By Kent · Lock Depot Staff Writer

A rated pair of doors on a stairwell or a fire-separation corridor throws two decisions at you before you even open a catalog page. First: surface rod or concealed rod. Second: rated or non-rated hardware, and the wall the door sits in makes that call, not preference. Get either call wrong and you're pulling devices back off a hung door after the inspector walks the job. Yale's 7000 Series covers both calls in one family, and knowing what actually changes between the four part numbers saves a lot of return trips.

Surface or Concealed Rod

Vertical rod devices latch a door at the head and the sill, not just at the strike side. That's the difference from a single-point rim device, and it's why stairwells and rated corridor pairs almost always call for vertical rod hardware instead of rim. The rods themselves can run one of two ways, and the choice is mostly about how much service work you're willing to do down the road.

Surface Rod: 7110-24-630

The 7110-24-630 is Yale's Non Fire Rated Surface Vertical Rod Exit Device in Satin Stainless Steel, and it does exactly what the name says. The rod runs up the face of the door, in plain view, from the device down to the sill and up to the head. I like surface rod for one practical reason: when a rod binds or a strike gets knocked out of true, you can see the whole run without taking anything apart. Adjust the guide, straighten the rod, close the door, done. On a non-rated back-of-house stair pair, I spec surface rod every time. Service calls run faster and cheaper over the life of the door.

Concealed Rod: 7120-24-630

The 7120-24-630, Yale's Non Fire Rated Concealed Vertical Rod Exit Device in Satin Stainless Steel, hides the same rods inside the door edge. Nothing shows on the face but the device and the pull. That's the look architects want on a lobby pair or anywhere the hardware needs to disappear. The tradeoff shows up on the service side, not the sales side: adjusting a concealed rod means pulling edge trim and getting into the stile, not just reaching down with a screwdriver. What you get for that extra work is real, though. From years of running service calls, concealed rods hold up better against tampering and against getting caught by a cart or a hand truck on a heavy-traffic opening.

Fire-Rated or Non-Rated

Whether you order the plain version or the F version isn't a style choice. It's decided by the wall. If the pair sits in a rated corridor or a rated stair enclosure, the opening has to carry fire-rated hardware that self-closes and positive-latches, full stop. If the wall isn't rated, non-rated hardware is fine and usually easier to source. Check the door schedule or the label on the frame before you order, not after the pair is hung.

7110F-24-630 and 7120F-24-630

The 7110F-24-630 is Yale's Fire Rated Surface Vertical Rod Exit Device, the same face-mounted rod arrangement as the 7110, built for use on a rated opening. The 7120F-24-630 is the Fire Rated Concealed Vertical Rod Exit Device, the same hidden-rod layout as the 7120, also built for a rated opening. Order the F suffix whenever the pair goes into a rated wall, and don't substitute the non-rated part number to save a step or a few days of lead time. I've seen that swap get caught on a final fire inspection, and pulling installed hardware off a hung pair to correct it is a miserable way to spend an afternoon.

Ordering Both Leaves of the Pair

A pair means two doors, and on most rated pairs one leaf is active and one is inactive, though that depends on the frame and whether there's a mullion between them. Order both leaves in the same device family and the same finish. Mixing a surface rod device on one leaf and a concealed rod device on the other looks like a mistake on the punch list, because it is one. All four of these part numbers ship in Satin Stainless Steel from Yale, part of ASSA ABLOY, so finish matching at least isn't a variable you have to chase down separately.

Check hand and function against the actual door before you place the order, not against the plan set. Plan sets get revised late in a job and the hardware schedule doesn't always catch up. If you're pricing out the rest of the opening, the Yale hub carries the full 7000 Series and the trim that pairs with it. And if this opening might take a rim device instead, on a single door or a pair with a mullion, it's worth reading how the fire-rated rim device compares in the 7100 rim exit device piece before you commit to vertical rod. A rim device latches at one point instead of two, and it installs and services differently.

Common questions

Do I need vertical rod devices on a fire-rated pair, or will a rim device work?

A rated pair without a mullion between the two leaves generally needs vertical rod devices, because there's no center post for a rim device's strike to latch into. If the pair has a mullion, a rim device can work instead. See how the fire-rated rim device compares in the 7100 series piece linked above.

What's the actual difference between the 7110 and 7120 series?

The 7110 series runs its rods on the surface of the door, visible from head to sill. The 7120 series runs the same rods concealed inside the door edge. Both are available fire-rated (the F versions) or non-fire-rated in Yale's 7000 Series.

Which is easier to service, surface or concealed rod?

Surface rod is easier to service, because the whole rod run is exposed and you can inspect and adjust it without disassembling the door edge. Concealed rod protects the hardware from damage and tampering, but adjustments take more time and more teardown.

Do both doors in the pair need the F version?

Yes. If the opening sits in a rated wall, both leaves need fire-rated hardware, not just one. Match the F suffix on both the 7110F or 7120F, and match finish across the pair so the order doesn't come back mismatched.