A Guide to Heavy-Duty Drawer Slides: Features That Matter

 

The things we take for granted are often the most fundamental ones in our daily lives and a perfect example of such a case is drawers. They are such a simple yet important invention that has relied on various mechanisms in recent decades. One of those mechanisms which is also the latest is a slider. Drawer sliders operate thanks to two mating pieces, as well as rollers, tracks and ball bearings.

All work together to create a smooth movement when you push or pull on a drawer as they convert linear force into a controlled action. Their motion is much like a train on tracks as the ones of the drawer slides help guide the drawer so that it moves either forward or backward and nowhere else.

What to Consider in a Heavy-Duty Drawer Slide

Load Rating

While most drawer slides are made to sustain weights up to 100kg, heavy-duty ones are made to bear weights up to 500 kg. The ones you go for don't have to be rated for 500kg if you don't plan on putting items that are as heavy in your drawer. However, safe heavy duty drawer sliders in Australia have a load rating that is a bit higher than what the heaviest item in your drawer weighs.

Extension

The distance the drawer is able to travel compared to the length of the slide is known as extension and a drawer can have a 3/4, full or over-travel extension. A drawer with a 3/4 extension can be opened about 75% of the slide's length. A full extension drawer can extend out the full length of the slide while an over-travel drawer can extend about  3 cm out of the slide's length.

Length

Talking about the length of a heavy duty drawer slide, it's determined by the length of the drawer. Drawer slides range from as little as 25 cm in length up to 70 cm and come available in increments of 5 cm. Getting the length of the slides right is crucial as if you go for a shorter slide than what the drawer needs it won't open as much as you need it to and if it's too long it just won't fit in the cabinet.

Lock & Detent

Drawer slides can have either detents or a locking feature. The former comes as either a detent-in or detent-out which means there's a little bit of resistance when opening and closing the drawer so that you don't close or open it accidentally. Locking slides allows you to lock the drawer in place when opened at a certain length by putting more resistance on the drawer than a detent does.

Disconnect vs Non-Disconnect

You can get heavy duty drawer sliders in Australia that are either a disconnect or a non-disconnect type. With disconnect drawer slides you can easily remove the drawer from the cabinet without the need to disassemble everything. Non-disconnect drawer slides don't allow you to remove the drawer so easily which is why they are not as preferred but make for a better long-term solution. Disconnect drawer slides come in different variations such as lever, rail and friction disconnect but they all do the same thing.

Types of Drawer Slides

Side-Mount

The most common type of heavy duty drawer slides are side-mount ones which, as you would expect, mount on the sides of the drawer. This makes for the most efficient mounting spot as it can side-mount slides can carry a lot of weight without any modifications to the drawer itself.

Undermount

With undermount drawer slides, you have two slides on the underside of the drawer box. Also known as a bottom mount, this type of heavy duty drawer slide can also be mounted on the bottom edge of the drawer which helps support it much better than side-mount drawer slides. These slides are therefore used in areas where the space for any hardware is quite limited as well as in areas where appearance is everything and you want to conceal the slides.

Centre-Mount

A centre-mount drawer slide also goes on the bottom of the drawer box but it's placed in the middle and it's only one slide per drawer.  Centre-mount slides are the oldest type of drawer slides and the single-rail design is what makes them budget-friendly. However, centre-mount slides are not the best at supporting a lot of weight or a wide drawer box. They are however ideal when there is a small gap or none at all between the walls of the drawer and cabinet.

Top-Mount

Top-mount heavy duty drawer slides are the least common solution as they attach to the top edge of the drawer's pull-out or on the side of it. They are perfect for pull-out surfaces and when it comes to tray applications but for everything else you should probably avoid top-mount drawer slides.