The TownSteel EF3727 is ANSI/BHMA A156.3 Grade 1 certified and fire rated, so those two are not substitutes where a Grade 1 labeled opening is specified.