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Quick Verdict

Kawneer entrances carry one of three devices. The 1686 is a concealed vertical rod device: rods and latches sit inside the lock stile and latch into the transom bar and threshold. The 1786 is a rim device: a 5/8-inch throw latch bolt in the housing catches a strike on the jamb or a removable mullion. The Paneline swaps the touchbar for a push panel. Identify by where the door latches, not by the bar: the 1686 and 1786 share one housing and one touchbar height. Order by device size (36, 42, or 48 for a 3'0", 3'6", or 4'0" leaf), handing from the push side (hinges on your right = RH/LHR), finish suffix (-17 clear, -40 dark bronze), and dogging (hex standard, CD for cylinder). Pairs of 1786s need the KW133487 removable mullion; pairs of 1686s do not. Either model electrifies with the KW133649 MEL kit and NP1 supply.

How to tell a Kawneer 1686 from a 1786 from a Paneline

Stand on the touchbar side, press the bar, and watch the door edge. On a 1686 nothing moves on the lock stile face: the top rod drops out of the transom bar and the bottom rod lifts clear of the threshold. On closing, the top rod releases first and frees the bottom rod to engage the threshold, so a 1686 relatching at the top but not the bottom needs rod adjustment, not a new latch. On a 1786, a 5/8-inch latch bolt in the rim of the housing at the lock-stile end swings clear of a strike on the jamb or on a mullion. On a Paneline, a push panel replaces the touchbar, with filler plates covering the stile faces it does not reach. Rim versus concealed vertical rod mechanics are covered in the exit device types comparison; this article stays on Kawneer.

The bar will not separate them: both use the same housing (3-3/16 inches high, 2-3/4 inches projection, 1-13/16 inches dogged) and the same 40-inch centerline from touchbar to bottom of door, inside the 34-to-48-inch band IBC and NFPA 101 set for panic hardware. Second check, the entrance series: Kawneer lists the 1686 for 190, 350, and 500 Standard, 350/500 IR, 350/500 Heavy Wall, 350/500 Heavy Wall IR, and AA 250/425 Thermal entrances, and the 1786 for the same series minus the IR variants, so an IR entrance is a 1686 by default. The 1686 listing also carries hurricane impact testing and Florida Product Approval; the 1786 listing does not, so an impact-rated Florida opening stays on the 1686.

Handing is read from the touchbar side: hinges on your right means RH/LHR, on your left LH/RHR. Kawneer sells RH and LHR as one device because both present the same geometry from the bar side (hinge right, latch left). Device size follows the nominal leaf width, 36 for 3'0", 42 for 3'6", 48 for 4'0", measured stile edge to stile edge.

Kawneer 1686 and 1786 part numbers decoded

The finish suffix is -17 for clear anodized aluminum and -40 for dark bronze. CD after the base number means cylinder dogging. Every 1686 needs a 1-5/32-inch diameter mortise 5-pin cylinder with trim for outside key access, not included. Kawneer calls both devices exclusive to Kawneer customers, meaning the preps match Kawneer stiles; NLS sells them online without a dealer account. The base 36-inch device is the KW133620 36-inch 1686 concealed exit device at about $554 at NLS; the base 48-inch rim device is the KW133582-17 48-inch 1786 rim exit device at about $621. Cylinder dogging roughly doubles the device price.

Hex dogging vs cylinder dogging: which Kawneer device a storefront needs

Dogging holds the latch retracted so the door works as a push/pull during trading hours. Both Kawneer devices dog at a single point in the housing; the standard unit dogs with a hex key, and the projection drops from 2-3/4 inches to 1-13/16 inches. Hex dogging costs nothing extra, but any hex key on any truck dogs any door; cylinder dogging ties dogging to the building's key system, so only the manager's key opens the storefront for the day. Specify CD on retail entrances dogged daily by staff, and on multi-tenant lobbies where each tenant should dog only its own door. Keep hex on back-of-house doors dogged a few times a year.

CD is a device-level option, not a field kit, so it is decided at order time: the KW133622CD 42-inch 1686 with cylinder dogging at about $1,146 at NLS covers the concealed rod door, and the KW133581CD covers the 42-inch rim door. Plan on a separate mortise cylinder for the dogging position unless the listing says otherwise, keyed alike with the outside cylinder. Where a schedule should decide when the door is free, the MEL retrofit below replaces the hex-key routine with a timer.

Electrifying a Kawneer exit device: the KW133649 MEL retrofit

The KW133649 manual-to-MEL conversion turns an installed 1686 or 1786 into a motor electric latch retraction device: on signal, a motor pulls the rim bolt or both rods and the door works as a push/pull until the signal drops. Egress never depends on power: the touchbar retracts the latch mechanically, motor energized or dead, so the MEL is fail-secure by nature. The kit is about $2,091 at NLS and requires Kawneer's NP1 power supply (part 050419), sold separately; put both on the same PO.

Entry comes from a card reader, keypad, or intercom relay closing the retraction circuit; a timed unlock during business hours is the electric equivalent of dogging. A request-to-exit device is not needed to let people out, but it still shunts the door-position alarm on a monitored door. The NP1 is Kawneer's matched supply for the motor; size the rest of the opening with the access control power supply guide. Frame-to-door wiring needs an electric power transfer or a door loop on the pivot side.

MEL is the only electrified path for a 1686, whose rods latch into the transom bar and threshold where no electric strike can live. A single 1786 has a cheaper option: a surface-mounted rim electric strike in place of the jamb strike, sized in the HES electric strike model guide. On a 1786 pair latching to a mullion, ask the desk whether the mullion accepts a surface strike; otherwise the MEL is the route.

Pairs, removable mullions, Paneline filler plates, and pull/push packages

A pair of 1686s needs no mullion: each leaf latches to the transom bar and threshold, and the clear opening stays clear. A pair of 1786s must latch to something between the leaves: the KW133487 removable mullion assembly, a 96-inch mullion for doors up to 8 feet, shipped with adaptor plate, top and bottom brackets, stabilizers, and fasteners. The rim strike mounts on the mullion; lift it out for the full opening. Loose stabilizers are the usual reason a 1786 pair bounces off its strikes; tighten them before condemning the latch.

The Paneline parts sold online at NLS are filler plates, sized by door width and stile: the KW233495 is the 42-inch pivot stile plate and the KW233457-17 the 48-inch lock side plate in clear. Filler plates and the rest of the small parts for all three devices sit in the Kawneer parts and accessories category; for a complete Paneline device or its mechanism, call the desk with width, stile side, and finish.

Non-panic doors in the same entrance, vestibule and inactive leaves in particular, take Kawneer's Arch Classic trim: the KW137700 package pairs a CO-9 pull with a CP-II push bar and fasteners for a single-acting 3'0" door, in -17 or -40.

Repair, replace, or switch brands on a Kawneer stile

Repair first when the housing is intact. The 1686 adjusts its rods without removing the panel, so a door relatching at one end only is a ten-minute adjustment, and a threshold pocket packed with grit explains more "broken bottom latches" than any part order. The 1786 mostly needs strike alignment and tight mullion stabilizers. Replace the device when the housing is cracked, the rods are bent, the dogging will not hold, or the door needs CD; retrofit with the MEL kit when the requirement is electric.

Switching brands is a prep question. The 1686 is built around the Kawneer stile and its transom bar and threshold latching; another brand's concealed rod device does not drop into a 1686 prep or carry the Florida approval with it. A rim door is more forgiving: a narrow-stile rim device from another line fits an aluminum lock stile with its own prep, and the Von Duprin part numbers guide decodes those options. Where the occupancy does not require panic hardware, a storefront deadlock and paddle is the cheaper opening; the Adams Rite MS1850 vs MS1890 guide covers that decision. Keep Kawneer when the entrance is Kawneer, the prep exists, the pair relies on mullion-free 1686 latching, or the opening is impact-rated.

Common mistakes when ordering Kawneer exit device parts

1. A pair of 1786 rim devices without the KW133487 removable mullion: two rim bolts facing an open gap latch to nothing.

2. Handing from the outside instead of the touchbar side (hinges on your right = RH/LHR).

3. The KW133649 MEL kit without the NP1 power supply, which is required and sold separately.

4. Sizing from the glass instead of the leaf. Device size follows the nominal leaf width, stile edge to stile edge.

5. A 1786 on an impact-rated Florida opening. The impact test and Florida Product Approval sit on the 1686 listing.

6. No finish suffix on the part number. -17 is clear, -40 is dark bronze.

7. No 1-5/32-inch mortise 5-pin cylinder with trim on a 1686 order, leaving the outside without a keyway.

8. Hex dogging on a daily-dogged retail door. Cylinder dogging survives the third lost hex key.

FAQ

Can I install a non-Kawneer exit device on a Kawneer door? On a rim application, yes, with that manufacturer's narrow-stile prep and strike. On a concealed vertical rod application, the 1686 prep and its impact approval are Kawneer-specific: a different CVR device means a new prep and no Florida approval.

What cylinder does the Kawneer 1686 take? A 1-5/32-inch diameter mortise 5-pin cylinder with trim, ordered separately. Key it alike with the dogging cylinder on CD versions.

If power fails on a MEL door, is anyone trapped? No. The touchbar retracts the latch mechanically regardless of power; the door only stops unlocking from outside until power returns.

Does a pair of Kawneer doors need a mullion? A pair of 1686s does not, because each leaf latches to the transom bar and threshold. A pair of 1786s does: the KW133487 removable mullion assembly fits doors up to 8 feet.

What do -17 and -40 mean on a Kawneer part number? -17 is clear anodized aluminum, -40 is dark bronze, on devices, filler plates, and Arch Classic packages alike.

Next step

Match the door to a part number in the tables, then order it from the Kawneer exit devices category, or go straight to the KW133581CD 42-inch 1786 rim device with cylinder dogging for the rim door dogged every morning. Add the mortise cylinder, and the NP1 supply with any MEL kit, on the same PO. Orders placed before 3:00 p.m. EST ship the same day by UPS or FedEx from Brooklyn, NY, ground shipping is free at $450 and up, and stock items return within 30 days in saleable, uninstalled condition (15% restocking, 25% on lock parts). For a Paneline mechanism, a mullion question, or an unlisted size, call the commercial desk at 718-814-6300 with the entrance series, leaf width, hinge side from the touchbar, and finish.