Why is my rolling counter shutter stuck?

A counter shutter that rolled down fine at closing and will not move the next morning is usually telling you one of a few things. Here is how to tell which, what staff can safely check, and when to stop and call.

What is a rolling counter shutter?

A rolling counter shutter is a small coiling door that closes a service window or counter opening. Cafeterias, school kitchens, pharmacies, ticket windows, concession stands and parts counters use them. The curtain is made of narrow steel, stainless or aluminum slats. It winds onto a spring-loaded barrel in a hood above the opening and rides in a guide on each side, and the bottom bar usually rests on the counter or a sill when it is closed. It works like a rolling steel door, only smaller, and a rolling grille is the open-mesh version.

Counter shutters open in one of three ways: pushed up by hand from the bottom bar, wound with a crank, or run by a small motor. Clopay calls crank operation the ideal manual choice when a wide counter keeps the person from reaching the shutter, as in lunchrooms and pharmacies.

Start with how it is stuck

Where and how the shutter stops points to the cause.

• Heavy to push up, or the crank is hard to turn. The spring in the barrel has lost tension or broken. DASMA, the door industry's trade group, says a rolling door should take no more than 25 pounds of force on a crank, and that much more than that may mean a counterbalance problem for a trained technician.
• Will not stay up, or creeps back down. Low spring tension again. DASMA says a rolling door should stay open on its own and to call for service if it has to be propped open.
• Stops at the same spot every time. Something is catching: a bent guide, a dented or bent slat, a loose endlock on a slat end, or debris in the guide.
• Rubs, scrapes or sits crooked. A guide was knocked out of line, or the bottom bar is twisted, so the curtain binds on one side.
• Comes down but will not lock. The bottom bar no longer sits flat on the counter, a slide bolt is bent, or the lock no longer lines up with its keeper.
• The crank spins but the shutter does not move. The crank is not seated on its shaft, or the gearbox inside has slipped or failed.
• A motorized shutter hums, stops, or runs one way only. The problem may be power, the operator, its limits, or the shutter jamming.
• It dropped closed on its own and will not reopen. On a fire-rated counter shutter, that may be the automatic closing working as designed. See the section on fire-rated shutters below.

Why a counter shutter gets stuck

• Guides that are bent or packed with dirt. Carts, trays and stock bump the guides, and grease, food and dust collect in them, which is common in a kitchen or concession stand. DASMA's checklist says the guide gap must be even from top to bottom, and a bent guide must not bind the curtain or bottom bar.
• Bent slats or loose endlocks. A slat that was hit, or one leaned on while closed, catches in the guide or in the coil. DASMA says endlocks must stay fastened to the slat ends.
• Spring tension. The springs inside the barrel do most of the lifting. As they tire, the shutter gets heavier and may not stay up.
• A crooked bottom bar or a bent lock. The curtain sits off level, so it will not lock and may stop short of the counter.
• Rubbing at the top. DASMA says the curtain must not rub the header or the hood, and to call for service if it rubs the bracket at the end of the barrel.
• The crank gear or the motor side. A worn gear, a slipping crank coupling, a tripped breaker or an operator with its limits set wrong will all stop a shutter that is otherwise fine.

What you can safely check

1. Make sure every slide bolt and lock is fully open, and nothing on the counter is sitting under or against the bottom bar.
2. Look down both guides with a flashlight for food, trash or packed grease, and clear what you can reach.
3. Look at the curtain where it stops for a dented slat or an endlock that has come loose.
4. Check that the guides look straight and are still fastened to the wall or counter.
5. On a crank shutter, make sure the crank is fully seated on its shaft before you turn it.
6. On a motorized shutter, check the breaker. If the operator strains, DASMA suggests closing the door with the operator, switching to manual, and calling for service if the force by hand is too much.
7. Push up or pull down slowly and evenly from the center of the bottom bar, never from one corner.

What not to do

Do not touch the tension wheel or the brackets at the ends of the barrel. DASMA warns that the brackets and counterbalance assembly are under extreme spring tension and could cause death or serious injury, and says to call for service if the spring needs adjusting. Do not pry a stuck shutter with a bar or a knife, do not hang on the bottom bar, and do not keep cranking or running a motor against a jam. Forcing a counter shutter usually turns a guide repair into new slats, a new bottom bar or a broken gear.

Fire-rated counter shutters

Some counter shutters, often in school and hospital kitchens, sit in a fire-rated wall and are built to close on their own in a fire. They hold open on a fusible link or an alarm release, and drop when it lets go. A fire-rated shutter that dropped closed by itself, or that will not reopen, may have released, and it needs to be reset and tested by a trained technician, not forced back up. DASMA notes that NFPA 80 requires fire doors to be inspected and tested at least once a year, that fuse links and release chains must not be painted, greasy or covered in dust, and that the drop test, the reset and any repairs should be done by a trained door technician. Our guide to the annual rolling fire door test explains what that check involves.

Keeping a counter shutter from sticking

Open and close the shutter and watch it run. Wipe grease and dust out of the guides, especially near a grill or fryer. Keep stock, trays and displays off the bottom bar's landing spot. Test any sensing edge on a motorized shutter. Call for service as soon as it gets heavier, starts rubbing or stops staying up, before a spring or slat fails at closing time. For buildings with several shutters or doors, a commercial maintenance plan catches these faults early.

Common questions

My roller door or counter shutter is stuck. What should I do first?

Unlock every bolt, clear the guides and the counter, then try it slowly from the center of the bottom bar. Note whether it is heavy, catching at one spot or leaning. If it is still stuck, or it is heavy and will not stay up, stop and call for service rather than forcing it.

What is the best lubricant for a rolling shutter?

Follow the shutter maker's instructions for your model. In general, guides are kept clean rather than greased, since grease in a guide collects dust and grit and makes sticking worse. Gears and drive chains on crank and motorized shutters are the parts that get lubricated, and DASMA lists cleaning and lubricating them as routine upkeep.

How do I reset a motorized counter shutter?

A manual shutter has nothing to reset. On a motorized one, check the breaker, reset the operator's overload if it has one, and make sure any manual release is set back for motor operation. If it still will not run, or the motor runs and the shutter does not move, call for service rather than resetting it again and again. A fire-rated shutter is reset only by a trained technician.

Can a stuck counter shutter be repaired, or does it need replacing?

Most are repaired. Dented slats are replaced in the damaged rows, endlocks are refastened, guides are straightened or replaced, springs are retensioned or replaced, and crank gears and operators are repaired. A new shutter makes sense when most of the curtain is bent or the barrel and guides are worn out too.

How G Brothers helps

G Brothers installs and repairs rolling counter shutters and security grilles across the Denver metro, including Lakewood, Denver, Arvada and Wheat Ridge, on every brand and every operator type. We dispatch 24/7, our average response is about an hour and a half, we are members of the International Door Association, and we can provide a certificate of insurance, usually within 24 hours. See rolling security grille and counter shutter repair and all commercial door services, read our guide to a stuck rolling security grille, call (720) 421-6489, or ask for a free estimate.

Sources

• DASMA, Technical Data Sheet #270: Recommended Rolling Door Maintenance Practices for Building Maintenance Supervisors
• DASMA, Technical Data Sheet #271: Rolling Steel Fire Doors, Drop Testing and Annual Follow-Up
• Clopay, Crank operation for rolling doors and counter shutters