One other thing.....David's description of the process is correct but I
will add one thing which he implied, but didn't state explicitly.....
Make sure you add the same number of twists to both the right and left
side springs otherwise you will have an unbalanced lift.
One other thing that can have an effect on how the springs act on the
door is humidity. If you have a wooden door with composition panels
they will be heavier in the winter and lighter in the summer if it is
dry.
-----Original Message-----
From: shop-talk-owner@autox.team.net
[mailto:shop-talk-owner@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of David Scheidt
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 6:29 PM
To: wmc_sr20@bellsouth.net
Cc: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Garage Door Adjustment
>Hey Guys...
>
>Doing some garage / shop sprucing up [incl. an awesome new epoxy
>floor job :)] and discovered my garage door spring is in need of
>adjustment. Disconnected from the door-opener, it only hangs about
>60% open.
>
>It's a torsion-spring type installed new about 3 years ago. How
>difficult / dangerous is it to tighten the spring myself? I realize
>there are some sizeable forces at work there, and have a healthy
>respect for them. But I also hate to pay someone to come out to
>operate a couple set screws and a breaker bar.
>
>Any how-tos or other suggestions are much appreciated.
You need a pair of rods to fit the holes on the spring end, a pair of
vice grips to keep the shaft from moving, and a suitable wrench to
fit the set screws. The rods I use are actually a couple inches of
1/2 rod welded into an 18 in long piece of square tube, as when I
found I need to do this the first time, I needed to do it right now,
and didn't have 3 ft of rod. Every door I've ever seen has had 1/2
holes on the winding do-dads, but the garage door guys I've seen have
a tool with different sizes at each end, so check yours.
Lock the door closed. If it doesn't lock, use some clamps to keep it
from opening. Unplug the automatic opener. Put a pair of vice grips
on the rod to keep if from turning. Put one of your winding rods in
a hole, loosen the set screws, and wind. Obviously, put the next rod
in its hole before you remove the first one. Wind a bit. Tighten
the set screws. Unlock or unclamp the door, open it, see if it
stays open. If you get the springs too tight, you'll find the door
won't stay closed. It's possible to calculate how much you need to
tighten the springs, but I've never bothered.
Of course, you should also see if there's a reason the spring isn't
wound enough. Crappy work by the installer is one reason. (we had
some work done on our doors a year or two ago; I had to have them
come out three times to get them right, and had to insist that they
send a different tech the last time.) Make sure it's not loose on
the drum or winder.
David
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