Garage Door Torsion Springs 101

Your garage door opener smoothly opens and closes a garage door that weighs hundreds of pounds with the help of a spring. Torsion springs are one of the most common movement devices used in garage doors, using the energy of the spring form to lift the heavy door. This is one of the most important components of your garage door opening system; without it, the opener could not lift your garage door. Here is a basic guide to garage door torsion springs and what you need to know.

The principal behind torsion springs is the same as any door with a spring; wind up the spring and it will have stored energy that will help move the door. For garage doors, torsion springs are usually installed horizontally on the ceiling opening hardware. The ends of the spring are attached to each cable that lifts the door. When the door closes, the spring winds up. When the door needs to open, the stored energy is released as the spring unwinds and transferred to moving the door up.

This simple process can be trusted for thousands of cycles of opening your garage door up and down. Most torsion springs can last about 10,000 cycles, giving you several years of use before they need to be replaced. However, weather and use will wear them out, and when they break it, the garage door they support can slam shut. This can be dangerous, and it can be very risky to try and replace a spring on your own.

Torsion springs should be replaced about every 5-7 years. Make sure to have yours inspected each year as part of your annual service for your garage door opener. It is best to proactively replace springs when recommended, versus waiting for them to break, so follow the advice of your local garage door service company.

Posted on behalf of: 
Habpro Garage Doors
Dacula, GA 30019
770-985-3355

What Is the Lifespan of a Torsion Spring?

Have you ever had a spring break on your garage door? It can happen at any time – while you are leaving for work or even in the middle of the night. Once the spring breaks, you may not be able to open your garage door, trapping your vehicles inside or out. If you have a torsion spring on your garage door, it is best to replace it before it breaks unexpectedly. So, how long is the lifespan of a torsion spring and when should you replace it?

Torsion springs are common in garage door opening systems. Without a working spring, the opener cannot do its job. Since torsion springs are extended when the door is closed, it is more likely to break when the door is shut. When it snaps, a loud cracking sound will occur, and your garage door will not open. The spring is used to easily move a door that weighs hundreds of pounds. Without it, the door is not mobile, and the spring will need to be replaced.

The lifespan of a torsion spring all depends on the amount of cycles it is rated to complete and how often it is used. The average cycle rate is about 10,000 cycles, but some higher quality garage door springs can be rated for two to three times that amount. If you open and close your door twice a day, an average spring can last about 10-15 years. The more often you use your garage door, the shorter the lifespan will be.

It is important to note the rating of cycles for your torsion spring and when it is installed. You can average the frequency of use to come up with a close estimate of when it should be replaced. When it is nearing its expected cycle amount, call your local garage door service to proactively replace your spring to avoid a breakdown of your garage door opening system.

Posted on behalf of:
Habpro
The Garage Door Specialists
Snellville, GA 30039
(770) 985-3355

Making Sure Your Garage Door is Safe

Your garage door and its parts wear out over time. Worn or broken garage door parts usually result in you not being able to open or close your garage door.  Below are three of the most common garage door problems with safe solutions to repair them.

Fatigued or Broken Torsion Springs

The springs on your garage door are perhaps the most important, yet most hazardous component of the door. These torsion springs eventually wear out. And, they can cause serious injury when they break. 

You should have your garage door’s springs inspected and examined by a professional garage door repair company.  Some garage doors have one spring, while others have two. If the inspection reveals that one of your springs is worn or broken, then have it replaced, as well as the second spring if you have two. 

Replacing the second torsion spring will not only make sure your door works properly, but it will prevent any possible damage from occurring if the second spring breaks in the near future.

Frayed and Worn Cables

You can do a visual inspection of the cables, attached to the spring system, on both the right and left sides of your garage door. Frayed and worn cables are a hazard because they are likely to break, resulting in injury.  Do not attempt to replace your garage door’s cables on your own. Contact a professional garage door repair company that has been trained to replace these cables, which happen to be part of the dangerously high-tension torsion spring system.

Squeaky Springs

Your garage door springs can become squeaky and terribly noisy from normal use. Such sounds don’t always signal that there’s a problem with your garage door. You can purchase a silicone-based lubricant to spray on your springs. You should call a garage door professional to inspect and service your door if the noise persists after spraying on the silicone-based lubricant.

High Cycle Garage Door Torsion Springs

Buying a new automatic garage door opener for your home involves deciding on the type of drive system, the options and features, and the amount of power the opener has.  Garage door opener sold for residential use can have motors with as little as 1/3 horsepower (HP) or as much as a full 1 HP.  Generally speaking, bigger is better but not for the reason most homeowners think.

Most people believe that larger and heavier doors need a more powerful garage door opener, but the reality is that even the largest and heaviest garage doors can be opened and closed with the smallest garage door opener on the marked if the garage door is properly adjusted.

Garage doors weigh hundreds of pounds and would be very difficult to open without some help from the lift assistance springs.  Most garage doors use either torsion type springs mounted inside the garage above the opening or extension springs mounted along the tracks to help lift the weight of the door.  When properly adjusted, the door will be easy to open and close by hand no matter what it weighs.

A larger garage door opener motor is desirable for two reasons:  It will operate more quietly and it will last longer.  An automatic garage door opener with a larger motor does not have to work as hard to open and close the door which keeps noise to a minimum.  In addition, a typical garage door opener goes through 500 to 1,000 opening and closing cycles every year.  If the opener does not have to work as hard, the wear from these opening and closing cycles will be less and the opener will last longer before it wears out.

Garage Door Spring Changes-Do You Really Need Those Extra Parts?

If you overhead garage door isn’t working and you’ve determined that you have a broken garage door spring, here is some important information to help keep you from getting ripped off. Garage door springs are eventually going to wear out and break from usage. Generally the springs supplied by the garage door manufacturer are rated for 10,000 cycles, so depending on how many times a day you open and close your garage door you can do the math and determine the life expectancy of your garage door springs.

With that being said most of the other components on your overhead garage door are very reliable and are seldom a cause for a garage door repair. If your garage door installation was properly executed then most of the other moving parts on your overhead door seldom if ever need replacement.

Getting to the point, many garage door repair companies today have slashed the cost of replacement garage door springs so much that the only way they can turn a profit is to sell you additional replacement garage door parts whether you need them or not.   A reputable local garage door repair company will sell new replacement garage door springs only and not try to sell you a bunch of extra parts that virtually never wear out. Garage door cable drums for example are often sold as a way of making extra profits and I can assure you that unless a set screw is stripped or the casting is cracked they virtually never need replacement. Furthermore with little exception if your cable drum is damaged it’s due to improper handling or installation. Garage door torsion spring shafts are also sold usually un-necessarily as another means of additional profits.  Torsion spring bearings do occasionally wear out and will need to be replaced and the wear is obvious so if you are in doubt ask to inspect the alleged worn parts.  Overhead garage door hinges will occasionally break but not often and again the need to replace them is visually evident.

When you need replacement garage door springs for your overhead door don’t be afraid to speak up, ask questions and protect your hard earned money from the garage door rip off artists.

Garage Door Repair-Always Check Your Cables

When you hire a garage door repair company to fix your overhead door or automatic garage door opener you want to make sure that the repair company you contract with checks out your entire garage door especially the garage door cables.

An overhead garage door is simply put a counterbalance system which allows you the homeowner or your automatic garage door opener to effortlessly lift the garage door.

The power or torque from the garage door springs acts to counterbalance the weight of your garage door and this transfer of power is accomplished through the use of your garage door cables. Whether your garage door has extension springs or torsion type springs the weight of your overhead door is lifted via the garage door cables.

Depending on the size of your garage door and construction this weight can vary from as little as 50 pounds to 600 pounds which makes the condition of your garage door cables extremely important. That’s why whenever your garage door is repaired you want to make sure your garage door repair company checks your cables for wear and tear.

Garage door cables are usually constructed of stranded galvanized wire and are constantly rolling under-load from the garage door weight over metal surfaces that create friction and wear. This kind of load and wear will over time cause you garage door cable to fray and eventually break in two. When you garage door cable frays it will cause the door to become crooked when operating and prematurely wear other components and damage your garage door or opener.

Garage door cables also corrode and will create the need for a garage door repair.

Garage Door Repair and Your Emergency Disconnect

If your garage door and opener have stopped working properly and you need to operate the overhead garage door manually then here are some important tips.

Virtually all makes of automatic garage door openers have some type of built in emergency disconnect,  or release mechanism that allows you to disengage the automatic opener from the garage door and open it manually.

If you need garage door repair and need to work the overhead door manually you would pull this emergency disconnect on the garage door opener and then lift the garage door by hand.  It’s very important to remember that the disconnect is only beneficial if you need a garage door opener repair and not if the garage door is the problem.  This scenario would include a power outage at your home or a garage door opener that is malfunctioning.

When the garage door needs repair pulling the disconnect  mechanism may serve no purpose at all and could actually cause injury or the need for additional garage door repairs.

If you need to disconnect the door from the opener for manual operation until a garage door repair can be made it’s always best to do so with the overhead garage door in the closed position. The reason being is that the garage door opener might still pull the overhead door open even if the garage door springs are out of balance and the garage door is heavy. Pulling the disconnect with springs out of balance could cause the garage door to crash to the ground. A broken garage door spring may be the cause of your garage door repair and if you are unaware the spring is broken and you pull the emergency release when the garage door is in the open position it will crash to the ground and damage or injure anything or anyone in its path.

If your garage door needs repair visually check for a broken spring before pulling your emergency disconnect!

Blog post provided by Woodstock Garage Door Repair Company

Garage Door Springs Require Replacement

Garage door springs much like your car tires, brakes or shoes for that matter routinely wear out and need to be replaced. Replacement garage door springs whether they are torsion springs, extension springs or a Wayne-Dalton Torquemaster spring system will eventually with usage wear out and when they do you’ll have a broken garage door spring.

Every time your overhead garage door opens and closes it completes 1 cycle. The springs on your overhead garage door are rated in life cycles usually a minimum of 10,000 cycles and when they reach their life expectancy at bear minimum will become weak and not lift your garage door properly but in most cases they’ll break. When you garage door spring is broken and your automatic garage door opener won’t lift the garage door and your garage will be in-accessible.

The longer you remain in your home and the more often you use your garage door the more likely you’ll need replacement garage door springs installed. If you use your overhead door 5 times or more a day on average you might want to consider having your garage door repair company install longer life garage door springs for your overhead door.

Usually the cost of replacement garage door springs will vary from market to market and you can expect a range of 150.00 to 300.00 for standard 10,000 cycle garage door springs and an upcharge of 40-100. The upcharge will vary depending on the increase in life cycles of your garage door springs.

When you hire a garage door repair company be sure to have them check your entire garage door and automatic opener as a broken garage door spring can damage the garage door opener.

Why Do Garage Door Springs Break and Need To Be Repaired

In today’s busy environment most people are constantly on the go and because transportation is involved your overhead garage door gets quite a workout. Because of today’s society and the concern for personal and home security more and more people park their cars in the garage keep their garage doors closed. For many people the entire family comes and goes through the garage door so it’s not unusual for the garage door to be operated 3-5 times per day or more and if there are kids involved 10 times or more per day isn’t unusual.

Simply put garage door torsion springs and garage door extension springs break from normal wear and tear, they fatigue and break causing the need for garage door spring replacement.

When your garage door spring is broken in most cases the garage door opener will not lift overhead door leaving you trapped in the garage or locked out of your garage. Garage door springs are rated in life cycles much like tires are rated in mileage. Typically the garage door manufacturers supply 10,000 cycles springs with every new garage door manufactured.

A garage door cycle is defined as follows; from the closed position the garage door is opened and closed again this is considered to be 1 cycle. Now 10,000 cycles seems like a lot but let’s do the math and see. 365 days a year times a measly 3 operations a day is 1095 cycles translating to approximately 9 years of garage door spring life. Double the cycles to 6 cycles a day and you end up with about 4.5 years of garage door spring life.

If you stay in your home long enough your garage door spring is going to break causing the need to have your garage door torsion springs or extension springs to be replaced

Keep in mind how often you use your overhead garage door and if the frequency of usage is high then ask your garage door repair company to quote you longer life cycle springs.

Replacement Garage Door Extension Springs

Garage door springs like most repairs are a combination of common sense, a bit of knowhow and most importantly the proper tools for the job.  If you’re handy and mechanically inclined it might be feasible for you to replace your own garage door springs, if not then leave your replacement garage door springs to the professionals.

Here are a few basics just to give you an idea of how it works. Extension garage door springs which are mainly found on residential garage doors and usually on 10’ wide doors or less are always replaced in pairs. When it’s time to replace extension springs or adjust extension springs the garage door is always put in the open position. The garage door opener should be unplugged and the overhead door secured in the open position. When the garage door is in the open position the minimum load is on the extension springs which allows disconnection and the installation of replacement garage door springs or adjustment.

Today’s extension springs usually have double end loops and should always be installed with safety cables which will usually be an additional charge by any reputable garage door repair company. The safety cable in event of spring or cable failure will prevent a fully loaded spring from flying through the air and damaging property or seriously injuring someone.

A professional garage door repair company will always inspect the related moving parts for wear and recommend replacement cables, safety cables, sheave wheels or pulleys and garage door rollers. Replacing some of the failing components but not all will only cause a future service problem and create a potential safety hazard.

Garage door springs when adjusted properly will allow your overhead garage door to work smooth and quiet and will also prolong the life of your garage door and automatic garage door opener.

Proper lubrication is also a must and will allow the related components to your garage door springs to work free without binding and again promotes a safe, smooth and quiet garage door.

This blog post was provided by Duluth GA Garage Doors