TownSteel MSS Series Passage/Closet Function - Heavy Duty Sectional Mortise Lock, Non-Keyed

Passage only. The MSS passage/closet function is non-keyed, so both levers always retract the latch and there is no locking from either side. Use it on corridors, halls and closets where you want a Grade 1 heavy duty lock body and matching lever trim but no security. If the opening needs to lock, you want a keyed or privacy function instead, like the Cal-Royal NM8440 privacy mortise lockset or the Cal-Royal NM8080 storeroom.

It's a 2-3/4 inch backset lock body with a 1-1/4 by 8 inch stainless faceplate, which is the standard commercial mortise pocket and faceplate size. If the door already has a mortise prep cut for a 2-3/4 backset lock with an 8 inch face, the body fits. The strike is a plated/stainless ANSI strike, so it matches standard ANSI strike prep in the frame. TownSteel publishes an MSS template if you are cutting a new door.

Yes, handing is a required choice: LH, RH, LHR or RHR. Left hand and right hand are for doors that swing in; the reverse versions are for outswing doors. Stand outside the opening, on the side the door swings away from, and the hinge side gives you the hand. Order it wrong and the lever and latch orientation won't match your opening.

The latch bolt throws 3/4 inch and is a split, anti-friction stainless design, with a separate stainless guard bolt. Paired with the supplied ANSI strike (plated or stainless), it lands in a standard ANSI strike cutout. If your frame carries a non-ANSI or proprietary strike box, plan on swapping the strike rather than forcing the lock to it.

The TownSteel MSS Series uses sectional escutcheon trim measuring 10-9/16 inches by 2-3/8 inches, offered in low and regular escutcheon versions. If the opening calls for a small round rose instead, the Hager 3810S is a Grade 1 passage mortise lock with rose trim and a 2-3/4 inch backset, the same backset the MSS uses, so the door mortise prep carries over and only the trim footprint changes.

The TownSteel MSS Series covered here is non-keyed passage/hall/closet function, so the lever always retracts the latch and the door never secures. For a secured opening in a Grade 1 mortise body, the Cal-Royal NM8080 is a heavy duty Grade 1 storeroom mortise lockset with an interchangeable core option, the NM8050 is Grade 1 office/entrance with an auxiliary deadlatch, and the Accentra 8805FL is a Grade 1 storeroom mortise lock. All are mortise bodies, so the door pocket prep is the same family of work.

They are different lock types. The TownSteel MSS Series is a mortise lock, meaning the body sits in a pocket routed into the door edge with a 1-1/4 inch by 8 inch faceplate. The Schlage PC10 is a Grade 1 passage cylindrical lock with a rose, which installs through bored holes in the door face. Both are non-keyed passage/hall/closet function, but a door prepped for one will not accept the other without re-prepping the door.

The TownSteel MSS Series is passage/hall/closet function, which provides no privacy - it cannot be locked from inside. For a restroom, patient room, or bedroom, the Cal-Royal NM8440 is a heavy duty Grade 1 privacy mortise lockset with deadbolt for 1-3/4 inch doors, and the Hager 3840S is a Grade 1 privacy mortise lock with a 2-3/4 inch backset, the same backset the MSS uses.

Sectional trim means the lever mounts on its own plate section rather than a small round rose or one long one-piece escutcheon covering the whole lock. The MSS escutcheon measures 10-9/16 x 2-3/8 x 9/32 inches in brass, and you pick between a low and a regular escutcheon profile. If you want the compact round-rose look instead, a rose-trim passage mortise lock like the Hager 3810S is the different style; the Hager 3810E is the escutcheon version of the same function.

Finishes cover 605 bright brass, 606 satin brass, 622 matte black, 625 bright chrome, 626 satin chrome, 629 bright stainless and 630 satin stainless, with eight lever styles: Artistic, Congr, Gala, Imperial, Quest, Regal, Sentinel and Tango. 626 and 630 are the two you see most in commercial corridors. Since this is the passage function in the same MSS sectional trim family, it lets you run identical lever and escutcheon appearance on closets and hall doors while the office and storeroom openings carry keyed bodies.

It's built for commercial traffic: ANSI Grade 1, heavy duty, with a stainless steel latch bolt, stainless guard bolt, stainless faceplate and stainless rocker-type stop works. Levers are forged brass or cast zinc plated to the finish. Grade 1 is the top ANSI/BHMA commercial durability tier, which is what institutional specs normally call for on corridor and closet doors.

No. The MSS passage version is a purely mechanical, non-electronic lock body with no credential reader, keypad or wiring. If the opening needs standalone electronic control, look at something like the Schlage CO-100 standalone electronic mortise lock or the Alarm Lock DL3500CR Trilogy Grade 1 classroom mortise lock instead.

Two close equivalents in the same function: the Falcon MA101 Grade 1 heavy duty mortise passage lock, which is field reversible so handing is set at install rather than ordered, and the Schlage PM010 Grade 1 passage mortise lock for 1-3/4 inch doors. Hager's 3810E is a Grade 1 passage mortise lock with escutcheon on a 2-3/4 inch backset, same backset as the MSS. If the door is not already prepped for a mortise pocket, the Schlage PC10 is a Grade 1 passage in cylindrical form and needs only a bored prep.

The MSS trim family uses a brass thumb turn, Classic Visible as standard, but that belongs to the locking functions. The passage/closet version is non-keyed and non-locking, so it will not give you restroom privacy. For a bed/bath opening, use a privacy function mortise lock such as the Hager 3840S or the Cal-Royal NM8440, both Grade 1 privacy with deadbolt.

No. The Schlage L0170 is Grade 1 half dummy trim in dummy function - the lever is fixed and there is no latch mechanism behind it, so it is used on inactive leaves and false doors. The TownSteel MSS Series is a working passage lock with a 3/4 inch projection stainless steel anti-friction latch bolt, a stainless guard bolt, and an ANSI strike, so the door latches closed. If the leaf needs to stay shut, the MSS is the right part; if the leaf is fixed and only needs a matching lever, the dummy trim is.

The MSS Series unit itself is listed as non-electronic. For a powered mortise opening, the BEST 45HW is a heavy duty wired electromechanical mortise lock running 12V or 24V, the Command Access ML190 is a heavy duty motorized mortise lock with field selectable fail-safe or fail-secure operation on 24VDC in storeroom function, and the Schlage L9092EU with 03A trim is a heavy duty electric lock/unlock outside lever mortise lock with request-to-exit, keyed outside, on 12/24VDC for 1-3/4 inch doors.

Yes, several, if the opening needs code-based access rather than a free-swinging passage lever. The Alarm Lock DL3500CR is a Grade 1 Trilogy electronic mortise lock with 300 user codes in classroom function for 1-5/8 to 1-7/8 inch doors, the DL2700CR is a Grade 1 Trilogy T2 classroom-function mortise lock with weatherproof design over the same door thickness range, and the Schlage CO-100 is a Grade 1 heavy duty standalone electronic mortise lock with keypad reader in privacy function for 1-3/4 inch doors. Note the door thickness differences against the MSS, which is a mechanical non-keyed unit.

The TownSteel MSS Series ships as a complete sectional set with escutcheon trim and a choice of eight lever designs including Artistic, Gala, Imperial, Quest, Regal, Sentinel, Tango and Congr. If you are reusing existing trim and want a lockbody only, the BEST 45HCA heavy duty mortise lockbodies are sold that way - 45HCAC in public entrance function with field reversible operation and 45HCAINL in intruder function. Baldwin also lists bare 2-1/2 inch backset mortise lock bodies such as the 6301 in entrance/apartment function and the 6310 in entrance/storeroom function, though those use a 2-1/2 inch backset rather than the 2-3/4 inch backset of the MSS.

They serve different purposes. The Emtek 3102 Memphis, 3104 Hamilton, 3106 Manhattan and 3019 Brisbane mortise entrance locksets are all dummy function, meaning fixed trim with no latching mechanism. The TownSteel MSS Series is a Grade 1 heavy duty commercial mortise lock with a working latch, guard bolt and ANSI strike. For a functioning corridor door, the MSS or another Grade 1 mortise lock is the match; the Emtek units are decorative trim for fixed leaves.

The MSS Series is passage function only, so it will not secure a dorm or apartment corridor door. The Sargent 7925 is a Grade 1 heavy duty mortise lock in corridor/dormitory exit function with rose trim and a single cylinder deadbolt. Baldwin's 6301LS is an entrance/apartment lever-by-lever mortise lock body on a 2-1/2 inch backset for doors 1-3/4 inch and over, if a bare body on the smaller backset suits the door.

The MSS Series uses lever trim in eight lever styles, which is a ligature concern in behavioral health settings. For those openings the Marks USA 5PDN is a Grade 1 hospital passage mortise push/pull paddleset that is ligature resistant and ADA compliant in satin stainless steel. It covers the same passage intent as the MSS but with paddle rather than lever operation.

The Hager 3850E is a Grade 1 office mortise lock, non-keyed, with lever and escutcheon trim on a 2-3/4 inch backset for doors 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 inches. It shares the MSS Series backset of 2-3/4 inches and its escutcheon-style lever trim, but adds office function control at the door rather than the always-free operation of the MSS passage lock.

The TownSteel MSS Series requires you to specify handing at order as LH, RH, LHR or RHR. If you would rather stock one part and set handing on site, the Falcon MA101 is a Grade 1 heavy duty mortise passage lock with field reversible operation and a fire rating, which covers the same passage/hall/closet function. The BEST 45HCAC heavy duty mortise lockbody is also field reversible, though it is a public entrance function body.

No, and it's a common mix-up on order forms. A dummy, like the Schlage L0170 half dummy or the Emtek 3102 Memphis dummy, is a fixed pull with no latch at all, used on inactive leaves. The MSS passage has a working lock body with a 3/4 inch throw latch bolt and a guard bolt, so the lever actually retracts a latch and the door stays closed against the strike.

They do different jobs. The TownSteel MSS Series is a latching passage lock with a 3/4 inch anti-friction latch bolt and lever trim, so it holds the door closed and is operated by the lever. A mortise deadbolt such as the Sargent 4874 double cylinder mortise deadbolt on a 2-3/4 inch backset, or the Kaba Ilco 185 Series mortise deadbolt which requires no handing, throws a bolt for security but does not latch the door or carry a lever. On many openings a deadbolt is added alongside a latching lock rather than in place of one.

Only if the application allows a lighter lock. The Codelocks CL2255 is an electronic tubular mortise latch rated medium duty, in a brushed steel finish. The TownSteel MSS Series is a Grade 1 heavy duty commercial mortise lock with a stainless steel latch bolt, guard bolt and ANSI strike. For high-traffic commercial openings the Grade 1 heavy duty body is the match; the CL2255 suits lighter-cycle doors where code entry matters more than duty rating.

The Dormakaba LX-I-M002 Saffire is an electronic RFID mortise lockset with Bluetooth mobile access at BHMA Grade 2. The Schlage Electronics LEMD-GRW is a Grade 1 ENGAGE Series wireless mortise lock with a 125kHz proximity reader, mobile enabled, with Greenwich trim, right hand, and a 3 hour fire rating. The Schlage LEBMB-ADD is a Grade 2 mobile-enabled mortise lock with push button and LED covering privacy, office and apartment functions on 1-3/4 inch doors with a 3 hour fire rating. All are credentialed openings; the MSS Series is a non-keyed mechanical passage lock.