I recharged my Stabilus back in 2006 but went with new ones now as the cost effectiveness of recharging them has diminished over these last 10yrs. In fact my old ones still worked once the weather warmed up this spring but were failing during this past winter. I see the 60563300 is rated for 103lbs of force where as the 61571600 is rated for 74lbs. However life span is typically 6-7years for gas springs which is dictated by how much nitrogen permeates through the cartridge seals.
I just looked it up. Mine have been installed right at 5 years and they still nearly lift the hood on their own. I suspect mine are good for more than another 2 years just based on that. I have been installing them in customer cars for a few years prior to installing mine and I have yet to replace a single set. A brand new 61571600 is nowhere near that strong when right out of the package. Never were. We had them incapable of holding a hood up when the cars were new in 1985.
Just to add the Stabilus SG402012 struts are charged to 498N (~112 lbs). I installed mine in Sep. 2011 and they are just as strong now as when new. So there are several good options out there, great to have options that work.
