We had some old Canpa Lowline hatches to dispose of, so I thought I'd save some of the components as well as show how they fit. Hopefully this will make it easier for those with similar units to remove them and consider whether replacement is a better option. Remember that there are NO NEW SPARES for these.
A typical Lowline hatch
The images below show a typical Lowline (also available in Black) from the top and bottom. This one has the flanged base which extends into the cut-out.
Base removal
The Lowline uses a composite frame (ie plastic). The base has a number of securing holes around three of the sides. These are generally fastened with screws.
The rear face, where the hinges are mounted are secured with larger, longer screws, one for each hinge. To access these you have to remove the plug shown in the image below, in position;
and removed;
The screw has a slotted head, but will need a large screwdriver bit to remove.
With all fasteners removed, use a knife to break the bedding compound bond and lever the hatch off (use wide levers, eg wallpaper scraper to spread the load. Narrow levers will crack the structure!
Hinge Pins
Easier said than done! There are black plastic pins fitted into each side of the hinge. These are easiest to access from the underside of the base. You can see these black pins in the photo below, viewed from above;
and then from below, where you can push, rather than pull them out;
Handles
The lower handles are pretty robust and attached with a machine screw from beneath. These parts are easy to remove. The handle screws into a rotating shaft which is an interference fit into the frame from above. This can only be accessed with the lens out. These seem to wear which results in the handle wobbling when turned. There are also two plastic washers between the lower handle and the rotating shaft. Perhaps more might help stabilise the shaft in use?
The photo below shows the shaft which is remove upwards with the lens out.
The photo below shows the lower side of the shaft, along with the handle catch block which is held into the frame with two machine screws.
Hatch stays
The stays travel along a track fastened into the base. Each track has two sections. The fasteners are cross head machine screws which mount into recessed nuts viewable from the underside (see lower photo). These screws are difficult to remove and would probably end up needing to be drilled out.
The image below shows the recessed nuts. The black above is the two part track for the stainless steel rod strut toward the top.
The stay rod pivots on a pin in the lid which is only accessible once the closing seal is removed. in theory this could be pushed inwards towards the centre of the lid to release. The image below shows the pin end located in the closing seal channel.
