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Self closing gate spring: which tensioner to buy

Updated: 23 October 2026

A courier who leaves the side gate open, and a bedroom door that will not stay shut, are not the same purchase. A self closing gate spring is a coil that pulls a gate into a latch you already have. A door closer is a different object, often with a printed weight, and sometimes with a line about fire doors. This page is the decision. The [Door tensioner](/hub/diy-supplies/door-tensioner) comparison holds the nine amazon.co.uk listings, the star lines, and the prices in GBP. Peter F. read those listings on 22 October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

A courier who leaves the side gate open, and a bedroom door that will not stay shut, are not the same purchase. A self closing gate spring is a coil that pulls a gate into a latch you already have.

Our top picks

Weielt Weielt 14 inch gate spring

Best overall

Weielt Weielt 14 inch gate spring
8.8/10about £12.99
View offer
XFORT XFORT concealed chain closer

Best value

XFORT XFORT concealed chain closer
8.2/10about £10.99
View offer
Yale Yale P-YSMDC-PC, chrome

Alternative

Yale Yale P-YSMDC-PC, chrome
8.2/10about £15.36
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the job, not the word tensioner
  2. 2.A coil spring is a gate product
  3. 3.Internal doors use a closer, and the listings are not equal
  4. 4.A fire door is not a fifth option on this page

Start with the job, not the word tensioner

The search phrase covers four jobs, and only one of them is a garden gate. If the leaf is a wooden side gate or front gate that already meets a latch, you want a coil. If it is an ordinary internal door that is not a fire door, you want a closer the listing limits to internal use. If the door is heavier and you want separate closing and latching speeds, you are looking at an overhead closer, not a peg spring. A motorhome fly-screen wants its own unit and a mounting face, not a gate post. Mixing those jobs is how a 14 inch spring ends up on a flat entrance.

A coil spring is a gate product

A self closing gate spring in this set is 8 inch or 14 inch. There is no 10 inch coil, even though UK trade pages treat 10 inch as the step between them. If you have been told to buy 10 inch, you will not find that length here. The failure that matters on a gate is the peg, not the paint colour. On the black Infinity Decor 8 inch spring, UK reviews talk about pegs that can fly out and a close one buyer called too slow for a dog. The galvanised twin has no customer-review line. Treat it as an unreviewed finish, not as a cure for those pegs. None of the coils prints a kilogram rating. Dogs and wind are on the self closing garden gate page.
Weielt Weielt 14 inch gate spring

Testsieger

Weielt Weielt 14 inch gate spring
8.8/10about £12.99
View offer

Internal doors use a closer, and the listings are not equal

An ordinary internal door that is not a fire door is where the closers belong. The XFORT concealed chain is for internal doors up to 50 kg. The bullet says it is not for fire doors, even though a specification field mentions fire safety standards. Follow the bullet. If you cannot drill the edge, skip it. The Yale surface closers say up to 50 kg and cite BS EN 1634-1, and neither prints an EN 1154 power size. They mount to a jamb, a poor match for a garden gate. The Yale P-2002 prints size 3 as 60 kg and size 4 as 80 kg, with separate closing and latching speeds, and no BS EN 1634-1 sentence. Six ratings do not outrank a coil with 419. The fly-screen unit is a mounting-face job, not a garden spring.

A fire door is not a fifth option on this page

If the leaf is already a fire door, do not add a coil and do not treat adjustable tensioner as permission. The coils print no power size. The XFORT bullet says not for fire doors. The Yale surface closers cite BS EN 1634-1 and do not print an EN 1154 size. In England, residents are told not to tamper with the closer. The check and what to report are on the fire door self closer page.

Common questions

Is a gate spring the same thing as a door closer?
No. A self closing gate spring here is a coil with pins, sold for gates, fences and wooden doors, and none of those listings prints a kilogram rating. A door closer in the same set is a concealed chain, a surface spring closer, or an overhead closer, and those pages do print a weight, from 50 kg up to 80 kg on the Yale P-2002. A coil does not become a closer because the title says tensioner.
When is 8 inch enough, and when do UK reviews reach for 14 inch?
On the black 8 inch listing, one UK review called the close too slow for a dog, and others describe pegs that can fly out. Couriers, dogs and wind show up most often on the 14 inch Weielt reviews. Eight inch can be enough for a light gate that already latches and is not fighting a strong wind. Fourteen inch is what reviewers reached for when the gate was being left open. Length is not a measured closing time.
Why is there no 10 inch spring in this comparison?
Trade pages treat 10 inch as a stock length. TATE Fencing prices 8 inch and 10 inch closers together, and Eliza Tinsley lists a 10 inch spring at £9.95. This amazon.co.uk set has 8 inch and 14 inch coils only. If you have been told to buy 10 inch, that size is a gap, not a hidden row. Do not stretch an 8 inch spring and call it 10 inch.
Can the white or chrome Yale closer go on a garden gate?
The Yale P-YSMDC listings are surface closers for light to medium internal doors up to 50 kg. They mount to a door and a frame, not to a gate post and a gate rail. Use a coil for the gate. The surface closer is the alternative when you want a closer on an ordinary internal door and you do not want to drill the door edge for a concealed chain.
What should you buy if the door is a fire door?
Nothing from the coil end of this set, and not the XFORT closer, whose own bullet says it is not for fire doors. The surface closers do not print an EN 1154 power size, and the P-2002 does not print a fire-test sentence. In England, do not tamper with the closer that is already fitted. If it fails a simple release check, report it rather than adding a second device from this comparison.

Related pages

Best gate spring closer

Fire door self closer

Door tensioner

Self closing garden gate spring for dogs and the wind

How to fit a gate spring: handing, peg and tension

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listings for these ASINs. Updated 22.10.2026.

  1. GOV.UK fire door guidance (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Door and Hardware Federation, power size note (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. BSI, BS EN 1154:1997 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. RoSPA Play Safety, gates (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Carlisle Brass fitting note FITCB0217 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. TATE Fencing gate spring closer (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 22.10.2026)