I receive this toilet partition question weekly, and while there is really not a "correct" answer, there are certain brands and materials that I recommend using for different bathroom partition applications.

Below I will break down the specific stall materials with pros and cons for each.

Click here for all replacement and repair parts for restroom toilet partitions.

Solid Plastic bathroom stalls ( HDPE or High Density Polyethylene )

This toilet partition material is ideal for Schools, Institutions, and Stadiums or any other high traffic or highly vandalized areas. Solid plastic is rust - free which makes it ideal for pool locker restrooms or anywhere that water or humidity is abundant. 

Resistant to graffiti, molds, mildews, and most common cleaners the non-porous plastic will not absorb odors.

Clean, professional look that stands up to abuse and is easily maintained

Heavy Duty Hardware Standard: Plastic or stainless steel Shoes & Continuous Brackets, 8" Hinges, 6" Strikes & Keepers

Color applied throughout panels (not just in finish), so scratches & dents barely show

CLICK HERE for Scranton Products' Hiny Hider color chart

Powder Coated steel toilet partions ( Baked Enamel or B.E. )

This material of bathroom stalls is most commonly installed in Commercial Buildings or Elementary Schools where vandalism is not a major concern in the restrooms.

This Popular and durable material offers quality and affordability with and epoxy finish that resists fading, wear, and scuffing. The honeycomb core deadens sounds and these bathroom stalls are easily cleaned with a mild soap.

CLICK HERE for General Partitions' Powder Coated Steel Color Chart PDF (for perfect match, please request color chips)

Stainless Steel stalls (SSTL)

Perfect for all restroom installations where beauty, strength, elegance, and durability are desired. Satin finish standard, but also available with textured finish, or powder coat (special order). These corrosion resistant partitions are corrosion resistant and scratches can be removed with buffing.

Plastic Laminate (P.L.)

Plastic laminate bathroom stalls are ideal for  commercial use because of the great variety of colors and textures which offers flexibility of design at an affordable price

The Wilsonart or Formica laminate applied to 45 lb. density particle board core which is rust-free, durable, and easy to clean. Not recommended for high moisture areas.

CLICK HERE for General Partitions' Plastic Laminate Color Chart PDF (for perfect match, please request color chips). Other Wilsonart and Formica laminates available

Solid Phenolic Core (S.P.C)

Tough and durable - Ideal for high-traffic, high vandalism areas Available either as "black core" phenolic panels with colored laminate or "color thru" with pigment added to the panels core.

Resistant to scratches, dents, graffiti, moisture, and odors thes toilet stalls are rust-free, sturdy, and easy to clean.

CLICK HERE for General Partitions' Solid Phenolic Color Chart PDF (for perfect match, please request color chips)

Hopefully this article has hoped to clarify to differences in bathroom stall materials for your restrooms. As always, if you have any further questions, please contact me at chris1@langequip.com or 1-800-526-5092. 

This article was taken directly for OSHA's website.

Click the following link to see our full line of Master Lock Lockout / Tagout (LOTO) products.

What is hazardous energy?

Energy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees.

What are the harmful effects of hazardous energy?

Workers servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be seriously injured or killed if hazardous energy is not properly controlled. Injuries resulting from the failure to control hazardous energy during maintenance activities can be serious or fatal! Injuries may include electrocution, burns, crushing, cutting, lacerating, amputating, or fracturing body parts, and others.

• A steam valve is automatically turned on burning workers who are repairing a downstream connection in the piping.
• A jammed conveyor system suddenly releases crushing a worker who is trying to clear the jam.
• Internal wiring on a piece of factory equipment electrically shorts shocking employee who is repairing the equipment.

Craft workers, electricians, machine operators, and laborers are among the 3 million workers who service equipment routinely and face the greatest risk of injury. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation.

What can be done to control hazardous energy?

Failure to control hazardous energy accounts for nearly 10 percent of the serious accidents in many industries. Proper lockout/tagout (LOTO) practices and procedures safeguard workers from the release of hazardous energy. OSHA's Lockout/Tagout fact sheet (PDF*) describes the practices and procedures necessary to disable machinery or equipment to prevent the release of hazardous energy. The OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147) for general industry outlines measures for controlling different types of hazardous energy. The LOTO standard establishes the employer's responsibility to protect workers from hazardous energy. Employers are also required to train each worker to ensure that they know, understand, and are able to follow the applicable provisions of the hazardous energy control procedures:

• Proper lockout/tagout (LOTO) practices and procedures safeguard workers from the release of hazardous energy. The OSHA standard for The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147) for general industry, outlines specific action and procedures for addressing and controlling hazardous energy during servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment. Employers are also required to train each worker to ensure that they know, understand, and are able to follow the applicable provisions of the hazardous energy control procedures. Workers must be trained in the purpose and function of the energy control program and have the knowledge and skills required for the safe application, usage and removal of the energy control devices.
• All employees who work in the area where the energy control procedure(s) are utilized need to be instructed in the purpose and use of the energy control procedure(s) and about the prohibition against attempting to restart or reenergize machines or equipment that is locked or tagged out.
• All employees who are authorized to lockout machines or equipment and perform the service and maintenance operations need to be trained in recognition of applicable hazardous energy sources in the workplace, the type and magnitude of energy found in the workplace, and the means and methods of isolating and/or controlling the energy.
• Specific procedures and limitations relating to tagout systems where they are allowed.
• Retraining of all employees to maintain proficiency or introduce new or changed control methods.

OSHA's Lockout/Tagout fact sheet (PDF*) describes the practices and procedures necessary to disable machinery or equipment to prevent the release of hazardous energy.

I hope that this article has provided some insight to the purpose and effectiveness of Lockout / Tagout (LOTO) systems.

As always, please contact me with any further questions at chris1@langequip.com or 1-800-526-5092.

Whether you have Metpar, Mills, Accurate, General Partitions, Knickerbocker, or Bobrick bathroom stalls, you'll eventually be faced with this problem. 

In the past, you really only had two options.

The first was to purchase a new concealed latch kit with actual slider piece of the latch included. The parts themselves weren't too expensive, but that was before you tried to install them. The only way that you'll be able to install the inside slider part of the latch is to break the weld of the galvanized door, replace the part, and then re-weld the door. I can tell you from experience that this was no easy task and those parts that seemed so inexpensive suddenly more than made up for it in the time it takes you to install them.

The second was simply to order a new door. While this is a way more simple installation than the slider kit mentioned above, it's much more costly. You'd probably end up spending upwards of $100 or more for the door depending on the size and manufacturer. 

That was then.

We are so glad to have found a product that not only makes it possible to save your old baked enamel or stainless steel bathroom stall door but is also inexpensive and simple to install.

Fix - it - kits for bathroom stalls are the perfect solution for converting your old concealed latches on your metal toilet partition stall doors, to surface mounted latching system.

Each kit includes: 1 stainless steel sleeve for covering the hole left by the old concealed latch, 1 surface mounted slide latch, 1 strike and keeper, and all the necessary hardware. To top it all off it even comes with installation instructions.

These are made for all different types and manufacturers of metal bathroom stall doors so you'll need a two key pieces of info.

First, do your partitions have a rounded or square edge? 

And secondly, is the stall door that you are fixing an inswing or outswing door?

That's it. You're good to go. Consider all the complaints in your inbox deleted! Now if you could just figure out a way to stop receiving junk mail!

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask! Email chris1@langequip.com or call 1-800-526-5092.

Thank you!

This is a common question that I receive weekly. While you can usually find repair parts for your lockers, the problem remains that if the locker doors are even a little twisted, you'll have an extremely difficult task of getting the lockbar and handle to operate properly making the locker insecurable and therefore worthless.

" So what are my options?", you ask as you stare out desperately at a sea of broken lockers. Well, you always could replace your old lockers with brand new lockers. But honestly, how many School Districts these days have money laying around in the budget for $20,000.00 worth of new lockers? Not many. So that leaves you with one last option.

Since Most schools that I've encountered have their students use padlocks in the locker rooms to secure their belongings during phys ed, the universal padlock hasp is the best solution to protect your students' property. The hasp can be used on any locker, even a badly bent one, and ensure that the student can still lock their locker. Here's a picture of what the hasps look like installed.

The video below shows how easy it is to install.

Whether you have Penco, Lyon, Republic, Medart, Interior or any other brand of locker, this hasp will work for you.

Thanks for reading and if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me at chris1@langequip.com or 1-800-526-5092.

Made from mar-proof rubber coated steel, Security Latch is designed to eliminate chain locking exits. There are four styles that are available: double door latch for doors with a center post, single right door latch, single left door latch, and a double door latch for doors without a center post.

All Security Latch models are available with an optional cable lock that does not interfere with the function of your Security Latch. The diagram below provides an overview of how the Security Latch is constructed.

Security Latch is an investment in protection that offers piece of mind when it comes to fire safety. No more will you have to use chains and padlocks to secure panic doors. This helps to eliminate the risk of being trapped in a burning building.

That's all for now. If you have any further questions or comments please feel free to contact me chris1@langequip.com.

Today we’ll be talking about Koala Kare Baby changing stations for restrooms. Koala Kare is a division of Bobrick and we are elated to have this new line of products to offer to our customers.

It seems that most public bathrooms that you enter these days have baby changing stations and you’ve probably seen the cute picture of the mother and baby koala bear in a public bathroom before. Whether it’s in the mall or a restaurant it’s always nice for the establishment to offer this courtesy to its customers.

So, you’re a General contractor and you’re wondering where to get the baby changing things that the architect put in their specification. Or you own a restaurant and think that this would be nice to offer your customers. You’ve come to the right place.

Koala Kare offers a variety of child changing tables. The first thing that you’d want to do is establish whether you want a horizontal or vertical changing station. Next, do you want the station to be recessed or surface mounted. And lastly, what type of material would you like? They are offered in plastic (polypropylene), stainless steel, or a combination of both.

You could always send me an email chris1@langequip if you have any questions or call at 1-800-526-5092. I’d be happy to help you decide which Koala Kare baby changing table would be right for your application. ( Koala Kare is a division of Bobrick) 

As you probably know,standard chair glides have a nickel metal base. As these glides wear out the chair glide begins to leave grey marks on the floors. To combat this, many companies started making nylon glide caps to cover these glides to prevent marring of the vinyl flooring. Sounds great right? Wrong.Although, these caps work in the beginning, as soon as they pick up some sand or dirt from the floor, they essentially become 60 grit sandpaper on your nice VCT flooring. Disaster ensues…..

Many companies recognizing a need for an alternative to nylon glide caps, started inventing all types of solutions to this problem. These “solutions” come in all shapes and sizes but the problems remained. Either the felt being used was still too hard creating the aforementioned “sandpaper effect”, or they were too easy for students to remove and became projectiles to be launched around the classroom. Tennis balls have the projectile problem too. (not to mention they’re downright ugly!) Felt pads work for a week if you’re lucky, and then promptly fall off.

This brings us to the Permaglide Booty. It’s the best product that we’ve come across to prevent school chairs from scratching your vinyl or wood flooring. The silent nature of these glides also makes it perfect in situations where you are trying to deter disruptions in the classrooms. The main reason it’s successful in stopping scratched floors, is that it’s soft. It absorbs grit to minimize scratches. Also, they are very difficult for students to remove from the school chair preventing the “projectile effect”. The picture to the left is a cross section of the Permaglide Booty.

Hopefully, I’ve provided some useful information for when you are faced with the task of protecting your schools’ floors.

Please watch the video below to learn more about installation.

Of course if you have any other questions, you can contact me at 1-800-526-5092 or chris1@langequip.com.

As you look down the hallways at the hundreds or even thousands of broken Penco lockers that you are preparing to fix, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. You’re probably thinking, “let’s see, if each locker has three nylon catches and I have 3,000 lockers to repair, that’s…..holy moly!” Not to mention the nylon latch clip springs that you may need.

Fret not. We have a video below that will walk through step by step the easy process of replacing Penco locker nylon latch clips. And people with List, Edsal, or ASI lockers don’t worry, the repair process is very much the same for your broken lockers as well.

As always, you can always contact us at 1 - 800 - 526 - 5092 or chris@langequip.com with any questions!

Whether you're the director of buildings and grounds at a school district, a maintenance supervisor at an office complex, or a Principal in a small elementary school the fact remains that Penco locker handles break! Below we'll give a little info on the handle and a video on how to replace it.

This is a two - piece handle that has been in use since 1967 and believe it or not Penco still uses this locker handle on many lockers that they manufacture today. Many people refer to this handle as a Vanguard handle due to its use on the Penco Vanguard line of lockers.

The major flaw with this handle is that the bottom tang on the lifter part of the handle breaks and makes it near impossible to open the door. DO NOT PRY THE DOOR OPEN! If you do, you'll have to replace the door which is a much larger (and expensive) repair.

So how do I replace the Penco handle without damaging the door you ask?

Watch the video below on the easiest method of fixing your broken Penco handle and you'll be on your way!

Of course, if you have any other questions you can always give us a call at 1 - 800 - 526 - 5092 or chris@langequip.com.

The next blog is going to be on the dreaded Penco nylon latch clip...Stay tuned.