Does anyone have a source for replacement springs for a vestibule trap latch? As the attached photo shows, one 'leg' of the torsion spring that keeps the latch engaged has rusted and broken off. (In the pic it's below the latch, visibly protruding ) I have tried Grainger, McMaster Carr, etc with no luck. I appreciate any help that you might offer.

From the photo, it appears that the housing has two torsion springs, one on each side of the latch, that engage the housing and the latch. So, for my own education, how are these springs different from a standard-issue torsion spring? Also, it would seem that both should be replaced at the same time such that the spring force on either side of the latch is equal and to prevent having to open the housing up again when the other spring fails. Thanks.

You might have to have a specialty spring shop make that up for you.

Try Century Spring

https://www.centuryspring.com/

They look like regular torsion springs. And yes, both springs should be replaced at the same time.

One detail that may be obvious, but could be overlooked.

From the Photo it looks like those springs are "mirror images" of each other.

Looks like the "fixed" leg (the spring part that does not move when the shaft rotates) is towards the outside of the main body casting (fixed portion).

That means that there maybe a "left" and a "right" spring which are symmetric about the center of the latch.

It might be a little hard to tell with one of them broken into pieces.

Seems from the photo that you might need two different springs (a left and a right), double check before ordering any custom parts. Might be safest to send them both springs (and/or the remaining pieces of each).

Or it might just be two copies of the same spring, hard to tell from one photo ?

Good Luck, Kevin.

I had to rebuild a trap latch (different type) a few years ago.

I got stock torsion springs from McMaster-Carr.

I had to buy a package of right-hand-wound springs and a package of left-hand-wound springs of the same dimension in order to do the job. That is not a problem, McMaster requires that you specify the direction of winding for each spring purchase.