garage door torsion spring


 
Kevin L (NKY) said:
The tech did tell us that opening your door a foot or so to let out hot air in summer months puts undo strain on the door springs . As they are in tension on the going up and down travel but relax in the full up or down.
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I believe you'll find that the spring is most tightly wound, and thus under the greatest tension, when the door is fully closed.
 
Isn't this like basic physics? When the door is up, the door is storing energy because it can come down and release that energy due to gravity. The springs don't need to hold any energy when the door is up. When the door is down, the door has no energy and the springs hold the energy, ready to help lift the door.
 
Scott Smith said:
Isn't this like basic physics? When the door is up, the door is storing energy because it can come down and release that energy due to gravity. The springs don't need to hold any energy when the door is up. When the door is down, the door has no energy and the springs hold the energy, ready to help lift the door.
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Yup
 
My Genie is pushing fifty years old, we inherited it when my wife’s grandmother passed, the year we bought this house. It’s been here for 32 years and with some pretty basic maintenance aside from one spring go, it’s not given me any trouble. It’s time for a clean and lube but, that half an hour I can do while something roasts and I can get all cleaned up and eat after I’m done!
 
Scott Smith said:
Isn't this like basic physics? When the door is up, the door is storing energy because it can come down and release that energy due to gravity. The springs don't need to hold any energy when the door is up. When the door is down, the door has no energy and the springs hold the energy, ready to help lift the door.
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When the door is up the springs hold the door from crashing down.
Disconnect the safety on a garage opener with a faulty door spring and you will have a guillotine.
Right, or am I missing something?
 
The mechanics of the Genie screw drive I installed in 98 worked fine up to the day I removed it.

The electronics failed and I had no way to remotely open or close the door.

The side mount is much quieter and frees up ceiling access.
 
timothy said:
When the door is up the springs hold the door from crashing down.
Disconnect the safety on a garage opener with a faulty door spring and you will have a guillotine.
Right, or am I missing something?
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Once fully open, it will probably stay fully open yet it is very dangerous and would slam down and likely damage the door and anything in its way if the door was closed.

If the spring breaks while the door is moving, you will have a guillotine
 
timothy said:
When the door is up the springs hold the door from crashing down.
Disconnect the safety on a garage opener with a faulty door spring and you will have a guillotine.
Right, or am I missing something?
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There is nothing magical about the spring. It is just a convenient force to counterbalance the door. In a traditional theater, for example, a single stagehand could raise or lower heavy scenery at any speed he wanted because he had counterbalanced it with an equal weight.

It you disconnect the counterweight in the theater or the spring in a garage door then yes, stuff will likely come crashing down due to the unbalanced forces. Most elevators work on the same principle as well.
 
timothy said:
So when you said that it meant, what , nothing?
I'm a Carpenter and knows how **** works just don't understand that comment.
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Yeah, doesn’t a spring, by definition, hold force in one dimension or the other?
And thanks to Mr. Otis, elevators no longer work that way.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Dan, I just built an “underslung“ crap collector so, extra storage would just cause more headache!🤪
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My garage ceiling is 14' 8" high, but it is narrow and shallow so I don't have any good storage options other than up high. I think I have more stuff stored above 7' than below.
 
I think the old coil spring design is easier to visualize than the newer torsion springs. When the door is up, the springs are fully short and not holding any energy. As the door comes down, the springs stretch as energy (which can't be created or destroyed) is gradually transferred from the door to the springs. When the door is fully down, the door has no energy because it can't go anywhere by itself - it is down. All the energy is in the springs, which are now fully stretched out and ready to release their energy back to the door.

It doesn't matter if they used a coil spring or a torsion spring or a counterweight or a battery or any other energy storage system. The goal is simply to create some safety and reduce the need for a powerful motor by counterbalancing the weight of the door with some opposing force. The coil spring was good in this application, but the torsion spring is even better.
 
DanHoo said:
My garage ceiling is 14' 8" high, but it is narrow and shallow so I don't have any good storage options other than up high. I think I have more stuff stored above 7' than below.
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I have effectively lowered my ceiling to about 6’6”! Old style truss roof so, I kind of hope the whole blue eyed thing collapses while we are on vacation and not when the car is in there!
 
I just live here and press a button if I need the door to go up and press the same button if I need it to go down. :confused:
 
BFletcher said:
I replaced two in my life; the last time was October 2019. Maybe it was luck but I didn't experience any real struggles and I've tackled more complicated tasks in my days such as removing a strut from a spring assembly and replacing a heater core housed behind a dashboard. I did the strut because I was too poor; these days I wouldn't dare do that - I'd remove the entire assembly and take it to a shop to change the struts.

My most recent replacement was on a double wide door with two springs. Only one broke but I replaced both and ordered them here: https://www.expressgaragedoorparts.com/

I don't know the answers to your question but that website might have some info.

Good luck!
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Ah Fletcher, I to replaced a heater core behind the dash. What a job. Ford Taurus 90 something. Called dealer after I was done just out of curiosity for price. Core was 15.00. Labor charge at dealer was over 600
 
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