KV GS4270 Drawer Slides No Longer Fully Close

[DerbyDad03]

About 5 years ago I installed 8 sets of the Knape & Vogt GS4270 full extension, soft close drawer slides.

One set, the one on the most frequently used drawer, no longer fully closes on its own. When I give the drawer its normal push, it glides to about 1/2" from fully closed and then stops. The soft close mechanism does engage, it just doesn't pull the drawer all the way closed. A gentle push gets it closed, but it's a "manual close" i.e. I don't feel the mechanism taking over.

I can "fix" the soft close issue by fully extending the drawer (the standard full extension reset method) but this only solves the soft close issue for a day or two, probably some X number of usages.

I called KV tech support and other than "make sure all the screws are tight" and "make sure nothing has shifted inside the cabinet", he had no other suggestions. When I asked about lubrication, he was pretty emphatic about not trying that.

Unless someone has a suggestion, I think replacement may be my only option.

[Scott Lurndal]

Another option, of course, is to live with it. Seems a small thing (1/2").

[invalid unparseable]

That may depend on the user's level of precision (or perhaps OCD ? ;-)

However, OCD is a excellent trait for a dentist. A few years ago, I got a call from my then dentist "Don't bother coming tomorrow. Your new bridge arrived today and I'm not happy with it so I sent it back. I'll call when the replacement gets here." The replacement fit fine, both on the tooth posts and in mesg with the teeth avove it. My current dentist is close to that level of OCD - but then he was recommended by the previous dentist ;-)

[RosemontCrest]

Perhaps exchange the troublesome rails with the rails from a drawer that is used less frequently.

[gray_wolf]

I had a couple like that!! They were painless!!

[John Grossbohlin]

I'd try cleaning everything in the slides... wheels, tracks, stops, anything that pivots. Perhaps with denatured alcohol on a course rag or a stiff sponge. It is amazing how much fine crud can accumulate over time...

[DerbyDad03]

Thanks for the suggestion.

I took an interim step and blasted the slides with a 90 PSI air hose. There was definitely some crud flying around. There was also evidence of some type of lubrication, which I fear a full-fledge cleaning will remove.

If the blow-out doesn't help, I'll try the cleaning and then re-lubricate the slides. Even though KV tech support didn't recommend that, it's not like I care if I somehow ruin the slides. They don't work properly at this point anyway.

[krw]

I had one about a year ago. It was all done in the office. Less than two hours and out. No pain at all. Dentistry is amazing these days.

[John Grossbohlin]

If they aren't too much trouble to remove from the cabinet and drawer it might be worth soaking them down and using a brush to get into the nooks and crannies. I'd think a LITTLE light or dry lubricant wouldn't hurt in the bearings and on any pivot points. You don't want to attract any more crud!

I've had to do a lot of that type of thing in recent months... I have come to the conclusion that I must be getting old (or am) as it seems everything I own needs to be taken apart, cleaned, parts replaced as needed, and reassembled... For example, my Porter Cable circular saw almost got me when the blade guard stuck. My Arrow hammer stapler kept jamming. The top blade guide bearing on my 18" band saw froze up with gunk. The pull starter on my snowblower needed to be cleaned and repaired and the skids replaced. I had to do a valve job on the snowblower too as the exhaust valve wasn't closing. Much of the lawn mower had to be taken apart, cleaned (even with electrolysis), lubed and reassembled. The list of gunked up stuff goes on and on! I've been doing a lot of that kind of work at my parents' house too... They've got a lead on me. ;~)

[dpb]

I've never looked to see but I'd presume there's a number of cycles design limit -- possible it is just wore out. I also have never investigated just how the self-close mechanism works...

[J. Clarke]

I think this is one of those deals where you pull one out, inspect it, and based on the results of the inspection proceed from there. Who knows, it may turn out that a few bucks spent at the local skate emporium will have them working better than ever.

[DerbyDad03]

I hope that 5 years of normal kitchen use isn't "designed in". In fact, it's

5 years of use by just 2 "empty nesters". I hate to think how often I'd be replacing slides when there was 6 still of us in the house. :-0

[Leon]

Ohhh.. GSlide slides. I have about 7 drawers in as many pieces of furniture that have this issue.

And I know what the problem is. Mostly product design.

The drawer side of the slide has a plastic guide that engages the plastic pin on the cabinet side of the slide. The cabinet side pin slides into a hole on the plastic piece of the drawer side of the slide.

After time and in particular after 3~6 years, the pin wears down on the cabinet side of the slide and or the hole wears on the drawer side of the slide. When this happens the pin does not properly engage the hole and "slips out" because of the spring loaded resistance on the self close feature.

The solution is to replace the whole slide because both the pin and hole are worn

OR shim either the drawer or cabinet side of the slide to force a closer fit. And this will likely be short lived. And difficult to determine where the shim needs to be placed.

When you open the drawer it has resistance and then you probably hear a slick and the drawer opens more freely. This happens in the first inch or two of travel. The pin is engaged in the beginning but slips out of the hole before it reaches its outer travel limit and locks in place. It slips out and returns to the closed position. When you close the drawer the other side of the drawer slide works as designed and pulls the drawer closed up until the last quarter inch or so. This is where the bad slide tries to reengage the pin and hole, there is more resistance at that point.

You can manually reach in there and pull the pin forward to its forward limit of travel and that will work a few times.

Take a look at this. It pretty much explains what I have said above.

And this is the brand slide I am currently using on.

The actual KV 8450 slides are a better design too.

[DerbyDad03]

re: "I have about 7 drawers in as many pieces of furniture that have this issue. "

I knew you'd jump in here eventually. ;-)

How come you didn't know about the design flaw back in 2016 when you recommended the slides to Mike? (Don't worry...I'm kidding!)

From Feb 3, 2016, 12:44:56 AM

"I have been using these side full extension soft close slides for about

5 years."

Is Mike still around?

BTW...I'm getting ready to install a couple of drawers in my daughter's base cabinets using the KV Undermount slides that I used in my own kitchen a few years back. The KV MUV+ HD (120lb) slides are beasts. The drawers are 22" d x 31" w.

One of our drawers has been filled with glass baking dishes, large ceramic bowls, etc. Heavy stuff. 3+ years and the drawer still glides like butter. The design of those are totally different so I hope they won't develop the same issue as the G-Slides.

The last coat of finish goes on my daughter's set tonight and then it's 2.5 hour drive to install. Sure hope I got my measurements right the last time I was there. :-0

[Leon]

Well IIRC they were still mostly working and could be reset. I thought it was a fluke back then... Then I thought it was global warming and the effects on the pieces I built. Then, you know, it turns out it might have been climate change instead of global warming. Then seeing the video for the first time a few weeks ago, hummmm, the slides are poop! If you defeat the self close/soft close feature the slide still work well.

Or call KV and tell them you have their slide that has failed. Life time warranty.

Mike?

Cabinet makers hardware years ago became Cornerstone and they still operate under that name. BUT they were bought out by Richelieu 4~5 years ago and there was a big turn over on employees.

Swingman used that style slide when he and I were building kitchens for the houses he was building. IIRC they are kinda finicky/particular about drawer size but work like a charm when installed. And he was using a brand that I do not recall, close to $40 a pair, and the drawer sides had to be 1~2 inches shorter than the opening.

I think the GSlide issue is that the "catch" pin on the cabinet side has to engage the hole on the side of the drawer side of the slide. Most of the better ones including the one that is from Hardware Resources have a pin that engages the end of the slide attached to the drawer. And the those have steel pins.

Boy howdy. I just finished 5 drawer carcass units to fit inside the bottom of the bottom cabinets. I left myself 1/4" clearance to slide them in. 4 have 3 drawers, 1 has 1 drawer. And after that 9 more regular drawers to build.

[DerbyDad03]

Yeah, actually -MIKE- was his handle. The drummer. Mike Radcliff, per his website. Doesn't look like his drum site has been updated in a while.

His sig was:

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"

--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)

[Leon]

YES! I remember Mike now. I thought you were referring to Mike at the slide store. ;~)

No, I don't think KV, it was a weird name that I had not heard of. Now he may have switched later on.

And I meant, Shorter in height. The depth front to back has to be exact to engage the back hook on the cabinet side of the slide.

Here is what I just finished and will be installing later today.

[DerbyDad03]

What is that going into? It's 3 separate units, right?

[Leon]

There are 5 units, One is on top of the other on the end. These will go into the lower kitchen cabinets. I removed the center stiles and the fixed shelves. No more crawling into the bottom cabinets for the customer.

[DerbyDad03]

Oh, I thought the 3-across section on the left was one big unit, then the

2 high stack on the right.

They look great. I hope the install goes/went great.