Reading the EN 1303 classification code

When comparing two cylinders, the fastest route is not the price list but the classification code. EN 1303 gives every cylinder a performance profile, digit by digit; without that profile, a claim of "better" is not measurable.

What does the code say?

The code is not a single overall score but a row of independent categories placed side by side. A cylinder can rate high on durability and low on corrosion. Reading the code as a whole — "high" or "low" — is therefore misleading; what matters is which category the project actually needs.

The code is a profile, not a grade. The project decides which digit matters.

Which digit matters when?

On a coastal project, corrosion resistance is decisive; in a hotel with heavy entrance traffic, cycle endurance is. In residential projects, the number of key differs and attack resistance usually come first.

1. Outdoor and coastal: corrosion and temperature categories
2. Heavy use: cycle endurance
3. Security-led: key differs and attack resistance
4. Fire doors: the relevant additional requirements must be asked separately

Practical catalog comparison

Ask the supplier not only for the code but for the test report behind it. The code is a claim; the report is its source. Where two products share the same code, the difference emerges in the scope of the report.