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- *****- Feedback left by buyer.More than a year agoVerified purchaseExcellent Buyer. Quick Pay. Please Buy Again. A++++++
Reviews (2)
Feb 23, 2018
Excellent Upgrade for Kitchen Cabinet Doors
Could not be more pleased with these Blum SOFT-close hinges for upgrading our kitchen cabinet doors. Including shipping and tax, these cost about $2.40 a piece. They were an exact fit replacement, so each hinge was replaced in about a minute: remove 3 screws, pop out the old, pop in the new, and reinsert the same 3 screws. New screws were provided but I didn't use them.
Our cabinets are 2002 Merillat with Blum SELF-close hinges stamped 38.3-02E10 5/8 (shown in the pictures), but after much searching found that they were listed in the catalog as "Blum Compact 38.3550E10" and are now discontinued. After much more searching (because I found the current Blum catalog PDF incomplete), turns out the equivalent and current Compact SOFT-close hinge is 38N355B.10.
On each door, I tried replacing just one hinge. If that didn't soft-close well enough, I replaced a second hinge. The largest doors (about 16"W x 39"H with 3 hinges) definitely needed two hinges replaced to get a good soft close. Some smaller doors with 2 hinges also did better with two replacement hinges. The smallest doors only required one replacement hinge.
Unfortunately, I had to spend more time searching the internet and becoming a Blum hinge expert than the time it took to replace 40 hinges.
Mar 07, 2018
Easy and inexpensive upgrade for 16 year old cabinet drawers
Added this to all my 2002 Merillat cabinet drawers. Here are the key points observed:
- Concerned my wife would dislike the slight increase is pull required to open the drawers (required to cock the shock absorber), but she had no problem with it. Also, I could not tell a difference in feel of the soft-close actions between our drawers with this add-on compared to new higher-end drawers at our local cabinet shop.
- Only installed the front screw in the piece that attaches to the cabinet. Others have commented that only one screw is necessary, and I found that to be true. My cabinets would have required tacking on a block of wood to the inside of the cabinet to facilitate adding the 2nd screw at the rear of the add-on mechanism. But that turned out to not be necessary. Also, it would have been very difficult or impossible for the drawers in the center of the cabinet that had no side to attach a block of wood to.
- Installation is very easy. Took me less than 5 minutes per drawer after doing the first one. Make sure the part that attaches to the drawer just clears the latch mechanism attached to the cabinet. My drawers have standard drawer handles so there is less chance of pulling the drawer over the latch mechanism when opening the drawer. But I can see where this could be a problem with drawers without handles if the drawer is lifted while opening.
- Only used one mechanism per drawer. I have a few extra in case I find the drawers do not soft close well enough when loaded with content. For those I will add a second.
I installed these on a home we are in the process of moving to. We’ve not put them to practical use yet. Therefore, I can’t attest to their durability or longevity.