Magnetic Locks in Raleigh
Installation, repair and testing of electromagnetic locks for Raleigh offices, clinics, apartment buildings and gates, including the release devices the fire code requires. Call (984) 207-5553.
Purpose of This Page
This page covers electromagnetic locks from both ends: specifying and mounting a new one, and diagnosing one that has stopped holding. It also covers branded units such as Securitron, which share the same failure modes as any other magnet, and the release hardware that has to accompany every maglock installation.
Magnetic locks fail differently from mechanical hardware. There is nothing inside them to bind, seize or wear out, so when a magnet stops holding the cause is nearly always alignment, voltage or a release input. For openings that must stay latched during a power cut, the electric strike page covers the alternative, and our access-control systems work covers the credential side.
What a Magnetic Lock Assembly Contains
An electromagnetic lock is a steel-cored coil fixed to the frame or header, paired with a flat steel armature plate bolted to the door. Energize the coil and the two hold together with a measured pull. Cut the current and they part. There is no bolt, no latch and no keyway anywhere in the assembly.
That means the lock has no mechanical security of its own. Everything it does depends on continuous power, correct contact between two flat faces, and a release path that can interrupt that power reliably. The four parts below are best treated as one system, because a fault in any of them presents identically to the person standing at the door.
Holding force is quoted with the faces in perfect contact. Any condition that reduces contact area, from a sagging leaf to a film of rust, reduces the real holding force well below the figure on the label.
Where a Magnetic Lock Fits
Maglocks suit openings that are powered, monitored and free to unlock in an emergency. Typical examples are lobby and tenant entries, stairwell doors with proper release, server and records rooms, clinic corridors, and vehicle or pedestrian gates where no strike can be fitted.
They also suit doors where the existing hardware cannot take an electric strike: aluminum doors with unusual stiles, doors with no jamb to receive a bolt, and pairs without a mullion. Because the magnet mounts to the header rather than the frame pocket, it avoids cutting into the frame entirely.
They are a poor choice where the door must stay secure through a power cut, where nobody will maintain the release devices, or where the opening carries a fire-door label that requires positive latching. In those cases a strike or an electrified lever is the correct specification rather than a magnet with workarounds bolted on.
Holding Force, Door Type and Mounting
A 600 lbf unit is appropriate for interior offices, storerooms and light-traffic doors. A 1,200 lbf unit is the usual choice for exterior entrances, apartment lobbies and any door the public pulls on all day. The figure describes pull needed to break flat contact, not resistance to prying, so the mounting has to be as sound as the magnet is strong.
Inswing doors take an L bracket, often with a Z bracket, so the armature meets the magnet square. Pairs take either two magnets or a single double unit on the header. Where hardware must be concealed, a shear lock mortises into the door and frame, at the cost of much tighter alignment tolerance. Gates need a weather-rated magnet and a sealed cable path.
The armature is deliberately mounted on a shoulder bolt with a rubber washer so it can float a few degrees and pull flat. Bolting it down rigidly is the single most common installation error, and it quietly removes a large part of the holding force without producing any obvious symptom until someone leans on the door.
Through-bolts with sex nuts spread the load on hollow metal and aluminum leaves. Power crosses to the door through an armored loop or a concealed transfer, never a cable draped across the hinge edge.
Diagnosing a Magnet That Will Not Hold
Voltage is measured at the lock while it is energized, not at the power supply, because the difference between those two readings is where most intermittent faults live. A long cable run in undersized conductors can drop enough voltage that a 1,200 lbf magnet behaves like a much weaker one, particularly once a standby battery is carrying the load.
Next comes the mechanical side: free movement of the armature on its shoulder bolt, tightness of every bracket fastener, the gap with the door closed, and the wear pattern across both faces. A magnet that holds firmly with the door pressed by hand but releases when the door is merely closed is describing an alignment problem, not an electrical one.
Finally the release inputs are exercised one at a time. A door that unlocks on its own is usually a request-to-exit sensor drifting and triggering on passing traffic, or a controller output stuck on. Nuisance alarms from a door that is genuinely closed normally trace to a door-position switch that has shifted out of range rather than to the lock itself.
Installation and Testing Sequence
The opening is surveyed first: swing, leaf construction, header material, existing brackets, and what release devices are present. The occupancy determines what the fire code requires, and that determines the wiring before any hardware is chosen.
Brackets and the armature are mounted so the faces meet flat, with the armature left free to pivot. Fasteners are through-bolted where the leaf allows, and packing or filler plates are used rather than forcing a bracket to take up a misalignment.
Power is run in conductors sized for the distance, terminated at a supply with standby battery, and taken across to the door through an armored loop or concealed transfer. Release devices are wired so the push-to-exit button breaks power directly rather than through the access control panel.
Testing covers holding force with the door closed, voltage at the lock under load, and each release path separately: request-to-exit, push-to-exit, controller output and fire alarm relay. The sequence of operation is written down and left with the owner.
Repair, Replace or Re-specify
Most call-outs end in adjustment rather than replacement. Loose brackets, an armature that has been bolted solid, a contaminated face, a tired standby battery and a drifting exit sensor between them account for the large majority of magnets reported as failed.
Replacement is justified when the coil is genuinely dead, when water has entered a gate unit, or when the original specification was wrong, for instance a 600 lbf magnet on a busy public entrance. Replacing like for like on an opening that was mis-specified simply resets the clock on the same complaint.
Re-specification is the honest answer where the door itself has moved beyond adjustment. A leaf that has dropped repeatedly needs its pivots or hinges addressed before any lock will hold reliably.
When Another Lock Type Is Correct
If the door must remain secure during an outage, a fail-secure electric strike keeps the latch engaged and leaves egress to the lever. If the opening carries exit hardware, panic bars and exit devices can be electrified rather than adding a magnet above them.
Where the requirement is really about who may enter and when, the lock is the smaller part of the decision. Reader type, credentials, controller and monitoring belong in the same conversation, which is covered under access-control systems.
For back-of-house doors, stockrooms and offices that need no electrification at all, ordinary commercial lock hardware is cheaper to own and has nothing to fail in a power cut.
Egress, Fire Alarm and Inspection
A magnetic lock is only lawful when people inside can always get out. In practice that means a request-to-exit device on the egress side, a clearly marked push-to-exit button that cuts power directly, and a relay that drops the magnet when the fire alarm activates. Each of those has to work on its own, without the others.
Delayed egress, where the door holds briefly before releasing, is permitted only in certain occupancies and only with the required signage and alarm conditions. It is not a way to make an ordinary door harder to leave through.
More maglock installations fail inspection over release wiring than over anything mechanical. Documenting the sequence of operation, and testing each path in front of the owner, is the simplest insurance available on this type of hardware.
Raleigh Conditions Worth Planning For
Summer humidity and the pollen season both leave films on an exposed armature, and both reduce contact area before anyone notices a fault. Exterior and gate installations in the Triangle need weather-rated units and sealed cable entries rather than indoor hardware in a housing.
Storm-season power cuts are the common trigger for a complaint that the building was unsecured. A correctly sized supply with a healthy standby battery holds the openings through a typical outage, but battery age is the thing that quietly decides how long that is.
Seasonal movement matters too. Aluminum and glazed leaves grow in summer heat, and a door that made flat contact in February can sit a few millimeters proud in July. That is an alignment visit, not a lock failure.
Maintenance and Owner Checks
Owners can carry out three checks without tools. Press the push-to-exit button and confirm the door releases at once. Wipe the magnet and armature faces with a dry cloth. Listen at the door: a rattle or a click under hand pressure means contact is no longer flat.
Note the date the power supply battery was fitted. Standby batteries are consumable, and a battery several years old is the most common reason a building fails to stay secure through an outage.
Any change in behavior is worth reporting early. A magnet that has begun to release under a firm pull, or a door that unlocks by itself as people walk past, is describing a specific and correctable fault rather than a lock at the end of its life.
Planning the Service Visit
Useful preparation includes the door type and swing, whether it is a single leaf or a pair, what release devices are already fitted, and whether the opening is tied into a fire alarm system. Photographs of the header, the door edge and any existing brackets usually answer more questions than a description.
For a fault, the helpful detail is when it happens: always, only in the afternoon, only after an outage, or only when a particular door is used. That pattern often identifies the cause before anyone arrives.
Locksmith Raleigh serves Raleigh and the surrounding Triangle. Use the contact page or call (984) 207-5553 to describe the opening.
Send photographs of the header, door edge and any existing release devices.
Contact Locksmith RaleighFrequently Asked Questions
Expand a question to review the reasoning behind each answer.
Will a magnetic lock keep the door locked during a power cut?
No, and that is by design. Cut the power and the magnet releases at once, which is exactly what makes it acceptable on an exit door. A power supply with a standby battery keeps it locked through a short outage, typically a few hours depending on battery condition and how many devices share the circuit. If the door must stay locked whatever happens to the power, an electric strike or a mechanical lock is the correct choice.
Are magnetic locks allowed on exit doors in North Carolina?
Yes, provided the release arrangement meets the fire code. That means a request-to-exit device on the egress side, a clearly marked push-to-exit button that cuts power directly rather than through the access control panel, and a relay that drops the lock when the fire alarm activates. Delayed egress is permitted only in certain occupancies and with the required signage. These are the first points an inspector checks.
Why does my magnetic lock rattle or pull open when someone leans on it?
Almost always because the magnet and armature are not making full flat contact. The usual causes are an armature bolted down rigidly instead of floating on its shoulder bolt, loose bracket fasteners, a leaf that has sagged, or a face carrying rust or old residue. Low voltage at the lock produces the same symptom. All of these are measurable on site and most are corrected without replacing the lock.
How much holding force do we actually need?
For interior offices, storerooms and light-traffic doors, 600 lbf is normally sufficient. For exterior entrances, apartment lobbies and doors the public uses all day, 1,200 lbf is the usual specification. The rating assumes perfect flat contact, so mounting quality matters as much as the number. Fitting a larger magnet to a door with alignment problems rarely improves matters.
Can a magnetic lock be fitted to a gate?
Yes, with hardware intended for it. That means a weather-rated magnet, a sealed cable entry, and a mounting that tolerates the movement a gate frame has and a door does not. Standard indoor units fitted outdoors fail early once moisture reaches the coil, and the cable is usually the first thing to chafe through at the hinge.
What is a request-to-exit device, and do we need one?
It is the device that tells the system someone is leaving so the magnet releases without an alarm, normally a motion sensor above the door or a switch built into a push bar. On a magnetic lock it is effectively mandatory, because the lock has no mechanical way to open from the inside. It works alongside, not instead of, the push-to-exit button that cuts power directly.