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How to adjust a door closer

Updated: October 2026

The door either bangs into the frame or stops short of the latch, and the two screws on the closer look the same. How to adjust a door closer depends on which machine you fitted. An overhead hydraulic closer has a sweep speed and a latch speed. A surface spring has tension, and that is a different screw. This page is the order to use on a closer you already own. The listings behind our [door closer comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-closer) supply the examples. Peter F. used those amazon.co.uk notes and public UK fitting guidance, not a lab adjustment. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The door either bangs into the frame or stops short of the latch, and the two screws on the closer look the same. How to adjust a door closer depends on which machine you fitted.

Our top picks

Onarway Onarway hydraulic door closer

Best overall

Onarway Onarway hydraulic door closer
7.4/10about £23.19
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Offfay Offfay roller-arm door closer

Best value

Offfay Offfay roller-arm door closer
6.4/10about £8.50
View offer
Carlisle Brass Carlisle Brass CDG003 overhead door closer

Rank 3

Carlisle Brass Carlisle Brass CDG003 overhead door closer
8.5/10about £15.12
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Sweep and latch are different
  2. 2.A spring closer is not those valves
  3. 3.Fit it the right way up before you adjust it
  4. 4.Stop when the door still will not shut

Sweep and latch are different

On an overhead hydraulic closer the sweep valve sets the long travel, and the latch valve sets the last few degrees. Backcheck, where fitted, is not the cure for a slam. MB Direct’s usual direction is clockwise to slow and anti-clockwise to speed up, a quarter turn at a time. A door that bangs from about 80° needs the sweep slowed first. The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers’ check is an open of about 70°, and a latch from a small gap as well as from fully open. About 25 seconds for a full close is good practice, not a house stopwatch. Two-valve kits are on the best overhead door closer page.

A spring closer is not those valves

A surface spring, including Burg-Wächter, Offfay and PCKOBEVER, only has tension. Offfay is the best value for a light non-fire door. More tension on a door that slams usually makes the bang worse. A slack coil cannot be oiled back to life, and soft screws need better screws. For a flat entrance, leave the coil and read hydraulic door closer vs spring.
Onarway Onarway hydraulic door closer

Testsieger

Onarway Onarway hydraulic door closer
7.4/10about £23.19
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Fit it the right way up before you adjust it

A closer fitted upside down is not an adjustment. Reviewers of the Carlisle, the comparison’s top pick, describe that mistake, and instructions that left clockwise ambiguous. Refit to the template, Fig. 1 or the parallel arm, before you chase the speed. Non-handed means left or right swing, not every architrave. Onarway reviewers who unscrewed an adjuster describe oil spraying out. A refill did not restore the closer. Quarter turns, with the screw still seated, are the householder’s range.

Stop when the door still will not shut

Dropped hinges, a binding leaf, a swollen seal or a proud latch will stop a sound closer. If you have to lean on the door halfway open, stop turning valves. Where Approved Document M volume 2 applies, do not wind a closer fierce: the limits are 30 N and then 22.5 N. A flat-entrance door that will not latch from fully open and from a small gap needs a competent person. The shut test is on the fire door closer page. If oil is already out, replace the closer.

Common questions

Which screw changes the closing speed?
On a typical overhead hydraulic closer, the sweep valve sets the long travel from open towards the frame. It is separate from the latch valve, which only covers the last few degrees. Turn it about a quarter turn, shut the door from fully open, and watch the middle of the swing before you touch the other screw. If your closer has a single tension nut, you do not have this valve. That nut changes the whole pull at once.
Which screw makes the door latch?
The latch valve, where the closer has two hydraulic screws, sets the final few degrees so the latch clicks. Speeding the sweep may make the door reach the frame by crashing. Speeding only the latch a fraction lets the leaf arrive slowly and then finish. MB Direct’s usual direction is clockwise to slow and anti-clockwise to speed. There is no universal two-turns-out setting, because the door and the latch change the result.
What if oil comes out?
Stop, and replace the closer. Onarway reviews describe oil spraying when the adjuster is unscrewed, and a refill that did not bring the damping back. Do not top the body up, and do not screw the valve fully out to find the leak. A closer without its oil no longer checks the close. If this is a fire door, a leaking closer has failed the job even if the door happens to shut once. Fit a replacement before you adjust anything else.
How do I adjust a spring closer rather than a hydraulic one?
You change spring tension, usually on the arm or the coil, and you test whether a light door now reaches the latch without a bang. You cannot set sweep and latch as two speeds. If the spring has weakened, or the case has split, tension will not restore it, and there is no oil to add. Soft fixing screws need better screws, not more coil force. Keep this for a light door that is not a fire door. A slam means the spring is the wrong machine.
Why does the door still not latch?
The closer may be doing its job while the door is not free to move. Dropped hinges, a binding edge, a swollen seal, or a strike that misses the latch will stop the leaf short. Open it halfway with the arm disconnected, if you can do that safely, and see whether it swings on its own. A quarter turn cannot repair that. On a fire door, stop and get a competent person rather than adding force.

Related pages

Door closer buying guide

Door closer

Best overhead door closer: the pick and who to skip

Fire door closer: the shut test, size and hold-open

Hydraulic door closer vs spring: checked or tugged

Sources

Public UK guidance and trade sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures dated 19 October 2026. A listing claim of EN 1154 or Certifire is not treated as a certificate for your door.

  1. GOV.UK: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, fire door guidance (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Approved Document M, volume 2 (2024 amendments) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Code of Practice: hardware for fire and escape doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Hoppe: BS EN 1154 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. GAI door closer safety checklist (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Fire Protection Association: do fire doors need to be self-closing? (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Intertek: EN 1154 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. MB Direct: how to adjust the speed of a door closer (retrieved 19 October 2026)