Trimco 3093 UL Drop Arm Coordinator

On a pair of doors with overlapping astragals, the inactive leaf has to close first or the astragal fouls and the pair never latches. The Trimco 3093 is a drop arm coordinator: an arm holds the active leaf open until the inactive leaf has closed, then drops out of the way and lets the active leaf shut against the astragal. It is gravity powered, so there is no spring cartridge to fail. Mounted on the frame soffit above the pair.

The 3093 is UL Listed. That matters because a coordinator is a required piece of hardware on a fire rated pair with an astragal, and the listed label on the opening is only good if every piece of hardware on it is listed too.

Drop arm versus bar comes down to what else is on the frame soffit. A drop arm unit like the Trimco 3093 is a compact cast device working off gravity, so there's no full-width bar running the head. A bar type, like the ABH 3700 Series full bar coordinator with filler bar or the Ives COR Series aluminum bar coordinators, spans the whole opening and generally wants brackets to clear surface closers, mag holders and vertical rod devices. If the head of your frame is crowded with other hardware, the bar type is usually the one detailed for it; if it's clear, the drop arm is the less obtrusive install.

No. A coordinator only earns its place when the leaves have to close in sequence, which means an overlapping astragal, a vertical rod device on the inactive leaf, or both. A pair of doors that closes in any order needs no coordinator at all, and adding one like the Trimco 3093 just puts another adjustment on the opening. Check the pair before you buy: if the leaves meet edge to edge with no overlap, skip it.

A drop arm coordinator like the Trimco 3093 works off gravity, using a pivoting arm with nylon rollers mounted at the opening to hold the active leaf until the inactive leaf closes. A bar type coordinator spans the full width of the frame soffit instead - the ABH 3700 Series is a full bar coordinator supplied with a filler bar, and the Ives COR Series is an aluminum bar coordinator offered in several lengths (COR32, COR42, COR52, COR60, COR72) to suit different total door openings. Bar types are the usual choice where the arm needs to reach across a wide pair or where the hardware has to sit tight under the soffit; a drop arm is the choice where a compact gravity mechanism at the frame is preferred. All three are fire door rated - the Trimco 3093 is UL listed, the ABH 3700 is UL listed and fire door compatible, and the Ives COR Series is UL listed and fire rated.

Order from the Ives COR Series aluminum bar coordinators, which are made in graduated lengths - COR32, COR42, COR52, COR60 and COR72 - so the bar is selected to match the opening width. The ABH 3700 Series takes the other approach to fit: it is a full bar coordinator supplied with a filler bar to make up the remaining span. The Trimco 3093 is a drop arm coordinator rather than a bar, so it is specified by finish rather than by opening width, in seven finishes from bright brass (605) to satin stainless steel (630). All three are listed for fire rated openings.

Adjustment is by set screw, standard on every 3093. Once the closers are set, you tune the set screw so the arm releases the active leaf at the right point in the inactive leaf's swing. Two nylon rollers carry the contact, so the arm rides rather than scrapes the leaf. The Ives COR7G/COR9G brass gravity coordinator is the other field-adjustable gravity unit we carry if you want to compare.

Heavy duty cast brass or bronze, not stamped steel or extruded aluminum, with two nylon rollers at the contact point. It's a commercial-grade device, and the applications it's built for are commercial and industrial buildings, hospitality, multifamily and mixed-use, offices and schools.

A coordinator is never the whole job. You'll also need door closers on both leaves, since the coordinator only sequences what the closers are already driving, and on fire rated pairs a set of carry bars or mounting brackets if surface closers or a surface vertical rod device sit in the way on the frame soffit. The 3093 itself ships with the two nylon rollers and set screw adjustment as standard, so nothing extra is needed for the adjustment function.

As a type, yes. The 3093 is a cast, gravity powered drop arm coordinator that is UL Listed, which is the same class of device as the Ives COR7G/COR9G brass gravity coordinator we also carry. What it is not is a drop-in for a bar coordinator such as the ABH 3700 full bar unit or the Ives COR Series aluminum bar coordinators, which mount differently across the head. Take the old unit off and look at the frame soffit before ordering: a drop arm leaves a very different prep than a full-width bar.

No. The Ives COR Series is an aluminum bar coordinator that mounts across the frame soffit, while the Trimco 3093 is a cast brass or bronze drop arm coordinator that works by gravity with two nylon rollers and a set screw adjustment. They serve the same purpose on a pair of doors but are different mechanisms with different mounting and different materials, so one does not retrofit into the other's prep. If a brass gravity coordinator is what is wanted, the Ives COR7G/COR9G is the gravity type in brass with field-adjustable operation. All are UL listed for fire rated openings.

All four choices are listed for fire rated openings. The Trimco 3093 drop arm coordinator is UL listed and is a commercial product used in schools, hospitality, multifamily, office and commercial or industrial buildings. The ABH 3700 Series full bar coordinator is UL listed and fire door compatible. The Ives COR Series aluminum bar coordinators and the Ives COR7G/COR9G brass gravity coordinator both carry a fire rating. For a facility standardizing across many openings, the bar types cover different opening widths while the gravity types are adjustable in the field.

The Trimco 3093 comes with set screw adjustment standard, so the drop arm can be tuned once the pair is hung. The Ives COR7G/COR9G brass gravity coordinator is field-adjustable in the same way. Both are gravity operated and fire rated, so either can be dialed in on a labeled opening where the closers or the leaf weights end up different from what was drawn.

Seven: 605 bright brass, 606 satin brass, 613 oil rubbed bronze, 625 bright chrome, 626 satin chrome, 629 bright stainless steel and 630 satin stainless steel. Those are standard BHMA finish codes, so if the closers and hinges on the rest of your openings are specified 626 or 630, the coordinator matches without a special order. Most coordinators sit up on the frame soffit where they're barely seen, so a lot of jobs default to 626 and save the decorative finishes for the openings where the head is visible.