BS EN 1303 – Cylinders for Locks

HOPPE has various cylinder ranges available for most applications and project requirements, including cylinders tested to BS EN 1303. This European standard on cylinders for locks applies to cylinders and the locks they use. Using an 8-digit coding system each digit refers to a particular feature of the product measured against the standard’s performance requirements.

BS EN 1303 Classifies Door Furniture using an 8-Digit Coding System

BS EN 1303:2015 classifies cylinders for locks using an 8-digit coding system. A broadly similar classification system is used for other building hardware product standards. Each digit refers to a particular feature of the product measured against the standard’s performance requirements.

Digit 1 – Category of Use

One category is identified:
Grade 1: For use by people with a high incentive to exercise care and with a small chance of misuse.

Digit 2 – Durability

Three grades are identified according to the number of test cycles achieved:
Grade 4: 25,000 cycles
Grade 5: 50,000 cycles
Grade 6: 100,000 cycles

Digit 3 – Door Mass

One grade is identified:
Grade 0: no requirement

Digit 4 – Fire Resistance

Three grades are identified as follows:
Grade 0: Not approved for use on fire resistant / smoke control door assemblies
Grade A: Suitable for use on smoke control door assemblies
Grade B: Suitable for use on fire resistant and smoke control door assemblies

Digit 5 – Safety

One grade is identified:
Grade 0: no requirements

Digit 6 – Corrosion and Temperature Resistance

Four grades are identified as follows:
Grade 0: No corrosion requirement, no temperature requirement
Grade A: High corrosion resistance, no temperature requirement
Grade B: No corrosion requirement, temperature requirement from –25°C to +65°C
Grade C: High corrosion resistance, temperature requirement from –25°C to +65°C

Note: No distinction is made between the inside and the outside of either the cylinder and/or the door. On completion of the test, the cylinder must operate using a maximum 1.5 Nm torque on the key.

Digit 7 – Key Related Security

Six grades are identified and the principal requirements are summarised below:

	Grade 1	Grade 2	Grade 3	Grade 4	Grade 5	Grade 6
Minimum number of effective differs	100	300	15,000	30,000	30,000	100,000
Minimum number of movable levers, pins, discs, etc.	2	3	5	5	6	6
Coding on key could disclose combination	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Torque resistance of plug	2.5 Nm	5 Nm	15 Nm	15 Nm	15 Nm	15 Nm

Digit 8 – Attack Resistance

Five grades are identified and the principal requirements are summarised below:
Grade 0: No resistance against drilling, no resistance against mechanical attack
Grade A: 3/5 minute resistance against drilling; resistance against mechanical attack except plug / cylinder extraction
Grade B: 5/10 minute resistance against drilling; resistance against mechanical attack except plug / cylinder extraction
Grade C: 3/5 minute resistance against drilling; resistance against mechanical attack
Grade D: 5/10 minute resistance against drilling; resistance against mechanical attack

Source: Door and Hardware Federation (DHF) Best Practise Guide – Cylinder for locks to BS EN 1303