Von Duprin Outdoor Defense (OUT) Exit Devices: What OUT, CD, LD and WH Mean on a 98 or 99 Rim Device

The panic device on a roof door or a courtyard gate has rusted, and the Von Duprin replacement you found has extra letters in its number, such as CD-OUT-98DT-626-36, or WH and RHR at the end. OUT is the Outdoor Defense option on Von Duprin 98 and 99 exit devices. The letters around it tell you how the device is dogged and whether its case has drainage holes.

What Von Duprin says Outdoor Defense is for

According to Von Duprin's Outdoor Defense cut sheet, the OUT option "is designed to safeguard against moisture, temperature variations, and corrosion in exterior applications." The product page names courtyards, perimeter security, rooftops and patios. The price book adds a limit in its own entry: the option is for exit devices used in outdoor environments, within the testing parameters.

There is no industry approved certification for outdoor exit hardware, the cut sheet notes, so it lists the tests instead. Each one refers to sections of UL294 and UL1034:

• Temperature: -31 F (-35 C) to 151 F (66 C)
• Moisture: rain at 4.8 gallons per minute
• Corrosion: salt fog (salt spray)
• Dust

Von Duprin's Outdoor Defense FAQ is plain about the limits. The product "is not designed to be sealed from water or debris," and components "may exhibit some corrosion, discoloration, or wear over time depending upon severity of the environment."

How to read CD-OUT-98DT-626-36

In the ordering chart of Von Duprin's 98/99 catalog, OUT sits in the prefix field in front of the device number, next to dogging prefixes such as CD and LD.

Our item numbers give the length in inches, 36 or 48, where Von Duprin writes 3 ft or 4 ft. Device types are explained in our exit device types guide.

Hex key dogging comes standard on 98/99 rim panic devices. CD replaces it with cylinder dogging, which needs a standard 1-1/4 inch mortise cylinder with an inverted straight cam. LD, less dogging, removes the dogging option altogether. A panic device number with neither prefix, such as OUT-99NL-626-36, keeps the standard hex key dogging. Von Duprin offers CD and LD on panic devices. Dogging on standard 98/99 devices, with the cylinder and the field conversion kits, is covered in our Von Duprin strikes and dogging guide. Those kits are standard 98/99 parts; for an OUT device, see what Von Duprin says about service kits further down.

WH weep holes, and why RHR or LHR appears

WH is a suffix for weep holes. The price book describes them as drainage holes in the mechanism case, spaced 6 inches apart, with more holes on a 4 ft device than on a 3 ft one, and says they are only available with the Outdoor Defense option.

WH also brings a hand into the number. The catalog describes the 98/99 rim device as non-handed except when special dogging (SD), a double cylinder (-2 or -2SI) or the signal switch (SS) is used, and for WH the price book says device handing must be specified. So an exit-only device with weep holes still carries RHR or LHR, as in CD-OUT-98EO-626-36 WH RHR. In our item numbers, lever devices end with the hand and the lever design, as in CD-OUT-99L-626-36 RHR-06, where 06 is Von Duprin's standard lever. Our door handing chart explains RHR and LHR.

Devices, functions, lengths and finishes with OUT

The cut sheet lists Outdoor Defense for rim, surface vertical rod (98/9927) and concealed vertical rod (98/9947) devices, mechanical and electrified, and for the 33A/35A Series as well. Its rating line lists both fire exit hardware and panic hardware, and the cut sheet adds that specifications and certifications are specific to each configuration. The rim lengths match the standard rim device: 3 ft for doors 2 ft 4 in to 3 ft wide, 4 ft for doors 2 ft 10 in to 4 ft wide.

For functions the cut sheet answers in one line: "If compatible with models today, compatible with Outdoor Defense." The function letters and the trim each one comes with are in our Von Duprin exit device trim guide.

Finish needs a closer look. The price book and the FAQ list Outdoor Defense in 619, 622, 625, 626, 628, 630 and 710. The cut sheet shows six finishes, with matte black marked 622/711 and no 710. On the catalog's rim device page, 619 and 630 are available with the 98 Series only. Our finish codes chart translates the numbers.

Electrified options get their own OUT prefixes in the price book, such as OUT-QEL (quiet electric latch retraction), OUT-ALK (alarmed exit) and OUT-CX (controlled or delayed egress). The waterproof request to exit switch, WP-RX, is only available with Outdoor Defense.

What OUT is not

OUT is not a storm rating. The price book lists hurricane options under a separate heading, Storm Rating, with prefixes such as HH (wind and impact) and HW (wind only).

It is not pool exit hardware either. According to the FAQ, Von Duprin designed its pool exit hardware against the high-pressure bleach used in some pool applications, and Outdoor Defense against outdoor moisture, temperature changes and corrosion.

Parts, identification and care

To tell whether the device already on the door is an Outdoor Defense unit, the FAQ points to a laser etched icon on the cover. On parts it is cautious: service kits for Outdoor Defense devices are expected to be extremely limited, and any kit Von Duprin offers will have part numbers different from the standard 98/99 option kits. The Outdoor Defense options themselves are only available on devices ordered with OUT.

Care still matters outdoors. The FAQ recommends proper installation and maintenance, with inspection, greasing and routine cycling, and notes that an overhang or canopy limiting direct exposure increases the product's longevity. It also requires electrical connections to be sealed and protected from the elements.

Von Duprin rim devices at The Builders Supply

The Outdoor Defense devices shown under this post are in our Rim Exit Devices category, and the Von Duprin brand page lists the rest of the brand. Installation documents for 98/99 devices are listed in our Von Duprin 98/99 installation instructions guide.

Have the full number from the old device at hand when you call. Our customer support team is available Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM Central Time, at 1-888-800-7789 or [email protected].