Why are your windowsills called Crystallit?

Where did this name come from?

The name of the window sill came for a good reason. We have incorporated in it our admiration for the noble shine of the material. The glossy sheen caused the associations with the gems sparkling and crystals glistening. At the same time, we wanted to move away from the current market trend to give the product pseudo-German names. Thus was born the brand Crystallit.

During its short existence, Crystallit has already gone through slight restyling. This is primarily due to the difference in the spelling and pronunciation of the name in Russian. Crystallit insisted on double LL. There was some confusion in the minds and writing. Now we confidently say that in both Latin and Russian layout Crystallit is written with double L (LL). At the same time, the old name still continues to exist in the market until total displacement by the double L.

logo Crystallit

Are there any special installation requirements for Crystallit sills?

Crystallit sill requires no special installation conditions. Moreover, it is equipped with all the necessary elements for high quality installation. It is mounted as a normal plastic windowsill. The only exception may be a sealant recommended for the aesthetic treatment of the sill joints with a window profile. The manufacturer also offers decorative covers of all relevant colors for the decoration of the sill cuttings and end connectors for corner installation or the sill length expansion. The main thing in this case are the skillful hands of the installing master.

 

What is the “Useful lifetime of up to 70 years”? 
How do you measure this
?

It is quite a reasonable and frequently asked question. Indeed, how could you measure the operational lifetime of the product, which has been produced just two years ago? To do this, we conducted a variety of experiments, tests, inspections for compliance with various product requirements. Crystallit sills passed all the necessary standardization stages and comply with the GOST requirements. But the manufacturer went even further. The windowsills are being tested at the factory, over and over going through the testing of their durability, resistance to temperature, wear strength and so on. One of the devices, especially created in the quality laboratory of GC “Vitrage”, is testing the sills for “longevity”. The chamber, into which a sample of a Crystallit sill is placed, creates conditions for the so-called accelerated aging, and one day is equivalent to approximately one year. A few days later, the sample is taken out with further measurement of all its basic parameters. Thus, it was found that proper maintenance allows Crystallit serving the home owners for at least 70 years.

Crystallit Quality Laboratory: accelerated aging chamber Measurement of one of the parameters after the tests – “gloss” checking
Испытания подоконника Crystallit Тестирование поверхности Crystallit

 

You offer finishing caps for window sills made of the ABS-plastic. What is this material?

All accessories for Crystallit sills – caps and end connectors – are made ​​of high quality ABS-plastic. The main properties of this material for our accessories are high strength and the ability to maintain color. Probably, you already know the look of plastic with faded color, yellowed or the one that has lost its beauty. The same happens with accessories for conventional plastic window sills. The ABS-Formula resists aggressive influences to the maximum extent. We meet such plastic daily. It is used for making the objects, parts and elements, which are required supposed to maintain their appearance for a long time, like: car dashboards and radiators, plastic suitcases, housing of household appliances, plumbing items, children’s toys.

 

Crystallit accessories, made ​​of ABS-plastic ABS-plastic is used where strength and beauty are a must
Комплектующие Crystallit АБС-пластик

 

 

I heard that it is impossible to scratch your sills. 
Is it true
?

It is not true! You can scratch almost everything. It is a matter of materials, tools and the power of impact. If you are going to check the level of “non-scratching ability” of a newly installed Crystallit window sill with a knife or a nail, then you will succeed – you will spoil your windowsill! Just as you would have messed up the lacquer surface of a piano lid, polished tabletop of a dressing table or the shiny layer of an acrylic bathtub, acting with the same tools. By declaring an increased abrasion resistance, we say that the surface of Crystallit sill is much more resistant to various influences than the surface of a conventional PVC window sill.

Sills in our homes may also be used as a flower garden with heavy pots, or as a viewing platform for the beloved dog, and as a stand for the kitchen appliances. In any case, to extend the life of the beautiful thing, we have to take care about it!

 

What is the difference between a Crystallit sill and a simple window sill, 
laminated by the plastic windows sellers
?

If you briefly look through the information on the website, you will already have the answer. And yet, we will try to explain the difference.

To give color to the plastic window frames, they are laminated with a special film. Often, the same film is used for coating a conventional PVC window sill and reveals. Despite the fact that coating Crystallit window sill with the film is also called lamination, our window sill is fundamentally different from the “simple” window sill. First of all, the base is different. It is thicker and stronger. Secondly, the coating film itself is made ​​by a different technology and therefore is more resistant. Thirdly, Crystallit is manufactured at the factory, which specializes in the manufacture of window sills for 15 years. The surface of Crystallit is treated using a costly polishing equipment and is thoroughly cleaned from the smallest particles of dust before the film application. Palette of decors is designed for possible color frames. While as the sill is usually cheaper than a “simple” film-laminated window sill. The choice is obvious in this case!

How are Crystallit sills different from other gloss coated sills?

Let us agree that we are discussing only the plastic window sills.

Today, three plants are engaged in the production of gloss coated plastic sills, two of which are located on the territory of Russia, and one – in Ukraine. It is much easier to say, what unites these sills, because everything else is the differences between them.

So, all manufacturers use high-quality acrylic film ELESGO to cover the plastic sill base. The uniqueness of this material lies in the fact that it consists of five different layers, interconnected by an innovative technology. The film allows the surface of the gloss coated windowsills differ quite much from the surface of conventional PVC window sills by all parameters.

And here come the differences: all glossy plastic window sills vary by their plastic base, their production technology, strength characteristics, nose form, decor options and cost. It should be noted that nowadays the manufacturer Crystallit is virtually out of the competition, offering 27 choices of matte, glossy, and designer decor; having developed an enhanced base, overcoming the GOST standards and making its products available in almost the entire European part of Russia and part of Siberia.

The same film is used for the production of glossy plastic window sills Crystallit is recognizable. Reinforced base and variety of decors
Структура плёнки Elesgo Crystallit в разрезе

 

My plastic windows and sills are 10 years old. The sills are in a miserable condition. May I replace them without having to replace the windows?
Or I will have to change it all together?

There is an opinion that the procedure for the sill replacement is very troublesome, if not almost impossible. This is probably due to the idea that the window and the window sill are a single whole, inseparable system installed once and for all. You’ve spent so much effort to replace the windows, that when it comes to thinking about changing the window sill, even if it is spoiled, you get terrified. However, things are not so bad! Sill may be replaced quite easily, because it is independent from the window. To get started, try to assess what losses you will incur through dismantling the window sill. Most likely, it will result in a damaged joint with gypsum reveals, damaged wallpaper under the windowsill, fallen or cracked plastic reveals. Though, there is a possibility that the dismantling procedure will turn to be a painless one, and everything will remain intact, requiring only cosmetic touch-up painting and gluing.

To assess all the “risks”, we recommend that You contact any window company in your city. Then there will be little left to do: to chose and install a window sill from the ones, proposed by Crystallit.

What are the environmental characteristics of Crystallit sills?
What is the temperature range they are designed for?
What are their performance characteristics?

Crystallit sills withstand high loads, extreme temperatures, and successfully resist chemical influence. It’s true. However, Crystallit is created as a window sill, so the main performance characteristics applicable to it are all the characteristics that we have for the window sills in our house. Due to its durability, it can be used as a small threshold at the balcony. Thanks to the beauty and variety of decors – as additional shelves or worktops. But the main purpose of Crystallit is to be a window sill. Moreover, having passed a multi-stage standardization and certification system, our window sills were given the right to be installed in the children’s and medical institutions, which in itself is a guarantee of security and ecological safety. If we add to this the care for the environment, which is incorporated in every stage of Crystallit production, it is fair to say that this window-sill is twice eco-friendly.

Crystallit is recommended for installation in children’s and medical institutions as threshold Crystallit may be used as a threshold
Подоконник Crystallit Подоконник Crystallit

Are there any special installation requirements for Crystallit sills?

Crystallit sill does not require any special installation conditions. Moreover, it is equipped with all the necessary elements for a high quality installation. It is mounted as a conventional plastic windowsill. The manufacturing plant also offers decorative covers of all relevant colors for the decoration of the sill cuts and end connectors for corner installation or sill length expansion. The main thing in this case are the skilful hands of the installing master.

 

What temperatures are Crystallit sills designed for? 
Various sources provide various figures.

Once again, it should be noted that window sills should be used as window sills. They are not an ironing board and not a stand under the grill. In case of Crystallit sills, we are dealing with two dimensions: the ability to withstand high temperatures of plastic base of the sill and of its coverage. Elesgo film adequately withstands exposure to temperatures of 120 degrees Celsius. However, the plastic base of the sill begins to deteriorate under a prolonged exposure to 75 degrees Celsius. These measurements meet the GOST standards.

In other words, Your windowsill will not be affected, if you place on it a cup of freshly poured boiling water. But if you leave on the windowsill a pan with freshly prepared hot meal and leave it standing there for 15 minutes – the basis of your window sill begins to deform with no possibility for recovery.

If we talk about negative temperatures, we recommend that you do not install very dark decors on the outside. Heating under the bright winter sun with the subsequent strong cooling may also deform the basis under the film Elesgo. White, fair-colored decors of average brightness are not influenced by negative temperatures!

 

Crystallit withstands boiling Moisture poured into a cup Crystallit quality laboratory: heat resistance test of the base
Кружка на подоконнике Crystallit Термошкаф

 

Why does the color of the plastic sill base differ? 
Even on your site it varies from pure white
 to yellowish gray.

For the production of window sills, Crystallit uses only high-quality raw materials. Possible color difference of the base is caused by the fact that the additives, supplied for the company (made in the USA, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Ukraine), vary in color – sometimes reddish, sometimes – grayish. For example, they are especially painted in white (“bleached”) for window profiles. But color is not crucial for the production of window sills base, since we cover it with Elesgo film. The color difference does not affect the quality of Crystallit window sill, it only demonstrates the use of various incoming raw materials.

 

Crystallit base component produced in Russia Crystallit base component produced in Hungary Crystallit base component produced in Germany
Подоконник Crystalit Подоконник Crystalit Подоконник Crystalit

 

И всё-таки почему я должен переплачивать за простой подоконник,
не видя особой разницы?

Вы правы: очевидная разница только в глянцевой поверхности, форме носика и, если сумеете оценить, в более толстых стенках основы. Остальные характеристики Вы сможете испытать только в процессе эксплуатации подоконника Crystallit. Но чтобы ответить на Ваш вопрос, мы воспользуемся, возможно, не очень корректным, но весьма показательным примером:

Многие из нас покупают автомобили, при этом отдавая предпочтение иномаркам. Мы понимаем, что, заплатив больше, покупаем качество, комфорт, набор дополнительных опций, более долгий срок работы машины и, в конце концов, своё спокойствие. Мы могли бы купить просто что-то, “что бы ездило”, но делаем иной выбор.

Тема выбора подоконника домой может показаться неактуальной, но в России существует много производств подоконной доски, и данный товар имеет достаточно большой оборот. По прикидкам,  только в России подоконник производят более 10 компаний и выбор достаточно огромен. Дабы не проверять все производимые подоконники мы решили остановиться на подоконниках премиум класса, что в последнее время является новинкой. Во-первых, при выборе хорошего подоконника потребитель будет останавливать выбор именно на них, во-вторых, они обладают так сказать повышенным качеством и улучшенными характеристика, что и хотелось бы проверить, и в третьих выбор компаний, производимых данный подоконник, ограничивается всего тремя.  Их производят несколько компаний:

Still, why should I pay more for a simple window sill, not seeing much of a difference?

You are right: the obvious difference lies only in the glossy surface, the nose shape and, if you can assess, the thicker walls of the base. Other characteristics may only be evaluated while you are using Crystallit sills. But to answer your question, we will use, probably not a very correct, but a very telling example:

Many of us buy vehicles and give our preference to foreign cars. We understand that by paying more we buy quality, comfort, a set of additional options, a longer term of the vehicle operation and, eventually, our own peace of mind. We could just buy something, that would “transport us”, but we make a different choice.

The issue of choosing a sill for your house might seem irrelevant, but there are many window sill productions in Russia, and this product has a fairly large turnover. According to estimates, more than 10 companies only in Russia produce the windowsills, and the choice is huge. To avoid looking through all window sills produced, we decided to keep to premium class windowsills, which is a novelty in these latter days. Firstly, when choosing a good sill, consumer will stop his choice namely on these ones, and secondly, they are deemed to have improved quality and characteristics that we would like to check, and thirdly, the choice of companies that produce such windowsills, is limited to just three. They are manufactured by few companies:

  1. Sills by Möller.

The company Möller GMBH & Co.KG (Moeller) was founded in 1947 in Germany. 
Möller sills are well known in Russia as premium products. They are manufactured using a unique technology, owned by our company only.

Previously, the production was located in Germany, but now all the products for the Russian market are produced by the plant, located near Moscow, in Mytishchi.

 

меллер[1]

 

 

  1. Sills by Danke.

    DANKE is a brand f the Ukrainian production company “Jupiter-2003”.This is a steadily growing company that has gained a reputation of a reliable manufacturer in the building and finishing materials market.
    PVC window sills are produced at high-tech equipment (production – Germany), while as the Russian experts provide thorough control of product parameters and quality at all stages of manufacturing.
    The sills have a special original patented design that provides improved strength of the window sills and their low weight. In addition to the strength, the construction protects the sill from the material shrinkage, which is a common problem of PVC products.

The manufacturing plant is located in Ukraine.

 

 

  1. Sills by Crystallit

    “Crystallit” Ltd. is one of the companies of the GC “Vitrage”, the Russian leader in the PVC products market.
    The scope of the company is the sale of sills by Crystallit brand.
    The warehouse complex of “Crystallit” Ltd. Company is located in the Moscow region, Solnechnogorsk district, Durykino village.
    The window sills Crystallit have passed Russian and European certification, meet all safety and environmental standards. The production is fully automated by the equipment of such famous European companies, as “Technoplast”, “Krauss Maffei”, and “MHF”. Full production orientation for the manufacture of sills guarantees the execution of the order of the required quantity and quality on time, without a delay.

As mentioned above, the production is located in the Moscow region, not far from Zelenograd.

In the table below we have collected the stated specifications of the window sill, taken from websites of manufacturers.

 

 

 

Stated specifications Measuring unit Möller Danke Crystallit
Sill thickness mm 22 Not indicated 20
Horizontal walls thickness mm 3 Not indicated 3
Vertical walls thickness mm 2,2 Not indicated 1.5
Drop-nose height mm 30 Not indicated 40
Sill weight kg/m² 10 Not indicated Not indicated
PVC quantity in the composition % 70 Not indicated Not indicated
Resistance to scratching N 5 High resistance High resistance
Resistance to chemicals level 5 Resistance to chemicals Resistance to stains
Bending strength kg 428 Not indicated Not indicated
Lifetime years 40 Not indicated 70
Thermal stability °С 150 Not indicated Not indicated
Number of decors pcs 15 14 32
Steam and Moisture resistance Not indicated Simply stated Simply stated
High durability Excellent Excellent
Guarantee years 3 10 1
Price RUB/m² 4320* 4320* 3200*

* Price indicated corresponds to Moscow market price as at 09.2014

When looking through the table, we have credibility in the sills by Möller, then Crystallit, as many of the characteristics are listed on the site, which is not true for the windowsills by Danke.

Now let’s focus on the points that we will be able to check and will write out in detail the verification methodology for each characteristic. We would like to warn our readers that some tests are very expensive and we are not able to perform them with our forces and get the specific tests details. But we will make the data comparison of the sills under the same conditions, and will see, which of them will stand the test and will be the best. And now, let’s check it one by one.

What are we going to check.
1.    Sill thickness.
2.    Upper horizontal wall thickness.
3.    Vertical walls thickness.
4.    Lower horizontal wall thickness.
5.    Drop-nose height.
6.    Cross section of the window sill.
7.    Sill weight.
8.    PVC quantity in the composition.
9.    Resistance to scratching.
10.  Bending strength.
11.  Thermal stability.
12.  Moisture resistance.
13.  Breaking strength.
14.  Surface  quality
15.  Used labeling.
16.  The choice of color decors.
17.  Price.

So, there we go.
We bought sills in the building market in Moscow. Selection of samples was not made. We are testing what we were given.

1. Sill thickness
We have measured the sill thickness and got the following results:
Sill by Möller is 22.05 mm thick.
Sill by Crystallit is 20.30 mm thick.
Sill by Danke is 18.29 mm thick.

Möller

 

Danke

 

Crystallit

 

1st place – Möller
2nd place – Crystallit
3rd place – Danke

2. Upper horizontal wall thickness
For the upper horizontal wall thickness we got the following results.

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

 

Sill by Möller is 2.80 mm thick.
Sill by Crystallit is 2.91 mm thick.
Sill by Danke is 2.17 mm thick.
This parameter also shows the amount of material, used in the sill production. It is worth noting that the declared parameters do not correspond to reality. Möller sill differs by 0.2 mm, Crystallit – by 0.9 mm, Danke does not declare an official thickness, probably because it is the smallest.

Let’s distribute the places:
1st place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller
3rd place – Danke

3. Vertical walls thickness. 
Here are the parameters of the thickness of vertical walls, or, as they are called, strengthening ribs.

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

 

The strengthening ribs of Möller sill are 1,12 to 1,57 mm thick.
The strengthening ribs of Crystallit sill are 1,68 to 1.73 mm thick. The strengthening ribs have barrel-like shape, and their thickness is reduced to 1.3 mm closer to the sill walls.
The strengthening ribs of Danke sill are 0.78 to 1.07 mm thick.

In this test, Meller yielded to the stated parameters by as much as 0.6 mm (the declared thickness was 2.2 mm, while as the maximum thickness de facto turned out to be 1.57 mm). Crystallit sill exceeded the declared parameters in this test.
And again, the places distribution:
1st place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller
3rd place – Danke

4. Lower horizontal wall thickness.

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

 

The lower wall of Möller sill is 2.64 mm thick.
The lower wall of Crystallit sill is 2.29 mm thick.
The lower wall of Danke sill is 1.71 mm thick.

Winning places:
1st place – Möller
2nd place – Crystallit
3rd place – Danke

5. Drop-nose height
Drop-nose height is another indirect indication of materials savings in the sill production

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

 

Möller sill – 30.06 mm
Crystallit sill — 40.27 mm
Danke sill – 40.18 mm

Respectively:
1st place – Danke and Crystallit
2nd place – Möller

6. Cross section of the window sill
In order to understand who, after all, saves on materials and thereby is trying to reduce the price of the product, we decided to check the cross section of the window sill profile in square millimeters. To do this, we have scanned the profile of each product, transferred it into images using Adobe Photoshop, where we have identified the contours of the product. Thereafter, we have counted the sectional area in the same program. Here are the results:

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

Подоконник Меллер имеет площадь сечения 2541 мм²
Подоконник Кристаллит  – 2981 мм²
Подоконник Данке – 2145 мм²

1 место – Кристаллит
2 место – Меллер
3 место – Данке

Cross-sectional area of Möller sill is 2541 mm²
Cross-sectional area of Crystallit  — 2981 mm²
Cross-sectional area of Danke – 2145 mm²

1st place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller
3rd place – Danke

7. Sill weight
Weight is a very interesting parameter. The lesser is the weight of a sill, the lower is the raw density in the same profile geometry, so the less material is used. The plastic material structure of Crystallit and Danke sills is very similar and is most likely made ​​of pure PVC with the addition of chalk. We will try to determine its quantity further. The sill by Möller, as it is written on many Internet sources, contains wood flour, which, as the manufacturer states, increases the environmental friendliness of the product. In fact, wood flour is a good and inexpensive filler for plastics, while as the finished product has a low density and thus little weight and low rate of raw material consumption per square meter of product. Wood flour may be found in the composition of the sill by

  

Weighing results are as follows:

Möller

 

Danke

 

Crystallit

The sample of Möller sill weighs – 250 gram
The sample of Crystallit sill weighs — 266 gram
The sample of Danke sill weighs – 226 gram

Let’s convert this parameter in square meters. Each sample has a size of 10 cm by 25 cm. Using simple calculations, it turns out that a square meter of the sill weighs:
Möller sill – 10 kg
Crystallit sill – 10.64 kg
Danke sill – 9.04 kg

1st place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller
3rd place – Danke

  1. The PVC quantity in the window sill composition
    The calculation of the PVC quantity will be theoretical and conditional.Determining the exact material content of the sill requires expensive tests, for which we, unfortunately, do not have enough monetary means.
    Let’s try to find out the PVC content manually.
    Let’s calculate the density of our samples:
    Möller sill = 0. 25 кг / (0.1*0.002541) = 983,86 kg/m3 = 0.9839 g/cm3
    Crystallit sill = 0.266 / (0.1*0.002981) = 0.8923 g/cm3
    Danke sill = 0,226 / (0.1*0.002145) = 1.0536 g/cm3

Here is the data that we received. Although it is, of course, impossible to judge about the quantity of PVC content based on these data, but it is safe to say that the density is higher at higher chalk content. Sills by Danko and Crystallit are made of a mixture of PVC and chalk, while as the windowsill by Möller contains wood flour, which has a low density. In essence, it replaces chalk, as filler, and therefore it is impossible to judge about the level of the PVC content in this window sill. I would put Crystallit windowsill in the first place, and I would give the 2nd place to the other two sills, because we can’t say that Möller sill contains less PVC and more chalk, because of the wood flour in the filling of Möller sill.

1st place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller
2nd place – Danke

  1. Resistance to scratch of the coating film. 
    Sill of each company is covered with Elesgo coating film by the company DTS.There is no doubt about this.It is written on each website of the sills manufacturers, and the same information is available on the Internet. The coating film may be glossy, matte and semi-gloss, and each has its scratch resistance level. There is a special testing device, but unfortunately we do not have it, though we managed to find a video on the internet, which contained the shooting of the test of the gloss-coated windowsill.

Thus, having examined the video and the statements of the German coating film manufacturer (they can be trusted), we found out that the matte film withstands the force by needle of 5H, glossy – of 3H. Higher resistance of the matt coating is apparently due to the rough structure. The microscopic roughness does not allow scratches to form, unlike the glossy coating.

Such level of resistance to scratch is enough to fearlessly move the pot along the windowsill, wipe the window sill, etc.

In this trial, we believe that every manufacturer has the same parameters. This is due to the fact that they all use film by the same supplier. The same applies to such parameters, as UV resistance, chemical resistance, and other properties, associated with the effective coating.

10. Bending strength
We have done the following to perform this test. We took window sills samples of the same size and exposed them to force of 0,4 MPa or 4.07 kilograms of force per square centimeter. Each test may be viewed in the photographs. After exposing the samples to each force, we have compared the deviation from straightness of the window sills.

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

Further on, we have exposed the surface of the window sill with the maximum load and watched what maximum load a sample can stand. See photos. The results after the exposure to the maximum load.

 

 

The results are as follows:
Danke  0,41MPa
Möller 0,44MPa
Crystallit 0,44MPa.

 

The results are as follows:
Danke  0,41MPa
Möller 0,44MPa
Crystallit 0,44MPa

11. Thermal stability

For this test, we put the samples into an oven, where they were kept at a temperature of 80 degrees for an hour.See the results in the photos.Möller sill withstood the test best of all, as its base contains wood flour, which gives thermal stability to the windowsill. We would like to note that the coating film did not peel or go humps on any sample. This means that you can safely put warm objects on the sill surface (at least up to 80 degrees).

Möller + Danke + Crystallit

Lengthwise

     

Crosswise

    

The experiment results are as follows:
1st place – Möller
2nd place – Danke
2nd place – Crystallit

12. Moisture resistance. 

Many people write, that when a window sill is immersed in water or is placed in a fairly humid environment, it swells, absorbing moisture.Let’s check this out.We took pieces of sill samples and made a test weighing of each sample at very precise scales with the measurement accuracy of up to 0.0001 grams. Thereafter, these samples were put into warm water for a day. After soaking in warm water, we made another check weighing and calculated the amount of moisture, absorbed by each sample.

Sample weight before the immersion in water:
Möller – 39.5397 gram
Crystallit – 43.1622 gram
Danke – 43.2851 gram

    

 

Sample weight after the immersion in water:
Möller – 39.6757 gram
Crystallit – 43.2698 gram
Danke – 43.3796 gram

    

Let’s calculate the amount of water absorbed:
Möller – 0,37%
Crystallit – 0.248%
Danke – 0.217%

Results:
1st place – Danke
2nd place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller

Deviation from the weight is microscopic. Any swelling is out of the question, especially about absorbing in the humid air. The greatest absorption level in Möller windowsill once again speaks about the content of wood flour in its composition, which absorbs moisture better.

13. Breaking strength.

GOST ___ sets the following standards for sill durability.Sill samples are cooled in the refrigerator to +5 degrees, and then are placed in a special installation, in which the load of 1 kg is falling from a height of 0.7 m on the surface of the sill. No more than 1 sample should break out of the 10 samples. This applies to any window sill.We are testing the sills of “premium” quality with improved characteristics, so we decided to break the window sills from a height of 0.8 meters. What can we say – not a single manufacturer has passed the test. The results are shown in the picture.

All manufacturers get a 3rd place for this test.

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

 

Comparison

14. Surface quality. 
During the sill production process, the so-called tightening marks appear on its surface. Microscopic longitudinal failures on the sill surface are located directly above the partitions. This defect is part of the technological process. It is almost unnoticeable on the matted surface, but is quite obvious on the glossy one.
The manufacturer of Crystallit sill states that in their production they use a special treating installation, in the production of the company Danke, as they write, is installed a modern German tool, which eliminates the formation of tightening marks, while as the manufacturer Möller writes nothing on this point. Let us check these data.
The tightening marks are clearly visible on the reflection. We took pictures. You may note the following on them. Crystallit company has not deceived its customers, and we didn’t manage to find tightening marks on the surface. We noticed a worse situation with Möller sills with visible small tightening marks on its surface (note that we had a glossy Crystallit sample, and a matte Möller sample). The worst surface was on the window sill Danke. Considerable tightening marks were noticed with the naked eye.

Möller

 

Crystallit

 

Danke

 

Comparison

Results:
1st place – Crystallit
2nd place – Möller
2nd place – Danke

15. Used labeling

The windowsills have absolutely the same protective film, which is part of the coating film, which is supplied by a German manufacturer.

16. The choice of color decors.

Crystallit sills have the largest number of decors.All decors are available on the official websites of window sill manufacturers.
Möller – 15 pieces
Danke – 14 pieces
Crystallit – 28 pieces

17. Price.

You may find the price at the top of the table.Price has been indicated on Moscow construction market.

Comparative table on the test results.

Test nature Möller Crystallit Danke
Sill thickness 1 2 3
Upper horizontal wall thickness 2 1 3
Vertical walls thickness 2 1 3
Lower horizontal wall thickness 1 2 3
Drop-nose height 2 1 1
Cross section area of the sill profile 2 1 3
Sill weight 2 1 3
PVC quantity in the composition 2 1 2
Resistance to scratching 1 1 1
Bending strength 2 3 1
Thermal stability 1 2 2
Moisture resistance 3 2 1
Breaking strength 3 3 3
Surface quality 2 1 3
Labeling used 1 1 1
The choice of color decors 2 1 3
Price 2 1 2
Total: 31 25 38

Table of declared characteristics with actual parameters.

Declared characteristics Measuring units Möller Fact Danke Fact Crystallit Fact
Sill thickness mm 22 22.05 Not indicated 18.29 20 20.30
Horizontal walls thickness mm 3 2.80 Not indicated 2.17 3 2.91
Vertical walls thickness mm 2,2 1.57 Not indicated 1.07 1.5 1.73
Drop-nose height mm 30 30 Not indicated 40 40 40
Sill weight kg/m² 10 10 Not indicated 9.04 Not indicated 10.64
PVC quantity in the composition % 70 Not indicated Not indicated
Resistance to scratching N 5 5 High resistance 5 High resistance 5
Resistance to chemicals degree 5 5 Resistance to chemicals 5 Resistance to stains 5
Bending strength kg 428 Not indicated Not indicated
Lifetime years 40 Not indicated 70
Thermal stability °С 150 80 Not indicated 80 Not indicated 80
Number of decors штук 15 15 14 14 32 32
Steam and water resistance Not indicated 0,37% Simply stated 0.248% Simply stated 0,217%
High durability Not complying with GOST Excellent Not complying with GOST Excellent Not complying with GOST
Warranty pcs 3 10 1
Price RUB/m² 4320* 4320* 3200*

 

According to the results of our tests, Crystallit sill took the 1st place, Möller is at the 2nd place, and Danke – 3rd place. The test may be controversial, and in some places not very objective. Once again we remind you that we are an independent portal and our ideas may be different from Yours.