Garage Door Torsion Springs

So many schools of thought to replace a broken garage door spring….

Numerous websites and videos showing you how to change them yourself, galvanized or oil soaked, some will count the number of coils within a certain measurement to determine the wire diameter of the torsion spring, some will use a spring gauge to determine the wire diameter of the torsion spring, and some will look at the color coding i.e. yellow, red, green etc. This can be somewhat overwhelming to an untrained service technician or “Do it yourself-er”.

It Looks Simple Enough … How Hard Can It Really Be To Install A Torsion Spring???

but wait ….

What if these methods don’t give you the correct wire diameter or spring size? What if they don’t show the proper technique to install safely or worse yet had the wrong garage door springs on it to begin with.  All too often in the field, the garage door has the wrong torsion spring or springs, not wound properly or not wound at all.  Will the homeowner know if the garage door spring repair was the correct size for their garage door?

Unfortunately…you can’t

The most efficient and proper way to make sure the correct torsion springs are on the garage door is to weigh it. That way the correct calculations will be made for the IPPT (Inch Pounds Per Turn).

Yes, weigh it.

It is a counter balance system and if it is off balance the garage door is not going to work properly. Most companies will “manipulate” the garage door torsion springs and make it work. However, the homeowner will not know this and over the long haul there will be issues with the garage door and/or garage door opener.

Some examples of problems the garage door or garage door opener can have are:

1. Excessive wear on the garage door opener gear and sprocket shaft assembly.
2. Garage door opener up and down force settings set to high.
3. Cable coming off of the torsion drum and causing the garage door to come off track.

24/7 Help

How a homeowner can tell if their garage door springs are balanced properly.

1. With the garage door in the down position. Pull your emergency release cord. Disengage the garage door opener from the garage door opener rail.
2. Lift your garage door half way up manually.  Two panels should be above the header and two panels below the header.
3. Release your hand from the garage door.
4. If your garage door starts to roll down your garage door springs need to be re-calibrated. (Call a professional)
5. If your garage door stays in place it would appear that your garage door is balanced. Now…
6. Lift the garage door all the way up to the open position.
7. If the garage door “sucks” up in the header quickly or takes a lot of effort to pull down. (Call a professional)
8. If the garage door lifts smoothly and stays up in the header without rolling back down, your garage door springs are balanced.
9. If the garage door starts to roll back down the tracks, the garage door springs need to be adjusted. (Call a professional)

WARNING: NEVER ATTEMPT TO REPLACE OR ADJUST GARAGE DOOR TORSION SPRINGS ON YOUR OWN. THEY ARE UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. COULD CAUSE SERIOUS BODILY INJURY OR DEATH!

A professional garage door service technician that has been trained in the functions of the garage door and garage door opener will be the better choice when trying to repair the garage door springs. “Tailgaters” may or may not know what they are doing when replacing a broken spring.  (What the industry calls sub-contractors that work out of the back their truck – here today gone tomorrow). To clarify, Be careful who you choose to do your garage door repair!

Most importantly … As a homeowner, how can you tell if the correct torsion springs are installed on your garage door?

Call one of our Garage Door Specialists Now to get your garage door spring repair done right the first time and Save $27
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