Hedgehog Easy Air Wedge - cautionary tale

[RogerS]

On the face of it, these (and similar) inflatable small airbags are ideal for sticking underneath a door etc to get it to the right height for fixing the hinges. That's as may be and I've not used this bag for wooden doors.

But if you were thinking about using one of these to help fit a frameless glass door then think again.

The bag is made of plastic and so slippy. The bag is wedge shaped as it gets inflated. What do wedges have ? Slopes ! What is the coefficient of friction between slippy plastic and glass ? Negligible. You meanwhile are focussed on aligning the cutout in the glass with the hinges and keep pumping trying to get the door to the right height. But it doesn't seem to want to stay there. Because your very expensive frameless glass panel is sliding down the slope.

And before you know it, smashes against the floor. Well, not quite in my case as I realised what was happening and managed to grab it in time.

Just a heads up. And if anyone has found a way around this then I'd be interested to know. Certainly the wedge shape for anything thin is useless.

 

[marcros]

At least it was only the cost of the wedge wasted. I feared a more expensive issue when I read glass...

 

[Geoff_S]

I have a similar challenge with a heavy shower door. So what I am going to do is rebate a length of wood and sit the door in that, then use the air bags to level it. Mind you, I have a couple of inches of clearance under the door.

Maybe if there is limited clearance, you could clamp two lengths of wood either side of the base of the door?

 

[Setch]

Roger, put a shim under the door edge, so that it doesn't squash the bag flat. The only reason it went wedge shaped is because air could only get to one side of the bag.

If the door is lifted enough for air to pass under it, you should find that bag behaves, at least until about 2 thirds fully inflated - then it starts to be a big too close to spherical, and starts trying to pop out, with similar results.

 

[RogerS]

Roger, put a shim under the door edge, so that it doesn't squash the bag flat. The only reason it went wedge shaped is because air could only get to one side of the bag.

If the door is lifted enough for air to pass under it, you should find that bag behaves, at least until about 2 thirds fully inflated - then it starts to be a big too close to spherical, and starts trying to pop out, with similar results.

Not this bag. It is wedged shaped as soon as a little bit of air gets inside it and then continues to expand wedge-shaped.

 

[RogerS]

I have a similar challenge with a heavy shower door. So what I am going to do is rebate a length of wood and sit the door in that, then use the air bags to level it. Mind you, I have a couple of inches of clearance under the door.

This damn wedge shaped bag is so slippy that I doubt if that would work either. The wood would simply side down because of the slope. The more I think about it, this bag is useless.

Maybe if there is limited clearance, you could clamp two lengths of wood either side of the base of the door?

Nice idea but no room for any clamps.

I think I will have to adopt Plan B which is to build up a base (as there is a step-up into the en-suite) to bring the base of the door nearly level with where it needs to be (suitable cushioned) and then get my mate u to help hold it and do any fine adjustment.

I tried doing it last night with LOML - bless her, but spatial logistics is not her strong point and when it all starts to go pear-shaped, I don;t have the time to explain to the nth degree exactly what I need her to do. It has to be intuitive on her part. Mind you, it went down like a lead balloon when I told her that.

 

[sammy.se]

How about gluing some non-slip mat or rubber (e.g. inner tube ) to the wedge? Something that will expand as you inflate.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Setch]

Does it have some kind of rigid piece inside? My airwedges all inflate like a "B" on it's back - with the item being lifted sitting in the crack, with a 'buttock' each side. If it gets to the point where it's just one big Arse cheek with no crack, it's over inflated and things get a bit exciting....

 

[RogerS]

Does it have some kind of rigid piece inside? My airwedges all inflate like a "B" on it's back - with the item being lifted sitting in the crack, with a 'buttock' each side. If it gets to the point where it's just one big buttocks cheek with no crack, it's over inflated and things get a bit exciting....

This does have a rigid piece inside...they claim the design is flatter than others. No buttocks though.

 

[RogerS]

How about gluing some non-slip mat or rubber (e.g. inner tube ) to the wedge? Something that will expand as you inflate.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

It's worth a try, thanks

 

[transatlantic]

Yes - I think the door itself needs to be supported / held in loosely by some other means. The wedges are simply to enable you to accurately locate it.

 

[RogerS]

.... The wedges are simply to enable you to accurately locate it.

Or not...as in this case

 

[transatlantic]

.... The wedges are simply to enable you to accurately locate it.

Or not...as in this case

You support the glass (by other means) so it can only move in the direction you're adjusting (in this case up or down).

 

[Eric The Viking]

I've got the original* Winbags. They're sticky enough to work with glass easily, but they weren't all that cheap (introductory offer of 60 quid for four, IIRC).

I find them extremely useful, most recently re-fitting a rather awkward shower door, and as safety wedges while we rebuilt the cills underneath uPVC windows.

E.

*The idea has probably been around since the Romans (or even earlier), but Winbags were the first ones of the current crop that I'd seen.

 

[RogerS]

Interesting re Winbags. Will see how I get on with Plan B. May also try Sammy's suggestion.

To be fair to Easy Air, I wrote to them about it and they've refunded my money.

 

[Setch]

Yep, looks like hedgehog have tried to differentiate their products, and have succeeded, by making it work less well.

 

[sunnybob]

Can you not position the wedge facing the hinge side of the frame?
Then it would lift the door into the frame rather than sliding it out of the frame.

 

[RogerS]

Can you not position the wedge facing the hinge side of the frame?
Then it would lift the door into the frame rather than sliding it out of the frame.

Bloody good idea !

 

[RogerS]

OK...thanks to all. A combination of my mate Richard holding the door vertically and me using some sticky physio band on top of the wedges worked.

Have to confess that I fixed the door with some trepidation as I could see me not getting the hinges in line properly, fitting the door, tightening the hinges up, shutting the door against misaligned hinges thus putting unnecessary stress on the toughened glass door...oh s**t.