There are several names for these products. Although I’ve heard panic bars. I’ve also heard crash bars, and then lastly I’ve heard the term rim exit device. The funny thing is, if you were to ask a manufacturer of one of these devices what they would call them they would call call them rim exit devices. But I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a customer call me at any point in time and ask for a rim exit device. If they did I would probably fall over. Heck I’ve been a locksmith for 25 years, and I still to this day call them panic bars.
Grade 1 Crash bars are fire code compliant.
These particular locks all work pretty much the same. There are different varieties and different grades and different fire ratings. However the purpose is simple, to allow people to exit a building as quickly as possible without having to stop and unlock a door. These devices normally have a touch bar that you push forward towards the door and the touch bar allows you to exit. Frequently you will find panic bars installed with no entry option from the outside of the door. No levers, no locks just a blank door, also referred to as exit only doors.
Out of all the door devices on the market these are some of the most secure. When you purchase this particular style of lock you don’t want to buy the cheapest on the market. We’ll install whatever you would like us to install, however we don’t recommend trying cut costs when purchasing this lock hardware. That doesn’t mean buy the most expensive lock bar you can find by any stretch of the imagination. Purchase a fire rated bar. If the door is going to have a lot of traffic make sure it will hold up. No Plastic!
Benefits of using panic bars / crash bars :
- Easiest lock hardware to operate
- Very secure when properly installed
- fire code compliant
- American disabilities act compliant
- When configured to exit only there’s no rekeying required.
- Traffic can be limited to one direction
